ERIC Number: EJ973259
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Aug
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1062-1024
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Parent, Teacher and Student Cross Informant Agreement of Behavioral and Emotional Strengths: Students with and without Special Education Support
Sointu, Erkko T.; Savolainen, Hannu; Lappalainen, Kristiina; Epstein, Michael H.
Journal of Child and Family Studies, v21 n4 p682-690 Aug 2012
Information from multiple sources is recommended when assessing students' emotions and behaviors. Relatively few studies about cross informant agreement of behavioral and emotional strengths exist, especially for students with special education needs. The purpose of this study was to extend the cross informant agreement research of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS-2) with a sample of Finnish parents, teachers and students. First, we studied the cross informant agreement of students' behavioral and emotional strengths between informants. Second, we explored the agreement separately for students with and without special education needs. Finally, we studied the convergent and divergent (discriminant) correlations of the Finnish BERS-2. The results show that the cross informant agreement of students' behavioral and emotional strengths were small to large with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.11 to 0.58 between different informants. The cross informant correlations, however, were higher in magnitude for students who receive special education support (r = 0.29 to 0.78) than for those students who do not receive support (r = -0.02 to 0.45). Mean convergent correlations were higher than mean divergent correlations. The results suggest that the Finnish BERS-2 is a reliable measure in assessing student strengths across informants. The limitations, future research directions, and implications are discussed.
Descriptors: Emotional Disturbances, Rating Scales, Correlation, Special Education, Ability Identification, Student Needs, Parents, Teachers, Students, Foreign Countries, Functional Behavioral Assessment, Behavior, Measures (Individuals)
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A