Whole-school or whole-class programs designed to promote positive behavior can enhance the likelihood that effective teaching and learning occur for all students. This practice guide is intended to help elementary education educators, as well as school and district administrators and parents, implement and support effective prevention-focused…

The article describes a participant observation study with two kindergarten classes which focused on explaining child behavior in terms of its context. Case studies of three children illustrate alternative interpretations of behavior problems when seen from the point of view of the child or a nonauthoritarian adult "child's aide." (DB)

The paper describes some observational procedures that can be employed by the special teacher or learning assistant to determine the levels of either appropriate social behavior or deviant responding in the classroom. (Author/SBH)

The use of functional analysis is demonstrated with a case study of a preschool child with behavior problems in the classroom. Discussion focuses on the steps of a functional analysis: interview, direct observation, systematic environmental manipulations, and development of intervention procedures. (DB)

This article shows how teachers can implement behavioral observation and assessment using a structured rubric narrative log format to understand a student's problem behaviors and find ways to encourage more positive behavior. Advantages of narrative observations for functional behavioral assessments are specified and include exploring one's own…

Developed to provide an alternative system for identifying emotional disturbance in students, the manual begins by briefly reviewing problems in current identification approaches. An emotionally disturbed person is defined in the paper as someone who exhibits either too much or too little of a socially significant behavior. An approach is then…

The model is designed to be responsive to parent, teacher, and pupil needs in reducing the discrepancy between the problem behavior and what is reasonably appropriate for the classroom setting. Forms for detailed coding of classroom behavior are included. (Author/CP)

This article offers suggestions for videotaping classroom instruction in order to allow teachers to conduct self-evaluation through self-observation and to develop hypotheses regarding the functional relationship of their behavior to that of their students. Methods of defining, scoring, and graphically displaying behaviors are explained, and…

This study of 10 aggressive and 9 nonaggressive preschool boys found that both groups attempted the same repertoire of social goals and used the same social strategies, but with varying relative frequencies. Aggressive children sought to stop or prevent action more often and used intrusive strategies more often than nonaggressive children.…

This discussion of naturalistic interventions with young children experiencing learning and behavioral problems notes their bases in studies of competent caregivers and focuses on intervention in the child's usual environments, provision of experiences targeting functional behaviors, and caregiver skills that facilitate learning and behavior…

This article offers a framework for assessing problem behaviors in classroom settings. It explains three prerequisite steps (identification, prioritization, and delineation of operational definitions) and three methods for formulating hypotheses (structured interviews, systematic observations, and experimental functional analyses). (DB)

This guide, presented in both the English and French language versions is designed to accompany a 36-minute video illustrating systematic behavioral observation methods. Together, the video and the guide comprise a training module that suggests simple and effective observational methods that will help teachers in Quebec assess students objectively…

This kit presents the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) as a tool to identify behavior disorders in elementary-aged students. The SSBD procedure is a three-stage, multiple-gating mass screening system. In the first stage the teacher systematically ranks all students according to either externalizing or internalizing behavioral…

The impact of a modified wilderness program on the cooperative and aggressive behaviors of seriously emotionally disturbed adolescents was evaluated in the context of self-efficacy theory. Results indicated that participating adolescents showed a significant increase in cooperative behaviors and that direct observation procedures were more…

"I know there is something wrong, but what? How do I know if outside help for this child is needed? How do I tell parents that their child could have a learning difficulty?" These are questions that most nursery workers, at some point in their careers, will have to face. Based on the lives of real children and typical situations in early years…