PREDICTING TEACHER REFERRALS OF EMOTIONALLY-DISTURBED CHILDREN

The degree to which teachers' perceptions of a student can be distorte d by characteristics indigenous to teachers, as well as students, were investigated to determine whether teachers would initiate a referral for special education. Sixty-five teachers volunteered for participati on. Twenty-seven of them were experienced, having had their own classr ooms in a public school. Thirty-eight were preservice student teachers who had not yet had their own classrooms. Teachers were evaluated to have had either an internal or external locus of control and were judg ed to have had either a high or low opinion of self according to eithe r of two separate scales. After viewing two video tapes of two element ary-aged students (one student was severely emotionally disturbed [SED ] and the other non-SED), teachers rated the children on several child characteristics and referral questions. Results revealed that the loc us of control and self-esteem of teachers, in conjunction with teachin g experience and a child's characteristics, can predict teachers' incl inations to refer children. Findings point to the need to place greate r care in the initiation of referrals. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc .