In order to study the appropriateness of different structured classroom settings for children's learning and development, the Columbia Classroom has constructed IRIS (Involvement Ratings in Settings) and PRIN (the Pupil Role Interview). IRIS, a seven dimensional scale of affectivity by non-verbal indices, has been employed in two classrooms for…

Requests for evaluation instruments measuring program quality rather than program content have required the development of new measuring procedures. Two sets of materials are presented in this report--the first to identify objectives and expected outcomes for school programs and persons in the school, and the second to identify the actual climate…

Assessment has at two purposes--to improve teaching and learning and to promote greater external accountability. Determining an appropriate assessment approach depends on clear knowledge of what is intended, solid research about available instruments and about the experiences of other institutions, and a diagnosis of the local organizational and…

This action research project implemented and evaluated a program for enhancing students' social skills in order to increase their ability to work cooperatively and to resolve conflict. The targeted population consisted of kindergarten students in a lower income urban school, located in a medium-sized Midwestern city. The problem of insufficient…

Autism spectrum disorders, as the name suggests, do not represent a single nor straightforward set of needs to be met. The challenges facing education and other professionals, and the young people whose needs are being addressed, are considerable. The key is to see past the presenting issues, often behavioural in nature, to the communication…

Parents were equally effective in modifying their childrens' negative behaviors regardless of method: individual in-home; individual in-office; or group in-office. Although operations costs favored group delivery, the more comprehensive opportunity and client costs favored individual in-home delivery. (CP)

A study involving five fourth-grade behavior problem children with reading failure was designed to replicate an earlier study which demonstrated positive effects of teacher written praise notes as motivating agents for improved performance. (SBH)

Reports findings from the final year of a tobacco use prevention project for junior and senior high school students. After three years of intervention with junior high students, researchers assessed the relative effectiveness of continued, lapsed, and delayed interventions in high school. In grade 11, continued intervention students had the lowest…

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…

A study examined the effects of a 2-year follow-up prevention program for 31 Head Start kindergarten and first-grade students with behavior problems. Results indicated reduced inappropriate behaviors, including aggression, grabbing, out-of-seat behaviors, and negative verbal statements. Improved compliance and more positive peer interactions were…

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two death education programs by comparing pretest and posttest scores of behavioral intentions and (reported) behavior of EMTs when at the scene of a death. After the interventions, the majority of EMTs intended to change their behavior at the scene of a death when compared to the control…

The primary purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a program designed to improve adolescents' relationships with at least one teacher in an urban high school. All participating students were nominated by teachers as having significant emotional and behavioral problems and approximately half of these youth were randomly…

Small groups of parents experiencing problems in managing the behaviour of young children took part in parenting programmes in a Midlands city in 2001-2002 based on the Webster Stratton Parent-Child Videotape Series. Programmes were evaluated using standardised measures and qualitative data. Most participants who completed the programme (N = 29)…

Mentoring programs have proven to provide benefits to youth and are expanding rapidly in schools. There was concern whether the economic and demographic issues of urban communities and schools would limit success of mentoring programs in urban schools as compared to nonurban. This study focuses on Team-Mates, a statewide, school-based, one-to-one,…

This paper examines two illustrations of teacher-led function-based interventions to explore the extent to which teachers are able to design and implement function-based interventions with limited support from university personnel. Results of these A-B-A-B intervention designs suggest a functional relation between the introduction of the…