Severe behavior disorders are among the most perplexing conditions encountered by clinicians, and as a front page article in the past Christmas Day's "New York Times" illustrates ("Parents defend school's use of shock therapy"), treatment options remain a topic of contentious debate. Not all that long ago physical restraint was the only option,…

This dissertation study focused on the potential effect that various violence prevention program strategies implemented within the k-12 school setting have on the frequency of school based violent behaviors. The 2005-06 and 2003-04 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS:2006 & SSOCS:2004) was utilized as the secondary data source for this…

Alcohol problems on campuses cannot be solved with simple solutions, such as an alcohol awareness campaign. Instead, dangerous college drinking can be prevented with an array of protective measures that deal with alcohol availability, enforcement of existing laws and rules, and changes in how alcohol is promoted, sold and served. Many people,…

First Step to Success is a multicomponent behavioral program for at-risk children who show signs of antisocial behavior at the point of school entry. The program incorporates behavioral intervention techniques, including praise and feedback, positive reinforcement, social skills training, teacher and parent collaboration, and time-out/response…

The Thematic Photobook System is a teaching strategy that uses an interpersonal approach to involve and encourage a child to participate in producing photobooks of specific themes to facilitate desired learning or behavioral objectives. A thematic photobook is a tool which integrates a number of educational or therapeutic photo activities focused…

For long-term learning and positive connections to take place in the classroom, we need to assume that our students want to learn both content and appropriate behavior in school. Teachers must explicitly teach behavior, pausing in their lessons to address misbehavior in the classroom. Five strategies can help: using volume, tone, and posture to…

"MCPS School Safety and Security at a Glance" provides, in a single document, information about the reporting of incidents related to school safety and security, school climate, local school safety program descriptions, and serious incidents. Information is presented for each Montgomery County (Maryland) public school. While much of this…

Although the conceptual foundations of PBS at the universal level have been widely described and presented in the literature, secondary and tertiary interventions have been presented through very limited examples. This paper defines the key features of secondary and tertiary interventions and presents a decision-making process to guide schools…

Our nation's K-12 schools are faced with numerous critical challenges that affect student achievement and consequently impact society. Key challenges, such as elevating academic achievement, meeting state and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards, high dropout rates, at-risk students, parental involvement, and the recruitment and retention of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a classwide positive peer reporting intervention known as "tootling" in conjunction with a group contingency procedure to reduce the number of disruptive behaviors in a third-grade inclusive classroom. Nineteen elementary students including four students with disabilities (i.e., specific learning…

Objective: To examine the effects of a school garden on children's fruit and vegetable knowledge, preference, and consumption. Design: Self-report questionnaires, interview-style taste and rate items, lunchroom observations. Setting: An elementary school. Participants: Second-grade students (n = 115). Intervention: Participants were assigned to…

Studies of behavior modification interventions for disruptive behavior in schools have generally focused on classroom behavior with less research directed toward child behavior in other school settings (e.g., cafeterias). The present report documents the effect of a group contingency intervention with a random reward component, targeting…

In Spring 2010, the Delaware Education Research and Development Center conducted an evaluation of Delaware's PBS project, an initiative focused on developing a school-wide system of strategies to reduce behavior problems and foster a positive school climate. The study focused on facilitators and barriers to PBS implementation, and also included…

In Spring 2010, the Delaware Education Research and Development Center conducted an evaluation of Delaware's PBS project, an initiative focused on developing a school-wide system of strategies to reduce behavior problems and foster a positive school climate. The study focused on facilitators and barriers to PBS implementation, and also included…

Teachers are a combination of who they are and what they've learned--with a bit more emphasis on what they've learned. It helps to be a born comedian or a motivational speaker, but it isn't necessary. What is necessary is a great desire to teach children and knowledge of how to manage student behavior to keep students engaged academically and…