Pillars of the Field: A Tribute to James M. Kauffman’s Contributions to Special Education

Abstract

James M. Kauffman left a legacy of contributions in special education research and practice, much of it focused on emotional and behavioral disorders, that will be consulted by scholars long into the future. Throughout his career, Kauffman exhibited a tireless energy, a devotion to excellence, and a dedication to improving educational outcomes for children and youths with disabilities, especially those with emotional and behavioral disorders. We summarize his contributions to research, instruction, and policy. We encourage current and future leaders to honor his efforts by forging ahead in the pursuit of humane support for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), their families, and their teachers.

Keywords

James M. Kauffman James Kauffman special education policy/history/ instruction/law individualized instruction continuum of placements inclusion evidence-based instruction empirical science

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Anastasiou

Gregory

Kauffman

J. M.

(2018). Article 24: Education. In Bantekas

Stein

M. A.

Anastasiou

(Eds.), The UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities: A commentary (pp. 656–704). Oxford University Press.

Cullinan

Kauffman

J. M.

LaFleur

N. K.

(1975). Modeling: Research with implications for special education. Journal of Special Education, 9(3), 209–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/002246697500900215

Hallahan

D. P.

Kauffman

J. M.

(1976). Introduction to learning disabilities: A psycho-behavioral approach (2nd ed., 1985 with J. W. Lloyd). Prentice-Hall.

Hallahan

D. P.

Kauffman

J. M.

Pullen

P. C.

(2023). Exceptional learners: An introduction to special education (15th ed.). Pearson Education (Prev ious editions by Hallahan & Kauffman: 1^st ed., 1978; 2^nd ed., 1982; 3^rd ed., 1986; 4^th ed., 1988; 5^th ed., 1991; 6^th ed., 1994; 7^th ed. 1997; 8^th ed., 2000; 9^th ed., 2003; 10^th ed., 2006; Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 11^th ed., 2009, 12^th ed. 2012; 13^th ed. 2015; 14^th ed, 2019).

Hallenbeck

B. A.

Kauffman

J. M.

Lloyd

J. W.

(1993). When, how, and why educational placement decisions are made: Two case studies. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 1, 109–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/106342669300100204

Hersh

R. H.

Walker

H. M.

(1983). Great expectations: Making schools effective for all teachers. Policy Studies Review, 2(1), 147–188.

Hornby

Kauffman

J. M.

(2023). Special education’s zombies and their consequences. Support for Learning, 38(3), 135–145. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12451

Kauffman

J. M.

(1989). The regular education initiative as Reagan-Bush education policy: A trickle-down theory of education of the hard-to-teach. Journal of Special Education, 23, 256–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/002246698902300303

Kauffman

J. M.

(1993). How we might achieve the radical reform of special education. Exceptional Children, 60(1), 6–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/001440299306000102

10.

Kauffman

J. M.

(2002). Education deform: Bright people sometimes say stupid things about education. Rowman & Littlefield.

11.

Kauffman

J. M.

(2011). Toward a science of education: The battle between rogue and real science. Attainment.

12.

Kauffman

J. M.

(2022). This one, that one: Toward revitalizing special education. In Kauffman

J. M.

(Ed.), Revitalizing special education: Revolution, devolution, and evolution (pp. 1–41). Emerald.

13.

Kauffman

J. M.

Anastasiou

Badar

Felder

Hallenbeck

B. A.

(2023). The telos of special education: A tripartite approach. Exceptionality, 32(2), 90–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2024.2301819

14.

Kauffman

J. M.

Badar

(2014). Instruction, not inclusion, should be the central issue in special education: An alternative view from the USA. Journal of International Special Needs Education, 17, 13–20. https://doi.org/10.9782/2159-4341-17.1.13

15.

Kauffman

J. M.

Hornby

(2025, January 10) Extremism and the potential dismantling of special education: Or moving forward with inclusive special education. Support for Learning. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12519

16.

Kauffman

J. M.

Kneedler

R. D.

Gamache

Hallahan

D. P.

Ball

D. W.

(1977). Effects of imitation and non-imitation on children’s subsequent imitative behavior. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 130(2), 285–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221325.1977.10533261

17.

Kauffman

J. M.

LaFleur

N. K.

Hallahan

D. P.

Chanes

C. M.

(1975). Imitation as a consequence for children’s behavior: Two experimental case studies. Behavior Therapy, 6, 535–542. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(75)80010-4

18.

Kauffman

J. M.

Landrum

T. J.

(2018). Characteristics of emotional and behavioral disorders of children and youth (11th ed.). Pearson. (Previous editions by Kauffman: 1^st ed., 1977; 2^nd ed., 1981; 3^rd ed., 1985; 4^th ed., 1989; 5^th ed., 1993, 6th ed., 1997; 7^th ed., 2001, 8^th ed., 2005; Kauffman & Landrum, 9^th ed., 2009, 10th edition 2015).

19.

Kauffman

J. M.

Lloyd

J. W.

(2024). Statistics, data, and special education decisions: Basic links to realities. In Kauffman

J. M.

Hallahan

D. P.

Pullen

P. C.

(Eds.), Handbook of special education (3rd ed., pp. 81–98). Taylor & Francis.

20.

Kauffman

J. M.

Lloyd

J. W.

McGee

K. A.

(1989). Adaptive and maladaptive behavior: Teachers’ attitudes and their technical assistance needs. The Journal of Special Education, 23(2), 185–200. http://doi.org/10.1177/002246698902300205

21.

Kauffman

J. M.

Vicente

A. R.

(1972). Bringing in the sheaves: Observations on harvesting behavioral change in the field. Journal of School Psychology, 10, 263–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-4405(72)90061-1

22.

Kauffman

J. M.

Wong

K. L.

(1991). Effective teachers of students with behavioral disorders: Are generic teaching skills enough? Behavioral Disorders, 16, 225–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/019874299101600305

23.

Kauffman

J. M.

Wong

K. L. H.

Lloyd

J. W.

Hung

L.-Y.

Pullen

P. L.

(1991). What puts pupils at risk? An analysis of classroom teachers’ judgments of pupils’ behavior. RASE: Remedial & Special Education, 12(5), 7–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/074193259101200503

24.

Kerr

M. M.

Zigmond

(1986). What do high school teachers want?—A study of expectations and standards. Education and Treatment of Children, 9, 239–249.

25.

Landrum

T. J.

Kauffman

J. M.

(1992). Characteristics of general education teachers perceived as effective by their peers: Implications for inclusion of children with learning and behavioral disorders. Exceptionality, 3, 147–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362839209524807

26.

Lloyd

J. W.

Kauffman

J. M.

Landrum

T. J.

Roe

D. L.

(1991). Why do teachers refer pupils for special education? An analysis of referral records. Exceptionality, 2, 115–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362839109524774

27.

Martin

K. F.

Lloyd

J. W.

Kauffman

J. M.

Coyne

(1995). Teachers’ perceptions of educational placement decisions for pupils with emotional or behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 20, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/019874299502000205

28.

Nelson

C. M.

Kauffman

J. M.

(2025). Preparing with emotional and behavioral disorders for inclusion in the “mainstream”: How can we do it better? Exceptionality, 1, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/09362835.2025.2513071

29.

Smeets

P. M.

Kauffman

J. M.

(1980a). Effects of contingent imitation and functional equivalence on the behavior of retarded children. Behavioral Analysis and Modification, 4, 63–70.

30.

Smeets

P. M.

Kauffman

J. M.

(1980b). Generalized reciprocal imitation in children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 21(1), 67–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1980.tb00017.x

31.

UNESCO. (1994). The Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education: Adopted by the world conference on special needs education; access and quality. Salamanca, Spain, 7-10 June 1994. https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.org/files/resource-attachments/Salamanca_Statement_1994.pdf.

32.

Walker

H. M.

Rankin

(1980). The SBS inventory of teacher social behavior standards and expectations. University of Oregon SBS Project.