Investigated with 50 elementary teachers were the connotations associated by classroom teachers to the label of educable mentally retarded (EMR) and the ability of this label to influence teachers' perceptions of child performance. (Author/SBH)

When asked to rate the expected behaviors of a hypothetical child assigned to each of three labeling conditions (normal, learning disabled, or emotionally disturbed) 75 elementary teachers differentially responded to the labels. (CL)

Investigated with six highly active 4- and 5-year-old Caucasian boys (three Ss labeled by teachers as hyperactive and three controls) was the extent to which inappropriate behaviors and differences in attention span provoked teachers to differentiate between highly active and hyperactive children. (IM)

A study involving 334 preservice and inservice educators extrapolating from a scale on attitudes toward Black children and mentally retarded children to similar measures of attitudes toward Mexican-American and minority-learning disabled children supported the minority group construct approach. (Author/CL)

Identified relative meanings among professionals of three clinical lables for children--mentally retarded, emotionally disturbed, and juvenile delinquent. Regular classroom teachers and mental health workers responded on two questionnaires designed to measure their reactions to these labels. The labels conveyed clearly different relative meanings,…

Regular-classroom elementary school teachers (N=99) were shown a photograph of an 11-year-old Black, Mexican American, or White child and were told that the child was either educable mentally retarded or attended a fifth grade class. The child's race significantly influenced the teachers' initial expectations. (Author)

Investigated teacher attribution of the nature of the handicapped child's problem by ED or LD handicap label and strength of expectancy as a function of amount and type of information. Type and valence, rather than just amount of information, appeared to be more influential of attributioning in decision making. (Author/RC)

The survey of 175 Florida teachers of the emotionally handicapped (EH) found that five characteristics were thought to be descriptive of mildly disturbed children and five were thought most descriptive of severely disturbed children, while no consensus was obtained with regard to the moderately disturbed category. (Author/DLS)

Discusses the impact of teacher expectation on student performance and then describes a program that changes teacher expectations by focusing on the achievements of students. (IRT)

Findings of this study suggest that the sexually abused label on a child may lead teachers to demand and expect less academically, even in situations where a child is capable of more. Recommendations for teachers are discussed. (JD)

Part of a series designed to facilitate integration of severely handicapped students, the booklet presents a module on promoting the acceptance of individual differences. The instructor's information lists objectives and procedures for addressing five competencies: (1) to develop an awareness of one's own attitudes toward disabled persons to…

The relationship between the diagnostic label assigned to a child (emotionally disturbed--ED, learning disabled--LD) and the type of behavior exhibited by that child was investigated with 128 special education graduate students. Ss were asked to complete one of four randomly assigned case studies in which the label assigned to the child and/or the…

The study explored 20 teachers' perceptions of the classroom behavior and work habits of 10 elementary-junior high school mainstreamed learning disabilities (LD) students and 10 nonlabeled control students. Results of the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale and the rating of student behavior by an independent observer indicated that…

A research checklist was submitted to 2664 regular classroom teachers in kindergarten through grade 12 in 13 Florida school districts to determine their individual perceptions of the behavioral status of their students. (IM)

The study investigated whether 60 preservice and inservice, regular and special educators' perceptions of the emotionally disturbed/behaviorally disordered (ED/BD) would be influenced within a multidimensional framework by differentially labeling the target group. Among results were that the ED/BD categorical label was a significant factor in the…