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Stress, Biases, or Professionalism

What Drives Teachers' Referral Judgments of Students with Challenging Behaviors?

Curry Programs in Clinical and School Psychology, University of Virginia

Lina L. Robinson

This study sought to identify the relative contributions of some of the variables that are thought to influence teachers' referral judgments.The primary variables that have been identified in the literature include student demographic characteristics,academic achievement, socioeconomic and emotional and behavioral problems, and teachers' perceptions of students. In addition to these variables, this study also examined a conceptually relevant variable, teaching stress, in relation to teachers' referral decisions.Thirty kindergarten through fifth-grade general education teachers identified three students (n = 90) in each of their classes. Teachers were asked to rate their likelihood of referring each student for a psychoeducational assessment. Results suggest that the best predictors of teachers' referral judgments are teachers' judgments about the presence of behavioral problems and the students' academic competence.This model accounted for 51% of the variance in referral ratings. Student demographic characteristics, observed off-task behavior, and teachers' stress failed to make a significant contribution to the model. These findings suggest that teachers' professional judgment, not racial or socioeconomic bias or teaching stress, appears to drive referral decisions.

Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Vol. 10, No. 4, 204-212 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/10634266020100040201


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