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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The prupose of this study by Roth and Nicholson was to investigate the factors that allowed for the successful mainstreaming of violent and assaultive youths into the public school system.
METHODOLOGY:
This study employed a quasi-experimental design, using a sample of 75 violent and assaultive students diagnosed with Conduct Disorder: Aggressive-Type. To select the sample, records were reviewed at the Waltown School, a specialized day-treatment center. Only youths, from a ten year period (1977-1987), mainstreamed into the public schools were selected.
Measures of successful reintegration were based on results taken from a percentage of positive behavioral ratings on a 10-question evaluation and by the amount of improvement on a modified version of the Walker Problem Behavior Identification Checklist (MWPBIC). The amount of improvement for the MWPBIC was based upon a comparison of two separate test trails. The first test, a ten question evaluation form, was completed upon arrival at Waltown School. This test established a baseline which was later compared against the results of a second MWPBIC. The second test was given by the public school teacher after the child had been mainstreamed into school for two months. Once tabulated subjects were considered successfully mainstreamed if they fell into the top 40 percentile and unsuccessful if they fell into the bottom 40 percentile. The authors decided to eliminate the middle 20% in order to show a definitive demarcation between the two groups.
The fourteen measurements employed to determine whether mainstreaming was successful included: behavioral classification (e.g., mild, moderate or severe), race, sex, age, SES, follow-ups with schools, follow-ups with subjects, follow-ups with parents, WISC-R scores, PIAT scores, parental attendance at meetings, subject's participation in therapy, type of school placement (e.g., full-time vs. self-contained), and scores from the ecological measurement. This ecological measure rated stability of home environment, motivation to return to school, motivation for schoolwork, stable community relations, and behavior at day-treatment school. Analysis used in this study included counting of ecological measurements, computing distributions, central tendencies, standard variation, t-tests, and multivariate comparisons.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Results were classified into three groups: successfully mainstreamed, unsuccessfully mainstreamed, and in-between. Sixty percent of the successful group passed the ecological measure, while sixty percent of the unsuccessful and in-between groups failed. Significant factors that differentiated the successfully (scoring better) from the unsuccessfully groups were as follows: contracts between the schools, rating on the ecological measurement, Verbal IQ's, the WISC-R Similarities subtest, and the PIAT reading comprehension, reading recognition, and spelling scores.
Surprisingly, there were no differences noted between the groups with regard to the students behavioral type. This differs from previous thought that behavior was an important consideration in successful mainstreaming programs. The data in this study suggests that learning styles may play a part in students ability to be mainstreamed successfully. Unsuccessful students may have learning difficulties which makes it harder to remediate them. The authors noted that if these problems are not adequately addressed, successful mainstreaming becomes even more difficult.
The results indicated that timing of key psychological skills was a determining factor in the success of mainstreaming. One example given was that ecological measures were a significant indicator of when mainstreaming was possible. Another consideration for successful mainstreaming was that of the follow-up contacts with the schools. The authors thought that this illustrated the importance of the communication process between the specialized school and the public school.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors suggested that violent and assaultive youths' chances of becoming successfully mainstreamed would improve if three things were accomplished: 1) a strong liaison program between the regular and special schools was established, 2) better diagnosis was available to determine a student's readiness to be mainstreamed, and 3) more attention was paid to addressing the student's educational and cognitive needs. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - 1970s
KW - 1980s
KW - Public School
KW - School Mainstreaming
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Senior High School Student
KW - School Performance
KW - School Achievement
KW - Violence Treatment
KW - School Based
KW - Learning Disability
KW - Psychoeducational Factors
KW - Psychoeducational Treatment
KW - Treatment Effectiveness |