A substantial body of research suggests that a combination of social, organizational, and inner factors impact how educators implement and make sense of new policies. The way educators understand policies can influence how they act on them. This study sought to expand this research body into how educators made sense and implemented Michigan's…

This quantitative study sought to determine relationships between third through fifth grade boys' and girls' perceptions of connectedness to their school community and between their behavioral outcomes. This study also sought to determine the effect of students' perceptions and gender on their numbers of discipline referrals incurred. Students'…

The results of this basic qualitative study explored the lived experiences of former students diagnosed with or at-risk for an Emotional Disturbance as they transitioned through the secondary setting. The purpose of this study was to uncover what contributed to within-school transition success in secondary settings for this population.…

School districts across the nation experience student behavior problems resulting in office discipline referrals, suspensions, and time spent away from instruction. This study examined the implementation (with fidelity based on the Tiered Fidelity Instrument) of positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) at the Tier 1 level and the…

Many individuals with autism display behavior that may interfere with the acquisition of new skills within the classroom. Due to the rising rates of autism, it is likely that many teachers will encounter students with autism and behavioral difficulties within their classrooms. Current behavior interventions are typically designed by specialists…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is an approach that can address children's problems in school. However, research has not consistently supported positive effects of RTI. I use the dialectical method to suggest RTI researchers have not adequately focused on children's personal experiences. The effects of persistent, negative experience are observable…

Simmons shares tips and lessons learned, from his first year of teaching, for creating a classroom environment that minimizes off-task or "problem" behaviors and for addressing disruptive behavior in ways that keep it from escalating. Among his suggestions: alternate between being a "lion" and a "lamb," carefully…

Peers are an important influence on college students' substance use and other risky behaviors. Students at a midsize state university in the Midwest (N = 489) completed an online survey assessing their alcohol risk, marijuana risk, engagement in antisocial behaviors, and social network characteristics. Respondent problem behaviors were associated…

Detailed, longitudinal ethnographic approaches that explore how school success and failure evolve as interdependent sociohistorical positions are important for understanding how such processes affect unintended educational inequity in schooling. This study describes how one student comes to inhabit the identity of a disruptive student relative to…

Comprehensive classroom management that promotes positive student behavior is necessary in secondary school. Techniques must be easy for teachers to manage across multiple class periods and be developmentally appropriate for older students. While previous literature has examined elements of classroom management in isolation, this study introduced…

The Good Behavior Game (GBG) is a classroom management intervention whereby students earn points toward a particular criterion to "win" the game. Typically, students know the criterion at the start of the game. However, this approach may cause behavior to deteriorate if, during the game, students believe that they have already won or…

Increasing numbers of children are entering our nation's schools with mental or behavioral health problems. Although many of these children are included in general education programs, teachers report feeling under- or unprepared to manage problematic behaviors. This is not surprising given that reviews of teacher training programs have evidenced…

Inappropriate behaviors are common during hallway transitions. Researchers have successfully reduced hallway transition times using the Timely Transitions Game, which involves applying interdependent group rewards delivered contingent upon a class's transition time. A multiple-baseline design was used to evaluate effects of a modified Timely…

When a student exhibits challenging classroom behaviors that are resistant to traditional classroom management systems, his/her individualized education program (IEP) team conducts a functional behavior assessment (FBA). The FBA process is a series of assessments designed to identify the function of the student's behavior. This is done by…

Background: Risk factors for poor school functioning rarely occur in isolation, but instead are likely to cluster together. As they accumulate, cumulative risk theory (CRT) predicts that the likelihood of negative outcomes increases, often disproportionately. Aims: We build upon and extend previous research by (i) examining two critical aspects of…