The International Observatory on Academic Achievement - Documentary search

File number :
CS-PC-04e

Bibliographic reference :
Trout, A., Nordness, P.D., Pierce, C.D., & Epstein, M.H. (2003). Research on the Academic Status of Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorder. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 11(4), 198-209.

Abstract :

Purpose and Method
This literature review paints a retrospective picture of American studies conducted on the correlation between academic status and emotional and behavioural disorders (EBD). The purpose was to document and outline the characteristics of the samples studied such as gender, socioeconomic status and ethnicity, the type of placement settings, academic subjects areas such as reading, arithmetic, and measures used to assess the academic performance of students.

The authors also tried to document the trends that have prevailed in literature over the past forty years. For studies to be included in the review, they had to assess samples of students based on one of the following criteria: 1) students identified by their school system as having EBD according to national standards (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – IDEA, 1997); 2) clinical diagnosis based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); 3) assessment by teachers who used standardized behaviour rating forms.

Studies conducted on students with coexisting conditions and studies conducted on students enrolled in special education programs were also included in the review. A five-step procedure was used to index 205 articles on this topic, from which 70 were selected for the final analyses.

Main Findings
The first finding concerns the student characteristics described in the literature. Data collected indicated that the characteristics of selected samples were nationally representative of students with EBD, but few studies examined the academic performance of these students based on ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.

The second finding has indicated that most studies were conducted on students for whom educational services were provided outside the regular school environment such as psychiatric hospitals or residential treatment facilities, which constituted a specific information gap with respect to the normal school context.

A third finding has shown that 93% of studies had used standardized instruments for assessing academic performance; however, it was hard to determine specific areas of learning difficulties such as reading, comprehension, arithmetic with these instruments. It was observed also that the academic status of students with EBD could vary depending on the assessment method used.

The authors emphasize that these findings must be taken into account during decision-making process with respect to student guidance into the school system. Finally, although there had been a significant increase in the number of studies on this topic since the 60s, there has been a steady decline in the number of these studies over the past ten years.

Links :
This journal is also available in electronic format

Key Words :
Behavioural Disorders, Emotional Disorders, Behavioural Disorders, Ethnicity, Gender, Socioeconomic Status, Academic Performance, Literature Review