Inclusion of students with emotional and behavioural disorders in general education settings: a scoping review of research in the US

ABSTRACT

Inclusion of students with disabilities in general education settings has been an international focus for over two decades. In the US, federal laws [e.g. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). 2004. H.R. 1350, 108th Congress] mandate access to the general education curriculum for all students, including those with disabilities. These mandates codify a philosophical orientation of least restrictive environment, within a free appropriate public education, while explicitly requiring evidence-based practices. The policies support and protect inclusive practices for individuals with emotional and behavioural disabilities, yet the state of the empirical literature is unknown. A review is needed to provide an overview of the research and reveal the breadth of the literature. To this end, scoping review methodology was used to map the state of the literature. This particular approach is recommended for topics with myriad and complex definitions and issues, as is the case with inclusive education. Results map six themes (professional and student experience, strategy effectiveness, policy and programmes, perception of influencing factors, teacher training, teacher knowledge) and reveal several gaps in the literature. Recommendations are made for systematic review, meta-analyses, and individual studies to address the gaps in the literature.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusion
• emotional behaviour disorders
• scoping review

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Randy Harrison for his technical assistance with the concept maps.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Judith R. Harrison, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology/Special Education Programs at Rutgers University. Dr. Harrison's research interests include the acceptability, feasibility, and sustainability of classroom-based services for students with emotional and behavioral disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Specifically, she is interested in exploring strategies to teach students skills to increase independent functioning and increase student willingness to learn and utilize those strategies.

Denise A. Soares, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Special Education, Assistant Chair of Teacher Education, and Special Education Program Coordinator at the University of Mississippi. Her research focuses on applied and practical experiences in academic and behavior interventions for at-risk students, as well as examining the efficacy of those interventions in classroom settings where teachers have competing time demands.

Jeanette Joyce, Ph.D., is a researcher at Marzano Research. She has conducted research focused on investigating classroom artefacts (assignments, assessments, etc.) as evidence of classroom practice and teaching quality. In addition, Dr. Joyce developed a protocol that assesses alignment of classroom work with stated policy goals such as the Common Core State or Next Generation Science Standards in middle school math and science classrooms, in order to ensure that all students have access to quality assignments.

ORCID

Jeanette Joyce http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5930-2367