The Educational Context and Outcomes for High School Students with Disabilities: A Case Study Comparing the School Life of Students with Disabilities and Their Peers without Disabilities. Research Report.

This study investigated the lives of adolescents with and without disabilities in nine high schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas in Kansas, Washington, Oregon, and California. It gathered information on key contextual factors and realities that adolescents confront throughout the day. In this investigation, 53 ninth-grade high school students, 26 with disabilities, were shadowed from the time they entered the school in the morning until they left in the afternoon. They were observed in both class and non-class activities. The data indicate the students with disabilities had frequent and positive interactions with their teachers and were generally engaged in a positive fashion within their classes. While interactions with peers tended to be positive, they were not as positive nor as frequent as with their teachers. In short, the students with disabilities seemed to be only somewhat a part of the social fabric of the high school setting. Academically, the students with disabilities were observed as being engaged in their classes, working on in-class assignments, and achieving positive outcomes in most classes. Of concern was the fact that the students with disabilities were assigned less homework than peers and few accommodations were made within general education settings. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/CR)