Use of sociometric techniques to assess the social status of mainstreamed children with learning difficulties.

Research on sociometric data collection and analysis methods is reviewed and implications for assessing the social status of mainstreamed children with learning difficulties are evaluated. Recommendations are made for changing existing procedures to account for factors specific to children with learning difficulties and to classrooms where mainstreaming is occurring. Variations between frequently used sociometric classification systems (which categorize children as popular, rejected, average, neglected, and controversial) are described, and information on their reliability and validity is discussed. Further reliability research with mainstreamed children is recommended, as is the application of theoretical accounts of affiliation in designing sociometric methods.