A Profile of School Programs for the Behaviorally Disordered: Twenty Years after Morse, Cutler, and Fink

Abstract

Selected results of a national survey of 126 school districts with services for behaviorally disordered children and youth are presented and contrasted with the earlier findings of a similar study by Morse, Cutler, and Fink (1964). Specific comparisons are made regarding (a) program goals, aims, and philosophy, (b. service delivery, (c) the role of the teacher, and (d) entrance and exit procedures. Differences between the two studies were found in the level and types of services provided to behaviorally disordered students and the theoretical orientations used within classrooms. Similarities appeared in the general aims and goals of these programs, the role of the teacher in their operation, and the degree of formalization (or lack thereof) of entrance and exit procedures to these programs.