Twenty-nine graduate students training to become speech-language service supervisors were provided with 35 hours of lecture, role-playing, and simulation concerning supervisor/supervisee conferencing skills. Pre/post measures of conferencing skills indicated that the trainees modified their conference behaviors and achieved grade-contingent preset…

A functional analysis of the aggressive behaviors of a 14-year-old boy with moderate mental retardation found that aggression occurred during instruction on difficult tasks. Researchers taught both a high-efficiency/low-effort and a low-efficiency/high-effort response using communication devices. The high-effort response was used regularly, was…

Two studies of three youths (ages 12-14) with severe mental retardation, who used aggression and self-injury to avoid difficult instructional situations, found that simple commands interspersed among more challenging instructional trials were effective at increasing the learners' responsiveness to instructions and decreasing levels of problem…

Examined four British physical educators' teaching behaviors before and after an intervention designed to expand their teaching repertoire by learning how to promote critical thinking in physical education (CT-PE). Analysis of pre- and post-intervention videotapes indicated that all four participants displayed qualitative and quantitative changes…

Evaluated the effects of parent training on mother behavior and the disruptive behavior of eight children. Parent training was conducted within a multiple-baseline design across children. Direct observation, interviews, and standardized rating scales showed improvements in behavior; six-month follow-up demonstrated the stability of changes.…

Assessed improvements in knowledge, skills, and behaviors of peer educators called abuelas (Hispanic grandmothers) and low-income Hispanic mothers of preschoolers following participation in a bilingual nutrition education program based on the Stages of Change. Pretests and posttests of abuelas and mothers indicated that the program increased both…

This article describes positive effects of modifying curricular activities in accordance with the individual interests of three elementary students with disabilities (including autism, mental retardation, and emotional/behavioral disorder). Students exhibited less problem behavior and more on-task responding in the modified activity condition. (DB)

Two experiments, at both elementary and secondary schools, evaluated the utility of a behavior-analytic program to enhance effective leadership behaviors by two school principals. Treatment involved helping principals with classroom observations, goal setting, and providing feedback and praise. Results showed more effective behaviors by both…

Students with learning disabilities tend to hold an external locus of control for success but an internal locus of control for failure. Attribution feedback, combined with particular task strategies, can lead children to persist longer, acquire adaptive attributions, and make greater academic achievement gains. Attribution instruction can be…

Discusses the use of behavioral assessment for both descriptive and program evaluation purposes. Notes the use of behavioral assessment to study coaching behaviors and their effects on young athletes. Operant and cognitive-behavioral interventions have proven effective in both athletic and psychosocial outcomes. Discusses unresolved issues and…

The ability of several process variables to predict therapy outcome was tested with 30 depressed clients who received cognitive therapy with or without medication. Two types of process variables were studied. Client improvement was found to be predicted by two common factors measured: the therapeutic alliance and the client's emotional involvement…

The Safer Choices program, being tested in Texas and California, is a multicomponent program to change behaviors which lead to infection with HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy. Components include a School Health Promotion Council, curriculum and staff development activities, school environment activities implemented by peer…

Examined relations between kindergartners' behavioral orientations and features of kindergartners' subsequent relationship with first-grade teacher. Found that unique associations emerged between early antisocial behavior and less closeness; greater conflict and dependency; and asocial behavior and teacher-child dependency. Prosocial behavior was…

Assessed the impact of school organizational characteristics on outcomes of a teacher health behavior change program. Organizational, dietary, and psychologic data from intervention and control schools indicated that teachers at intervention schools with high organizational climate, organizational health, and job satisfaction reported better…

A survey of 216 special education administrators and school psychologists found that them to be generally supportive of the use of functional behavioral assessment for a range of problem behaviors. However, they were uncertain of whether such assessment would be acceptable for unique low-frequency problem behaviors that lead to suspension and…