No abstract

Teacher understanding of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was examined by analyzing teacher reports of attributions about the behavior of individual students with the condition, and by using teacher reports of management strategies. Participants, 21 elementary education teachers in three states, were interviewed twice using a semistructured format. The narratives provided by teachers indicated a wide range of techniques for addressing disruptive behaviors and/or underachievement. However, teachers lacked information on the behavioral profiles of ADHD and lacked comprehensive plans of action for classroom management. These findings have substantial implications for teacher training and for general classroom functioning, as well as for the valid identification of children in need of supportive services and for their treatment.

There have been outcries in both the academic sector and in the popular press about the high and increasingly rising use of suspensions as a discipline measure. Among the negative consequences noted has been a detrimental impact on the academic achievement of suspended students. This article presents the results of longitudinal retrospective analyses on suspensions, achievement, and long-term enrollment status of students in a large, urban school district. The pre-and postsuspension reading achievements of suspended students were compared to those of a comparison group matched on grade, gender, race, participation in the free/reduced lunch program, and limited English proficiency. Findings indicated that suspended students had substantially lower presuspension achievement than did students in the comparison group, gained considerably less academically throughout 3 years with suspensions, and had high drop-out rates. All patterns were considerably more marked with increases in suspensions and with decreases in achievement.Suspensions and expulsions are used widely and at increasing rates despite the fact that the practice has been denounced as ineffective and counterproductive. One of the negative consequences of these discipline measures is an adverse impact on suspended students' achievement. However, to date, there has been minimal empirical evidence of the extent of academic delay associated with suspensions. This study examined the issue by analyzing the achievement status of suspended students throughout 3 years in comparison to a matched group of students without suspensions and by perusing the 3-year enrollment status of students who were suspended in ninth grade. Data were from a large, urban school district in the Southeast. 359

We interviewed 200 Latino parents (50 Mexican couples, 50 Puerto Rican couples) living in the United States to determine needs and supports related to raising a child with a disability and to identify variables related to reported needs and supports. The pattern of needs expressed was similar to that found in previous studies, but the number was substantially higher. More support was reported from family and formal sources than from friends or informal sources. Using repeated measures of analysis of covariance involving six family variables and three child variables, we found that English language proficiency was the only variable to account for significant variance in needs and supports.