Resource Consultant Communication and Teacher Expectations of Behaviorally Disordered Children

Abstract

This study was designed to identify factors in behavioral disorders resource consultant communication that might influence regular educators' expectations. Teachers were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions involving written information descriptions (positive and negative) and videotaped behavior (withdrawn and acting-out). The main effects for the information condition were minimal, but tended to have paradoxical effects, with positive tending to produce lower expectations for items measuring Effects on Other Students in the Regular Classroom and Effects on the Child from Regular Class Placement (p < .01). Findings suggest that the resource consultant should portray a behaviorally disordered child as a student with specific problems that are within the normal range of behavior.