Background: While there have been several evaluations of programs to help parents manage difficult behaviour of their child with an intellectual disability, little research has focused on the evaluation of such programs when delivered to large populations. Method: The benchmarks recommended by Wiese, Stancliffe, and Hemsley (2005) were used to…

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a universal, school-wide prevention strategy that is currently implemented in over 7,500 schools across the nation to reduce disruptive behavior problems through the application of behavioral, social learning, and organizational behavioral principles. PBIS aims to alter school environments…

This study investigates the validity of the Parent Instruction-Giving Game with Youngsters (PIGGY), a newly developed direct-observation system. The PIGGY is a derivative of the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System II [DPICS-II; Eyberg, S. M., Bessmer, J., Newcomb, K., Edwards, D., Robinson, E. (1994). Manual for the Dyadic Parent-Child…

This paper investigates changes in bullying behaviour among pupils in 72 Norwegian compulsory schools two years after the schools completed an anti-bullying program. A sample of 22 schools received eight lesson plans with material for staff to use to focus on the challenges of anti-bullying during this period of two years. Another sample of 22…

This study was presented at the American Educational Research Association 2012 conference in Vancouver, Canada. The study explored how action research of arts-based teaching (ABT) impacted at-risk students in three urban public schools in southern California, USA. ABT was defined as using arts, music, drama, and dance in teaching other subjects. A…

This study assessed the impact of a youth-targeted multilevel nutrition intervention in Baltimore City. The study used a clustered randomized design in which 7 recreation centers and 21 corner stores received interventions and 7 additional recreation centers served as comparison. The 8-month intervention aimed to increase availability and…

Afterschool programs have continued to grow in sophistication, increase their offerings and improve quality. As the role of afterschool programs has evolved from primarily providing a safe and supervised environment to a resource that provides a host of supports for their students, programs have become valuable partners in helping students reach…

Afterschool programs continue to make advances when it comes to providing students with nutritious foods, keeping them physically fit and promoting health. Such programs have great potential to help prevent obesity and instill lifelong healthy habits, serving more than 10 million children and youth across America, with more than 19 million more…

This three-volume report describes the "SAM (School Administration Manager) process," an approach that about 700 schools around the nation are using to direct more of principals' time and effort to improve teaching and learning in classrooms. Research has shown that a principal's instructional leadership is second only to teaching among…

While access to education may be increasing, equity still eludes the U.S. education system, specifically for low socioeconomic status students. Using both educational and deviance theoretical frames, this study examines the effectiveness of adolescent intervention programs with respect to educational attainment and deviant behaviors. The Education…

Cancer is now the second leading cause of death for Americans, behind heart disease. By current estimates, up to two thirds of cancer diagnoses could be avoided or prevented with behavior changes such as the adoption of healthier lifestyles. One way that individuals learn about cancer is through the news media. Of all of the sources of health…

Problem behavior significantly impedes multiple aspects of quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities, and thus represents a major priority for intervention. Psychotropic medications are commonly administered to treat such behavior; however, these agents are often associated with adverse side effects that may have a negative…

What are the positives and negatives of zero tolerance? What should be considered when examining a school's program? Although there are no definitive definitions of zero tolerance, two commonly used ones are as follows: "Zero tolerance means that a school will automatically and severely punish a student for a variety of infractions" (American Bar…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and No Child Left Behind emphasize the use of scientifically based research to improve outcomes for students. From this emphasis, response-to-intervention has evolved. We present one perspective on the defining features of response-to-intervention and application of those features to school-wide…

It is becoming increasingly common for community teams or coalitions to implement programming for children and families designed to promote positive youth development and prevent adolescent problem behaviors. However, there has been only limited rigorous study of the effectiveness of community teams' programming efforts to produce positive…