School membership among students with learning disabilities and nondisabled students in a semirural high school

School reform proposals have urged that schools provide students with an enhanced sense of community, especially for at-risk youth belonging, is thought to be crucial. Given their high rate of school drop out, school membership holds special relevance for students with learning disabilities (LD). Thirty-seven mainstreamed students with LD and an equal number of nondisabled (ND) high school students were compared on five dependent variables: grades, time spent on homework, Scholastic Competence, Global Self-Worth, and school membership. School membership was assessed by Goodenow's (1993) Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale. ND students reported higher grades and more favorable ratings of Scholastic Competence, while groups did not differ significantly on time on homework or Global Self-Worth. Also, contrary to the author's hypothesis, the groups did not differ on the PSSM. These findings are attributed to either the small size of the school in which the study was conducted or to the supportive nature of special education (i.e., resource room). Future studies are required to understand the development of school membership among students with LD.