Teachers as Victims: An Interactional Analysis of the Teacher's Role in Educating Atypical Learners

Research examining teachers' standards and tolerance is reviewed with respect to an interactional model of teacher-student relationships. Because interactional models suggest that participants in behavioral interchanges influence each other reciprocally, the implications of teacher characteristics research relative to the mainstreaming of difficult-to-teach students is considered. In particular, the application of coercion theory to the relationships between teachers and students suggests that, just as mothers are often victims in coercive relationships with their problem children, teachers may also become victims of their students and the systems that hold them responsible for educating atypical learners. Finally, the implications of emerging research on teacher characteristics are discussed in light of the increased attention that calls for reform have focused on issues surrounding the integration of handicapped students into regular education settings.