Consumer reports -: What students with behavior disorders say about school

The purpose of this study war to describe how one group of consumers of special education services-students with or at risk for behavior disorders-experienced school. We present the perspective of these students within the social constructivist framework represented by the circle of courage, a holistic approach to childrearing and community building based on traditional Native American philosophy. Seventeen students with or at risk for behavior disorders participated in semiformal small-group or individual interviews. Thematic analysis of the interview data yielded the following three categories representative of the students' experiences with respect to the four spirits of the circle of courage: (a) the students' view of themselves with respect to each of the spirits, (b) the students' perspective about school experiences that encourage each of the spirits, and (c) the students' perspective about school experiences that discourage each of the spirits. To reflect the richness and coherence of the students' accounts, results are presented using direct quotes and discussed within the context of current research in behavior disorders.