Thirteen studies were reviewed that were conducted using activity schedules with persons with autism to improve social interaction skills and decrease problem behaviors. Results across studies indicate that activity schedules enhanced social interactions and on-task and transition behaviors. Also, investigators in some studies used activity…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the extent to which the programme for principal preparation in Scotland relates to what is expected of principals once they are in post and what it is that they actually do. Design/methodology/approach: The paper analyses the professional experience of five relatively new elementary school principals reported in…

This paper presents findings from the final two years of a four-year study investigating a manualized social treatment program for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders. The study sought to (1) replicate and expand findings from years one and two; (2) compare outcomes of participants who received response-cost feedback versus…

Clearly, imitation is linked to a variety of skill areas. As a result, children with autism and developmental delays are less likely than their typical peers to perform well in many areas of development, including play and speech. The purpose of this study was to determine if a simple, teacher-friendly strategy could be implemented that would…

This paper describes staff perceptions of the implementation of an alternative curriculum, Skill Force, for disaffected pupils in the UK. The perceptions of Skill Force and school staff were compared based on data from questionnaires completed by 62 Skill Force and 84 school staff, and interviews with representative samples of each. While the data…

States and the federal government have invested in early care and education programs with an explicit goal of improving school readiness for low-income children. These investments, aimed at strengthening the quality of care and supporting families' access to high-quality settings, are based in part on a confluence of research findings showing a…

The impact of a six-week indoor wall climbing on the perceptions of self for children with special needs aged 6-12 years was explored. Participants (n = 46) were randomly assigned to the intervention (girls, n = 4; boys, n = 19) and control groups (girls, n = 5; boys, n = 18). Belayers' and children's perceptions of efficacy were measured using…

The author's training and experience in educational theatre has provided her with examples of the therapeutic power that engagement in dramatic activity can have on individuals and groups. In this article, the author reflects on empowering performance projects with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) teens at the Rainbow Pride Youth…

This article reports on new findings from a forthcoming research review which analyzes 207 studies of school-based programs designed to foster children's social and emotional skills. Roger P. Weissberg, the president of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, or CASEL, the Chicago-based group that sponsored the four-year…

School-wide, selective, and individual positive behavioral supports are critical elements of a comprehensive, tiered model of service delivery. Positive peer reporting (PPR) involves brief, highly structured sessions during which peers are provided the opportunity to praise the behavior of target students. PPR procedures were modified in this…

The acquisition of social communication skills is a major challenge faced by children with autism. This pilot study investigated the effects of the Stronger Families Project, a social-pragmatic intervention, on the communication and symbolic abilities of 16 children aged 2-4 years with autism. Standardized measures of the child's communication and…

A descriptive study using questionnaires was conducted in 2004 to assess the effectiveness of instructional leadership displayed by primary school management teams following the implementation of the Primary School Management Project in Botswana. Leadership skills, Coordination of instructional activities, management of curriculum and quality of…

Early developmental prevention involves interventions designed to prevent the development of criminal potential in individuals, especially those that target risk and protective factors, in the early years of the life course. Developmental prevention is considered one of the major strategies in preventing delinquency and later offending. There is…

This dissertation study investigated the impact of brief teacher consultation on teachers' implementation fidelity, quality of implementation, and student responsiveness during the "Strong Kids" social-emotional learning curriculum. Additional outcome measures included teachers' self-efficacy and teachers' perceptions of social validity of the…

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the Division of Violence Prevention in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated to conduct a rigorous impact evaluation of programs aimed at improving students' behavior. For this evaluation, such programs were termed Social…