Consistently inconsistent: An examination of the variability in the identification of emotional disturbance
The federal definition of emotional disturbance (ED) has been heavily criticized as vaguely defined and poorly operationalized yet there has not been a formal analysis of the reliability of the ED criteria. This study examined the reliability of the federal criteria for a special education designation of ED. A total of 179 school psychologists reviewed a mock special education report, made an eligibility determination, and provided information about their eligibility decision. In all, 56 participants found the student met ED eligibility criteria using 16 different combinations of the five criteria. Krippendorff’s α, a statistic preferred for content analysis, was calculated as a measure of criterion reliability. Results indicated extremely poor reliability (α = 0.2011). These findings demonstrate the importance of redefining the existing criteria.
Duke Scholars
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- Education
- 5203 Clinical and health psychology
- 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
- 3904 Specialist studies in education
- 1701 Psychology
- 1303 Specialist Studies in Education
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Education
- 5203 Clinical and health psychology
- 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
- 3904 Specialist studies in education
- 1701 Psychology
- 1303 Specialist Studies in Education