Abstract
The practice of excluding students with social maladjustments from special education has stimulated various professional opinions. Maag and Howell have speculated from a cultural-organizational perspective about why such a practice exists and bow best to address it. It was particularly interesting to note the similarities between their premise and that of William Rhodes, who wrote 20 years ago about social deviance from a sociological and ecological perspective. Maag and Howell have once again reminded us that we cannot prevent and treat emotional and behavioral problems in students by dealing only with the students (i.e., definitions, labels, diagnostic-prescriptive models); prevention and treatment must address system restructuring and a change of values. I agree. However, I also believe that system restructuring needs to include some coercive change techniques such as a revised, more inclusive, federal definition of emotional and behavioral disorders.
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