Teacher Behavior toward Low Achievers, Average Achievers, and Mainstreamed Minority Group Learning Disabled Students

Elementary school children in matched triads consisting of a low-achieving student, an average achiever, and a mainstreamed learning disabled (LD) student were observed in regular education classes. Observers noted the instructional interactions they had with their teachers. Two main questions were addressed: Does the teacher treat the three groups of children differently? Are there significant relationships between teachers' instructional behavior and children's academic achievement gains? Findings indicated that the low achievers were treated differently than average achievers and mainstreamed LD children and that there is a modest yet statistically significant relationship between teachers ' instructional behavior and childrens' gains in academic achievement across groups, but not within groups.