POSTMODERNISM AND EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL-DISORDERS - DISTRACTION ORADVANCEMENT

Because students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) presen t significant academic and social behavior challenges for educators, s olutions are likely to be incremental, slow, and expensive, and educat ional programming must be direct, effective, and efficient. The postmo dern perspective offers a solution that emphasizes individual differen ces, particularity, irregularity, and divergence. In response to the p ostmodern perspective, this article offers two main considerations. Fi rst, we must increase, rather than decrease, our dependence on scienti fic data and theories to guide educational policies and research effor ts. Second, we must assume responsibility for measuring and owning the impact of our actions and decisions on the lives of students with E/B D and their families and communities. The value of our empirical tradi tion, the need to continue this perspective, and the potential perils of assuming a postmodern perspective when educating students with E/BD are discussed.