Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) often experience serious educational difficulties and negative outcomes (Gresham, MacMillan, & Bocian, 1996; Landrum, Tankersley, & Kauffman, 2003; Rock, Fessler, & Church, 1997). School-wide screening to identify students with social, emotional, and behavioral concerns (SEB) allows school personnel to identify at-risk students and connect them with needed resources. Some students appear to be identified disproportionally, with male students identified as at-risk more frequently then female students (Young, Sabbah, Young, Reiser, & Richardson, 2009). There are many possible factors that could contribute to this disproportionate identification. Since screening for EBD is often based on teacher nominations, teacher gender is one factor that needs to be considered. This study examined the influence of teacher gender on a screening process to identify students at risk for SEB in a secondary school. Nominations of at risk students from 40 middle school teachers were evaluated to determine if teacher gender influenced the proportion of male and female students identified as at risk for SEB. Teacher gender did not significantly influence which gender of students were nominated. Future research may investigate other factors that may contribute to disproportionate identification.

Students at risk for social, emotional and behavioral concerns (SEBC) are likely to experience a variety of negative outcomes if not identified and provided with appropriate interventions in a timely manner. Males tend to be identified more frequently than females for SEBC (Young, Sabbah, Young, Reiser, & Richardson, 2010), and there are many variables that may contribute to this disproportionate identification. This study specifically examined the influence of student gender on secondary education teachers’ referral decisions for students at risk for SEBC. This study additionally examined the influence of teachers’ prior referral experience, confidence in the mental health services available at their schools, perceived severity of problematic behaviors, and teacher gender as other variables potentially influencing teacher likelihood of referral. A sample of 229 secondary teachers was given vignettes about hypothetical male and female students with internalizing and externalizing concerns followed by a questionnaire. Findings from this study indicate that males with internalizing concerns were the most likely to be referred. Additionally, teachers’ prior referral experiences and their confidence in the mental health services available at their schools influenced their likelihood of making a referral. Results from this study can be used to inform and improve screening and identification processes in secondary settings.

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