The Effects of Reverse-Role Tutoring on the Social Acceptance of Students with Behavioral Disorders.

The objective of the study was to determine whether participating in reverse-role tutoring would improve nonhandicapped students' attitudes toward behaviorally disordered peers. A total of 88 students participated in the study; 6 fifth grade and 8 sixth grade aged behaviorally disordered tutors, 12 fifth grade and 16 sixth grade aged regular class tutees, and 46 fifth and sixth grade aged regular class students comprising two control groups. A pretest-posttest control group design was utilized to compare the responses made by tutees on a student attitudes question naire with the responses made by those in the control groups. Analysis of variance of the regular class students' pretest responses indicated that the behaviorally disordered students were less accepted than were regular class peers. Analysis of covariance showed that the tutees rated their behaviorally disordered tutors signif icantly higher than different-class controls. The tutees did not, however, general ize more positive attitudes toward a class of behaviorally disordered students with whom they did not have tutoring contact. Interest in improving student attitudes toward handicapped peers has gained impetus from current trends in mainstreaming. Although legislative enactments have clarified the educa tional rights of the handicapped, Jones and Guskin (1984) argue that equal educational opportunity encompasses more than passing laws and providing services: Full integration of handicapped students is contingent upon receptive social attitudes. The problem of nonacceptance by peers is particularly acute for behaviorally disordered students who are viewed more negatively by nonhandicapped peers than are students with other types of handicapping conditions (Chiba, 1984; Parish, Ohlsen, & Parish, 1978). Various studies have assessed the use of information, activities, literature, role playing, and contact in improving student attitudes toward handicapped peers (Anderson, Del-Val, Griffin, & MacDonald, 1983; Ballard, Gottlieb, Corman, & Kaufman, 1977; Lazar, Gensley, & Orpet, 1971; Miller & Loukellis, 1982a, 1982b; Salend & Moe, 1983). Many of these studies report that attitude changes resulted from a diversity of treatments, but Gottlieb (1981) warned that attitude change fostered by discussion or information alone may be under mined by a single negative personal experience with a handicapped student. Voeltz (1980) along with Simpson, Parrish, and Cook (1976) agree that positive contact between handi capped and nonhandicapped peers was optimal for increasing the acceptance of handi capped students. In addition, research has generally focused on regular students' acceptance of mentally or physically handicapped students, but has provided no specific recommendations for increasing peer acceptance of behaviorally disordered students. In an overview article which described the methodology used by researchers relating to modifying attitudes toward the handicapped, Towner (1984) cited no peer studies addressing the behaviorally disordered population. Johnson and Johnson (1981a, 1981b, 1982,1983; Nevin, Johnson, & Johnson, 1982) have conducted the majority of research relating to integration of students Support for the research reported in this article was provided by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education Grant No. G008300007. The first author, Lenore Shisler, is currently with the Commission for Education of the Deaf, GSA Regional Office Building Room 6646,7th and B Streets, Washington, DC 20407. Behavioral Disorders November 1987 35 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.104 on Sun, 19 Jun 2016 06:40:41 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms who have learning and behavioral disorders, and their studies indicated that engaging handicapped and nonhandicapped students in cooperative interaction with peers was superior to competitive or individualized activities for promoting positive attitude change. Discussing research related to improving attitudes toward racial minorities, Watts (1984) further proposed that findings from that area may be applied to the problem of nonaccep tance of the handicapped. To be effective, personal contact between the groups required that the members of the minority group be of equal or higher role status than the majority, that the social climate encouraged intimate rather than casual interaction, and that the groups be directed towards a mutual goal. Reverse-role peer tutoring, one option that meets Watts' criteria for establishing a social situation between handicapped and nonhandi capped students, has been successfully used to promote both academic growth and socialization with behaviorally disordered students (Csapo, 1976; Franca, 1983; Gable & Kerr, 1979; Lane, Pollack, & Sher, 1972; Maher, 1982, 1984; Stowitschek, Hecimovic, Stowitschek, & Shores, 1982; Top, 1984). Further, a series of studies aimed at increasing social acceptance reported increased social acceptance when intellectually handicapped and learning disabled students became sign language tutors to their nonhandicapped peers (CusterO Eiserman & Osguthorpe, 1985; Osguthorpe, Eiseman, Shisler, Top, & Scruggs, 1985). Additional investigation involving a self-contained class of behav iorally disordered students as sign language tutors to a class of gifted peers also resulted in greater acceptance of the behaviorally disordered tutors by their gifted tutees (Shisler, Top, & Osguthorpe, 1986). The lack of pretest data, however, precluded establishing how much attitude change occurred during the treatment period. Replication is also necessary to determine whether similar results would be reported for regular class students involved in a reverse-role tutoring program. Thus, the following study was designed to (a) determine if behaviorally disordered students in two self-contained classes were viewed more negatively than were peers from regular classes; (b) introduce a tutoring intervention strategy placing the behaviorally disordered student in a higher status role; (c) measure attitudes of regular class students toward the specific group of behaviorally disordered students with whom they were involved; and (d) measure whether hypothesized attitude changes were generalized toward a second group of behaviorally disordered students within the school.