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The role of gender and student behaviour in teacher referral

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Janet Stephens  and
Lesley R. De Mello
Janet Stephens*
Affiliation:
Ballarat University College
Lesley R. De Mello*
Affiliation:
Ballarat University College
*
School of Psychology, Ballarat University College, P.O. Box 663, Ballarat VIC 3353
School of Psychology, Ballarat University College, P.O. Box 663, Ballarat VIC 3353
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Abstract

Two studies investigated the influence of student behaviour and the gender of teacher and student respectively on teachers' decisions to refer children for specialist assistance. The first study examined the age, sex, and referral reason for 621 students referred to a major school support centre. The results indicated that twice as many boys were referred as girls, and that girls and boys were referred for different reasons. In the second study, 97 teachers were required to rank order the necessity for referral of four case studies presenting examples of either disruptive or non-disruptive behaviours. Boys' and girls' names were exchanged on alternate forms of the case studies. The findings indicated that neither the sex of the teacher nor the sex of the student in the case study hadany effect on teachers'rankings of the case studies. However, teachers viewed students displaying non-disruptive behaviour as significantly more in need of referral than students displaying disruptive behaviour. The implications of the findings of both studies are discussed in relation to the contrast between what teachers say about referrals and what they actually do, the access of girls to support services, and the need for further teacher education about criteria for referral.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , November 1993 , pp. 39 - 47
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1993

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