The "Behavior Education Program" (BEP; Crone et al., 2004) is a modified check-in, check-out intervention implemented with students who are at risk for more severe problem behaviors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the BEP on problem behavior with 12 elementary school students. Results indicated that the BEP was…

Best practice in preventing severe problem behavior in schools involves implementing a continuum of effective behavior support. This continuum includes primary prevention strategies implemented with all students, secondary prevention strategies for students at-risk, and tertiary interventions for students who engage in the most severe problem…

University and college campuses in the United States utilize disciplinary/judicial processes to help address student behavioral problems. These include administrative, majority-peer, and minority-peer processes. This descriptive research was undertaken to find which of these three discipline/judicial processes were the most effective. The…

Presented is the final report on the Behavior Recycling Program (BRP) which was designed to return socially maladjusted mentally retarded adolescents to public school classes. It is explained that behavior change data was gathered through a series of questionnaires given to students, teachers, probation officers, and parents. The author suggests…

Evaluated effects of two types of teacher-delivered encouragement on off-task behavior and academic performance for five first graders. Results indicated there was a consistent decline in off-task behavior for all participants, suggesting the treatment was effective. Found neither form of encouragement was consistently successful in improving…

This commentary outlines considerations in assessing (and programing for) social validity to attain results that are valued by client audiences. It discusses the objectives and contexts of several types of social validation, procedures for conducting a social validation, and questions addressed by researchers in assessing social validity. (JDD)

A study involving 21 individuals with mental retardation found functional communication training (FCT) with extinction was effective in reducing problem behavior in the majority of cases; however, when demand or delay-to-reinforcement fading was added, treatment efficacy decreased. FCT with punishment resulted in a reduction in problem behavior…

Many interventions for children's behavior problems successfully utilize a group format for social skills training, providing opportunities for practice and performance feedback from peers. Recent studies however, suggest that grouping aggressive children together may reduce intervention effectiveness or even increase risk. The present study…

This study investigated the use of organizational learning community principles to effectively manage organizational change. Target is a pseudonym for a small public school in Southern New Jersey that has provided educational services to students with special needs since 1969. In 2004 Target began providing services to a new population of students…

Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) is a competency-based approach to intervening with adolescents, particularly within the schools, who are experiencing emotional pain, psychological distress, or behavioral disruption in their personal lives. LSCI is used to help classroom teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and other school staff to…

Background: Previous research has reported on the effectiveness of the Signposts program for supporting families of children with an intellectual disability and difficult behaviour (Hudson et al., 2003; Hudson, Cameron, & Matthews, 2008). This paper reports on an investigation of the extent to which child characteristics moderate the…

The 4Rs Program (Reading, Writing, Respect and Resolution) is a "dual focus" whole school universal intervention designed to promote literacy development and social-emotional learning, that is currently being rigorously evaluated using a school-randomized trial of 18 elementary schools (9 intervention, 9 control) in New York City. The…

Many school personnel are becoming increasingly frustrated with the impact of student behavior on their schools. More than ever, the public perception is that student behavior is out of control. Although isolated instances of violence (e.g., school shootings) contribute to this perception, people are most concerned with the lack of discipline and…

Community coalitions (CCs) have labored with some difficulty to demonstrate empirical evidence of effectiveness in preventing a wide range of adolescent problem behaviors. Training and technical assistance (TA) have been identified as important elements in promoting improved functioning of CCs. A reliable, valid, and inexpensive method to assess…

Classroom management strategies designed to improve problem behavior directly affect student achievement. Researchers have demonstrated positive behavior supports (PBS) can reduce problem behavior. However, researchers have also found evidence that PBS may not always be successful and further studies are needed to improve the use of PBS as a…