There has been an unprecedented growth of school prereferral programs and intervention assistance teams since the late 1970s. In this article we discuss their history, rationale, and philosophical perspectives, report on their legal and public policy basis, and evaluate the research base. Several university-initiated model programs and professional development activities have reduced the number of referrals for special education and increased the use of consultation services. However, only research in Mainstream Assistance Teams has directly demonstrated student improvement in learning and behavior. Implications for future research and strategies for serving students who are difficult to teach are discussed.

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Using content-controlled videotaped vignettes, we investigated the effects of disruptive and nondisruptive classroom contexts on teachers' perceptions of five problem behaviors. Seventy-four teachers viewed the videotapes and rated each portrayal in terms of severity, manageability, tolerance, and contagion. Only contagion yielded significant differences (stronger within the disruptive context), suggesting that the target child was held responsible for the classroom disorder. Correlational data further explained the relationship between the four areas, implying a quality (type of behavior)/quantity (degree or severity of behavior) dichotomy for interpreting perceptions. Overall data analysis yielded several implications for main stream ing the handicapped child with behavior problems.

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