CRITICAL EVALUATION OF A PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH PAPER
The aim of this report is to critique the research paper entitled “Special Needs Characteristics of Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders That Affect Inclusion in Regular Education”, by Stoutjesdik, Scholte, & Swaab (2012). The aim of the research paper is to determine the special needs characteristics of children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) that predict the placement of these children in restrictive school settings. The researchers point out that children with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) are often placed in the most restrictive educational settings, despite various countries’ aim to place all children in the least restrictive settings possible, based on the Salamanca Statement (1994). This is due to the fact that EBDs are considered the most challenging disabilities to be catered for in regular education settings.

The researchers argue that there are differences in the characteristics between children with EBD that are educated in special education schools and those educated in inclusive education schools. It is argued that these differences play a significant role in the decision as to where a child with EBD is placed and the study seeks to answer two research questions: determination of the differences in characteristics between children with EBD placed in the two different settings, and determination of the the difference that contribute most to placement in restrictive education settings. The researchers mention previous studies that have determined that young age, ethnicity, male gender, low social economic status, stress in family functioning and low IQ are contributors to placement in more restrictive educational settings for children with EBD. They however argue that these findings focus mostly static factors, ignoring dynamic factors such as behavioral,