Some top students are feeling undervalued by teachers, Government's behavioural specialist has revealed.

Dr. Judith Bartley has begun polling some of the brightest students in the public education system to find out their views on a variety of issues effecting them.

So far she has spoken informally with close to 20 students.

"They feel as though there are some good things happening,'' she said, "but they think they are not being valued by teachers and it is affecting their school spirit and whether they want to be involved in extra curricular activity. I think it is important because if we're hearing this from "A'' students, then imagine how others feel.'' However, Dr. Bartley told The Royal Gazette it was still too early to give a definite analysis of students' views.

"At this point my scope is pretty narrow,'' she said. "Right now my sample is pretty small. I'm still exploring the number of students who will be polled and the age of the students.

"The poll is a qualitative analysis. I present open-ended questions to students who I encounter and record their responses.

"It is totally confidential. I don't even know who these youngsters are.'' Dr. Bartley said she decided to poll "A students'' because they were articulate and could give a good picture of what was happening.

In 1991 she prepared, for her doctoral degree, a thesis about the views of students with behaviour disorders on segregated and integrated secondary education programmes in Indiana.

She concluded that students needed to be consulted if their educational placement was to be "truly effective''.

"Students have enough experience within the school system to know what works for them and what doesn't,'' Dr. Bartley wrote. "The most important aspect of the success of any educational system are the outcomes of those served within it.'' And last month, she told educators attending a Phi Delta Kappa forum on education in the 21st Century: "I'm not convinced that all the children coming to me with `behavioural challenges' have behavioural disorders.'' Dr. Bartley said some A students she had interviewed complained that they only had problems in certain classes because the teacher did not show them respect.

"When the teacher respects them, is focused, begins the class soon after he or she enters the classroom, and makes the subject interesting and relevant, the students are fine,'' she noted. "We may be as teachers creating some of these situations.'' But, Dr. Bartley pointed out, children with true behavioural disorders will always have problems.

"Children with true behavioural disorders cannot take a structured six-hour day,'' she said. "It is better to have a three-hour day for them balanced with hands-on work. In the US the school day ends at 1.30 p.m. for these children.

"They have a real disability and we have to meet them where they are. So if those kids are going to CedarBridge we will have to look at a modified day.

"However, it is going to be a long hard battle because there are so many facets.'' Dr. Bartley warned teachers not to let misbehaviour slide. And she said she could not stress early intervention enough.

At risk children should be identified at the pre-school and primary level, she said.

"We won't catch them all,'' she added. "But we should try to reach as many as possible so when they reach CedarBridge Academy or Berkeley they will not have such difficulties.'' Dr. Bartley plans to share the results of her poll with the Education Ministry.

However, she stressed that she was not in a hurry to complete the poll.

"It is very important when you are conducting informal interviews to have people relaxed,'' she explained. "I am not putting any time frame on it.'' SURVEY SUR