This study explored the results of aligning functional behavioral assessment (FBA) information with positive behavior support plans (PBS plans) designed with consideration for teacher acceptability. The independent variable had the three major components of a package, including assessment and planning (FBA), training (teachers, students, and…

How to involve families in the formal education of their children is a question researchers and educators have been trying to answer since the first bricks were laid for the nation's public education system. A solution must be found, for family involvement has been proven to be associated with a myriad of stellar outcomes, including greater…

Scott Hinkley, a career-changer in Indiana and presently a first-year teacher, teams up with one of his teachers, Debbie Rickey, assistant director of the MA in Teaching Program at Earlham College, to illustrate through personal experiences, their teaching program's emphasis on the practical application of passion for pre-service students that…

Today there has been a shift in the organizational structure in our schools (Murphy and Seashore Louis, 1999). These include educational leadership shifts in roles, relationships, and responsibilities; the alteration of traditional patterns of relationships; and the fact that authority tends to be less hierarchical. Senge (1990) believes systems…

Productive, frequent interactions, both teacher-student and student-student, are essential to the online course environment. Instructors are examining ways not only to foster these interactions but also to engage distance students in their local communities through experiential learning opportunities. Experiential education is a general term used…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS), a teacher-rating instrument of interactive play behaviors for early childhood, was valid for urban, low-income children in kindergarten. The PIPPS demonstrated construct validity, and yielded three dimensions of interactive peer play: Play Interaction,…

Children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) typically exhibit a lack of social reciprocity skills. They often struggle to maintain conversations, especially with topics of little or no interest to them, and to create meaningful relationships. By giving compliments to others, children with ASD have a means by which to show…

Autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) are a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. People with autistic spectrum disorders experience difficulties with social interaction, social communication and imagination--known as the "triad of impairments". The mainstream school environment…

This research study compared the efficacy of three treatment methodologies for adolescent males in residential treatment with conduct disorders and/or personality dysfunctions and documented problems with physical and sexual aggression. The results showed that Mode Deactivation Therapy, an advanced form of cognitive behavioral therapy based on…

Positioned in relationship to reform literature calling for small schools "by design" and interpreting data from a case study of a high performing but low-SES district in a Midwestern state, this paper provides a basis for making sense of the apparent divergence in policies governing schooling structures in rural and urban places. Its…

The current study focused on examining the relationships of positive social attitudes with aspects of well-functioning. "Universal-diverse orientation" (UDO), a social attitude characterized by awareness and acceptance of both the similarities and differences among people, was measured with the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity…

The profiles and developmental trajectories of adaptive behavior were cross-sectionally examined in 80 children with Down syndrome ages 1 to 11.5 years using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Profile findings indicated a significant weakness in communication relative to daily living and socialization skills. Within communication itself,…

The authors used qualitative methods to examine a high school summer arts program in the Midwest, and researched how the program promotes the creative and aesthetic development of students and teachers, as well as an appreciation for cultural and environmental diversity and conservation. We argue the program provides a space, both physical and…

Information literacy initiatives provide a vehicle for academic librarians to become agents of positive change. A campus-wide Information Literacy Initiative can improve teaching and learning, and further the mission of the institution. The Instruction Librarian may travel across literal and figurative boundaries. Librarians charged with designing…

In this paper I will discuss intervention in the culture of schools as part of a range of responses to the concerns expressed, the difficulties caused by and the dissatisfaction and unhappiness experienced by pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. I will discuss such intervention at the levels of staff relations and…