TWO DECISION MODELS:
IDENTIFICATION AND DIAGNOSTIC TEACHING
OF
HANDICAPPED
CHILDREN IN
THE
REGULAR CLASSROOM
Q.
PHILLIP
CARTWRIGHT, CAROL A. CARTWRIGHT, AND JAMES E. YSSELDYKE
The Pennsylvania State University
As evidence that concerns the relative ineffectiveness of traditional special-
education services has mounted (Bennett,
1963;
Cassidy
&
Stanton,
1959;
Dunn,
1968;
Ellenbogen,
1957;
Johnson,
1962;
Reynolds
&
Balow,
1972;
Sparks
&
Black-
man,
1965;
Thurstone,
1960),
the school psychologist has come under repeated
attack for his role (usually dictated)
as
“gatekeeper of special education” (Garrison
&
Hammill,
1971).
Dunn
(1968)
has advocated strongly abolishment of special
classes, special schools and their resultant pigeonholing and categorization and
argues that “Never in our history has there been a greater urgency to take stock and
to search out new roles for a large number of today’s special educators
.
.
.
[p.
111.”
Role identification is not a new problem for school psychologists, and
a
variety
of roles have been proposed within the last decade (Baker,
1965;
Bijou,
1970;
Buktenica,
1970;
Cardon
&
Efraemson,
1970;
Catterall,
1970;
Ebert, Dain
&
Phillips,
1970;
Fine
&
Epstein,
1969;
Jackson,
1970;
Phillips,
1967;
Ruckhaber,
1970;
Singer, Whiton,
&
Fried,
1970).
The search for identity has involved a move-
ment away from the traditional psychometric model and a greater emphasis on
serving handicapped children in regular classroom settings. Few would argue with
Newland’s
(1970)
statement that the overriding commitment of school psychologists
is facilitation of learning by school children. As Newland
(1970)
has stated, “the
major responsibility of the school psychologist is (and has long been)
to work
with
teachers
in
the interests
of
children.
. .
.
[p.
2431.”
Discussions of changes and trends in special education (Cartwright, Cartwright,
&
Robine,
1972;
Lilly,
1970, 1971;
Reynolds
&
Davis,
1971;
Ysseldyke
&
Sabatino,
1972)
repeatedly emphasize heavier involvement of the regular classroom teacher
in the identification and management of handicapped children. School psychologists
long have advocated inservice training designed to facilitate teachers’ abilities to
identify and manage handicapped children. With increased emphasis upon an
inservice function, however, school psychologists cannot afford to operate in the
absence of the stated objectives that they are attempting to meet and a model or
models within which to meet those objectives.
A
dual approach is needed in the school psychologist’s attempt to meet the
needs of handicapped children in regular classes.
He
first must attempt to prepare
regular classroom teachers to identify and provide appropriate educational strategies
for handicapped children within the regular classroom setting. Teachers must be
trained to provide individualized instruction designed to ameliorate or alleviate
existing and incipient learning problems early in
a
child’s career. Second, teachers,
especially early childhood educators, must be sensitized to the value of early de-
tection of problems and trained to provide instruction directed to the prevention of
serious learning problems in children.
This paper proposes two models, an identification model and a diagnostic
teaching model, that may be used effectively by the school psychologist in his