| Abstract: | The psychologist who is involved in the placement and support of mainstreamed learning handicapped children is often called upon to assist regular teachers to meet the special needs of these children. This study examined the concerns of regular class teachers who were the primary instructors for 51 educable mentally retarded pupils and 196 educationally handicapped children. Teachers were asked to express the degree of comfort or discomfort they experienced while responsible for the special child in a variety of school related situations. Teachers consistently reported more comfort with activities involving supervision and academics than with activities that involved public display of the child's competence. Five different teacher response patterns were identified, and teachers were found to be somewhat less comfortable with the retarded than with the educationally handicapped child. |
