Understanding the Social Ecology of Classrooms for Adolescents with Behavioral Disorders: A Preliminary Study of Differences in Perceived Environments

Abstract

The study reported here explored differences in environmental characteristics between classrooms for adolescents identified as behaviorally disordered and traditional secondary school classrooms. Using the Classroom Environmental Scale and a measure of school satisfaction, 38 classrooms in six special schools were compared to a normative sample of classrooms. Findings suggest that while some homogeneity exists among programs for behaviorally disordered youth, the perceptions of these students differ qualitatively from students in traditional school programs. In addition, students in special schools perceive order and organization lower and teacher control higher than did students in traditional school programs. Results suggest that student satisfaction with school was related to greater levels of perceived involvement, affiliation, and teacher support for the special students but not for students in the traditional school sample. The study has implications for further research on the assessment of classroom environments and the development of measures appropriate for special and traditional school populations.