Attitudes and Behaviour of Children Toward Peers with Disabilities

The theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1988) was used to examine the relationship between the attitudes and behaviour of primary school children towards peers with physical disabilities included in regular education. The participants were 188 primary school children aged 8 to 12 years. Children's attitudes toward peers with disabilities, their behavioural intentions to interact with and befriend such peers, and the amount of control they perceived having over interactional behaviour, were assessed using self-report measures. These variables were used to predict the amount of time children reported spending with their classmates with physical disabilities in the classroom and playground. The results supported the theory of planned behaviour. Children's attitudes and perceived behavioural control were significant predictors of their intentions to interact with a child with physical disabilities. Intentions predicted actual behaviour to a modest extent, while perceived behavioural control was not directly associated with actual behaviour. The implications of these findings for interventions to change the attitudes and behaviours of students toward classmates with disabilities are discussed.     

Behaviour Modification in the Secondary School: issues and outcomes

The dearth of behaviour modification research carried out in secondary school situations is recognised and an emphasis on ‘heavy’ behavioural interventions in both North America and UK research literature is identified. Additionally attention is drawn to a lack of repeated replication studies in single‐case experimental design in general‐‐a shortcoming that reduces the case for claiming generalisability of findings of many research outcomes.

This paper reports the effects on Secondary school classroom on‐task behaviour of a number of ‘light’ behavioural interventions. Six whole class studies are reported. Increase in pupil on‐task behaviour resulted in three cases‐‐though in one situation a return to baseline phase was not attempted. In two further cases inconclusive outcomes resulted and the reasons for this are discussed. In one case initial levels of on‐task behaviour were so high that little room for improvement was possible.

The lack of demonstration of the effect of the interventions on any individual pupil's behaviour is recognised, although positive outcome data for one pupil are reported.

The conclusion is drawn that ‘light’ behavioural strategies can effect change in the behaviour of secondary aged pupils in a positive direction.     

Mind in the Gap: Summary of research exploring 'inner' influences on pro-sustainability learning and behaviour

This article is offered in a spirit of collaboration with other researchers wishing to further understanding of emotional engagement in prompting pro-environmental behaviour change. It describes (1) experiences that have prompted individuals to reduce the environmental impact of their lifestyles through attitudinal and behavioural change, and (2) how these experiences relate to their wider beliefs, meanings and convictions. The research from which these finding are drawn hypothesises that pro-environmental behaviour change is more likely to endure in the long term if it is rooted in, and driven by, significant and meaningful experience--if a person's 'heart is in it'--and, conversely, that if behaviour changes in reaction to regulations, incentives and/or anxiety alone, it is more likely to be 'skin deep', temporary and prone to revert back to old habits. (For more on the theoretical background to this, see Maiteny, 2000b, 2002).     

The Use of Behavioural Self‐management in Primary School Settings: a review

The present paper attempts to review the studies which employed behavioural self‐management technology as a means of improving aspects of children's academic and social behaviour. The review is limited to those studies which involve primary school children attending mainstream schools. Studies are divided into three categories: those where the treated target behaviour(s) is academic, those where it is behavioural, and those which combine academic and behavioural target behaviours or are collections of two or more studies, some of which are academic and some behaviour‐ally oriented. Special attention was given to the problem of the absence of a ‘common’ language underpinning this area of research, which is considered to be one of the reasons that some of the results reported are equivocal. Finally, the orientation of future research in behavioural self‐management is discussed.     

Inclusive education: teachers' intentions and behaviour analysed from the viewpoint of the theory of planned behaviour

The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) claims that behaviour can be predicted by behavioural intention and perceived behavioural control, while behavioural intention is a function of attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. This study aims at providing explanation and prediction of teachers' inclusive education intentions and behaviour under TPB. The main components of TPB were implemented in a survey of 841 teachers from Hong Kong schools in the context of inclusive education. The structural equation modelling results show that TPB fitted the data well (χ²/df?=?2.84; RMSEA?=?0.054; GFI?=?0.92; CFI?=?0.92; and TLI?=?0.91). Identified attributes, including teachers' attitude towards inclusive education, feeling social pressure from important others to carry out inclusive education, and confidence on professional training for involved staff, were found to exert significant predictive power on teachers' intention to implement inclusive education. This intention, together with the confidence on professional training for involved staff, predicts their actual inclusive practice. Teachers' perception of social pressure and adequacy of professional training greatly contribute to predict their intention and behaviour towards inclusive education, respectively. TPB appears to be a sound theoretical framework for understanding teachers' inclusive practice. The results have strong implications for teacher empowerment and professional training in inclusive education.     

The Analysing Children's Creative Thinking framework: development of an observation‐led approach to identifying and analysing young children's creative thinking

Increased international recognition of the value of supporting creative thinking suggests the value of development of approaches to its identification in children. Development of an observation‐led framework, the Analysing Children's Creative Thinking (ACCT) framework, is described, and a case made for the validity of inferring creative thinking in young children from observations of their behaviour in meaningful, everyday contexts. The paper identifies particular aspects of behaviour which may be related to creative thinking, and a copy of the framework shows its organisation into three major behavioural categories of exploration, involvement and enjoyment, and persistence, further subdivided into a total of 10 items. Operational definitions and examples, along with an extract from an analysed observation, illustrate its use. It is suggested that, as well as being a useful research tool, the ACCT framework has the potential to support professional development, with the coded observations providing a contextually‐rich, focussed picture of what children do and say about their experiences, affording individual and shared reflection, discussion and analysis. In an English context, this may be particularly relevant with the advent of a revised Early Years Foundation Stage profile in 2012.     

Behaviour support in secondary schools

Student voice and pupil empowerment projects are common in many mainstream schools. However, such initiatives are more challenging to implement in provision for students experiencing (social), emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). As a consequence, they are less frequently attempted. This article reports one such attempt at an SEBD special school, where a student research group was formed to evaluate the school's behaviour policy. The students' views remind professionals of the need for consistency, positive relationships and communication underpinning behaviour management strategies. The article also reflects on a number of issues to consider when implementing such projects in special education contexts.     

Behavioural self‐control with children and adolescents: a review and critical analysis of educational applications

This paper reviews recent research on the effectiveness behavioural self‐control procedures with children and adolescents. A range of procedural variations relevant to children's problems is discussed, and empirical evidence on the use of self‐control procedures in educational settings is evaluated. Methodological issues are considered, and suggestions for further research and application are made. Although reports on the effectiveness of various techniques have been encouraging, further systematic analysis is required in order to delineate specific variables responsible for behaviour change and to determine limits of applicability with children and adolescents.     

Aggressive Playground Behaviour in Children with Emotional and/or Behavioural Difficulties

This study takes the form of an action research project. The focus is on the aggressive playground behaviour demonstrated by a class of 10 7‐8 year old boys in a special school for children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. An overview of the central issues is presented and potential strategies for behaviour improvement are identified. These strategies are evaluated and the most appropriate are identified for implementation in an attempt to remedy the aggressive playground behaviour. A non‐participant observation procedure is adopted and initial observations on the varying frequencies and levels of individual children's involvement in aggressive incidents are recorded. These findings are then analysed in order to identify the main types of aggressive actions and the children's individual roles within the incidents. The most appropriate strategies are then implemented, after which a second set of recordings of playground behaviour is taken. These show a marked decrease in the frequency of aggressive behaviours. Finally, the main findings are evaluated and a summary of procedures and central issues is offered.     

Teachers’ Attributions of Causality,Control and Responsibility in Respect of Difficult Pupil Behaviour and its Successful Management

It is now almost a quarter of a century since the publication of the first paper demonstrating the effects of a behavioural approach within a British school setting (Ward, 1971). In the intervening period, a succession of papers, mostly in the form of case studies, have extended such work. However, accounts have also frequently drawn attention to the fact that such methods do not always correspond with teachers’ more intuitive approaches to the behaviour of pupils they deem difficult to manage. This paper considers the various attempts that have been made to synthesise behavioural approaches with other theoretical frameworks in order to understand better these recurring problems of implementation within educational settings. One prominent psychological perspective that has been relatively neglected from these considerations is that of attribution theory. This paper reports on an interview study of 24 primary age‐range teachers who had successfully adopted a behavioural approach to a difficult pupil in consultation with an educational psychologist (EP). An analysis is made of these teachers’ attributions for the origins of the pupils’ behaviour and for the improvements that are achieved. The results indicate that different models of attribution are applied by the teachers to the pupils, parents and themselves, suggesting that for sustained and generalisable improvements, EPs may need to take a much more explicit and detailed approach to teachers’ construing of difficult behaviour as well as their actions in response to it.     

Difficult‐to‐manage Students: a survey of children who fail to respond to student discipline strategies in government schools

Previous studies of discipline problems in junior primary and primary schools have indicated that the majority of behaviour management problems both inside and outside classrooms can be attributed to relatively small numbers of children who persist in difficult‐to‐manage behaviour. This study explored particular aspects of these children's behavioural characteristics, as reported from the results of a survey of principals from the majority of junior primary and primary schools in South Australia. The data summarised propose a tentative profile of these difficult‐to‐manage children, together with findings concerning the impact their behaviours have on the school staff. Suggestions are offered for more effectively meeting the demands and needs of these children.     

Providing training in positive behavioural support and physical interventions for parents of children with autism and related behavioural difficulties

Though professionals working with children on the autism spectrum who display challenging behaviour routinely receive training in the use of both positive behavioural support techniques and physical interventions, such training is rarely provided for the parents of these children. This article reports on the impact of training provided for family members associated with eight children aged 7–11 years who were associated with the same special school. Participants were surveyed before and after training, and at a 12‐week follow‐up session. Data were triangulated by interviewing staff providing and supporting the training. The results suggest that attending the training increased parents' confidence in understanding and managing the child's behaviour, and reduced the use of physical interventions. Positive factors associated with parent training are discussed, as well as challenges to its provision, and the cost and potential impact of providing training is compared with other models of support. Limitations of the study and areas for further research are identified.     

Promoting pro‐environmental behaviour: collection of used batteries by secondary school pupils

This research is based on Kollmuss and Agyeman’s mode, and aims to determine if the prerequisites for pro‐environmental behaviour, such as the collection of used batteries at school, are ethical, cognitive and environmental. A questionnaire/opinionnaire was given to 102, 14–17‐year‐olds to gather data on: (1) their current recycling habits, (2) their environmental values, (3) their level of knowledge about the harmful effect of used batteries on the environment, (4) their attitude towards collecting used batteries, (5) their attachment to the neighbourhood, (6) their perceived behavioural control and finally (7) their intention to act. The number of used batteries brought by each school child was recorded over a four‐month period. Results show that young people’s behaviour of collecting used batteries can be predicted by ethical (pro‐environmental values), affective (neighbourhood attachment) and cognitive (perceived behavioural control) variables (R ² = .38; p > .01).     

Behaviour intervention for a student with Tourette's Syndrome: a case study

In an increasingly inclusive and complex setting, professionals in the school workforce working with children presenting social, emotional and behavioural difficulties are managing difficulties that frequently reflect co‐morbidity and multiple‐disorder. This article reports practitioner‐led research taking place in a mainstream school in the USA exploring the behaviour management of a pupil presenting with Tourette's Syndrome (TS). The research takes the form of a case study of a teacher‐led intervention. The research introduced the use of functional behavioural assessment (FBA) and a peer support group as the basis of the intervention. This method was aimed at involving teachers more specifically and broadening practitioners' perspectives on the ‘reasons’ and ‘antecedents’ for behaviours being presented. An outcome of the research was the blended use of an FBA and a peer support group process to increase the interaction skills of a student with TS and supported inclusive education for the student.     

Adaptability,engagement and academic achievement at university

University entry is a time of great change for students. The extent to which students are able to effectively navigate such change likely has an impact on their success in university. In the current study, we examined this by way of adaptability, the extent to which students’ adaptability is associated with their behavioural engagement at university, and the extent to which both are associated with subsequent academic achievement. A conceptual model reflecting this pattern of predicted relations was developed and tested using structural equation modelling. First-year undergraduate students (N = 186) were surveyed for their adaptability and behavioural engagement at the beginning of their first year. Following this, students’ academic achievement was obtained from university records at the end of Semester 1 and 2 of first-year university. Findings showed that adaptability was associated with greater positive behavioural engagement (persistence, planning, and task management) and lower negative behavioural engagement (disengagement and self-handicapping). Moreover, negative behavioural engagement was found to inversely predict academic achievement in Semester 1, which predicted academic achievement in Semester 2. The educational implications of the findings are discussed.     

Child Learning and Development in Context: strategies for analysing behaviour‐environment interactions and a proposal for research into everyday experiences

Abstract Applied behaviour analysis research has helped focus attention on environmental events as determinants of behaviour. This research, however, has mostly been concerned with one or two proximal events at a time and these related to only one or two human responses. The present paper suggests the need for a more detailed study of behaviour‐environment interactions and of interdependencies within behavioural repertoires. Ethological and ecological concepts and research provide examples of complex models of behaviour‐environment interaction. Some implications of these approaches are suggested. Systems theory is examined as a paradigm for interpreting dynamic interrelationships and as a model for the complexities of learning and adaptation. Limitations of experimental research for understanding child learning and development are suggested and a case made for non‐interventive studies of individual child experiences in natural, everyday settings of home, school and community.     

Environmental Education for Behaviour Change: Which actions should be targeted?

One aim of environmental education is to enable people to make informed decisions about their environmental behaviour; this is particularly significant with environmental problems that are believed to be both major and imminent, such as climate change resulting from global warming. Previous research suggests no strong link between a person's general environmental attitudes and knowledge, and his or her willingness to undertake pro-environmental actions, so this study focuses on some specific issues. Using survey methods to produce quantitative data about students' beliefs concerning the usefulness of specific actions and their willingness to adopt them, novel indices have been constructed that indicate the potential of education to increase students' willingness to undertake those actions. The findings imply that altering a student's belief about certain issues will have little effect on their willingness to act. This can be because most students, even those with only a weak belief in the efficacy, are prepared to take action anyway. Conversely, it can be because a majority, including those convinced about the efficacy, are not prepared to take action. Education about such actions, where there is only a weak link between believed effectiveness and willingness to act, may be ineffective in terms of changing practice, because other factors such as social norms and situational influences dominate. For such actions other strategies may be required. For another set of actions, however, the benefits of education in changing practice seemed more positive; increasing recycling, reducing the use of artificial fertilisers and planting more trees are examples.     

Self‐recording as a Means of Improving Classroom Behaviour in the Secondary School

Two experiments are reported in which children's study behaviour was manipulated systematically within a behavioural paradigm. Both studies were carried out in the remedial department of a large, modern Secondary school in England by a woman teacher. The first involved an individual, a boy whose study behaviour was controlled using self‐recording in a reversal design. On‐task behaviour increased whilst maladaptive responses were reduced and there was a pronounced improvement in the boy's attitude to school work. The second study was a group intervention employing self‐recording which was again successful in improving the on‐task behaviour rate. At the same time it proved possible to gain measures which show clear evidence of improvement in both the quality and quantity of written work produced by the group. In both studies there was some evidence of generalisation of effects.