Mainstream Consultation in Secondary Settings

Abstract

The delivery of special education to secondary school students has posed problems for educators. These services typically are provided in set-aside programs, that is, in environments outside regular education classrooms, with students most frequently receiving either basic skills instruction or tutoring in secondary school content areas. Few benefits have been associated with either approach, however. Recently, an alternative approach was developed and field tested in Pine County. Teachers used Mainstream Consultation Agreements (MCA), which emphasized a team approach to address students' problems. The model incorporates data based program modification in which students determined eligible for special education services are provided with MCAs through their content area teachers. This study describes the MCA system and provides outcome data regarding its effectiveness, using students as their own control. Data reported after one year of implementation indicate that students taking academic courses in content areas with MCAs performed much as they did in academic courses without MCAs. This finding is interpreted as supportive of the model. Implications of this system for facilitating teaming with regular educators are discussed.