Ethical issues of behavior modification research in schools

Behavior modification research in the classroom was examined by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects because of the increasingly widespread use of behavioral procedures in the schools, the effectiveness of these procedures in changing academic and social behavior, and the consequent concern about potential misuse. In order to foster the responsible use of behavior modification procedures in the schools on a practical as well as a research basis, the following ethical issues being considered by researchers and the involved public are discussed: informed consent, determination of classroom goals, legitimacy of rewards and aversive controls in the classroom, conceptions of behavior modification as manipulative and mechanistic, who can implement the procedures, research design, and accountability. The authors conclude that the issues regarding protection of human subjects in behavior modification research are no different from other treatment-oriented research with children. However, the high degree of parental and teacher involvement in both research and practice requires shared responsibility for the prevention of misuse of behavior modification procedures.     

Classroom behavioral interventions: Do teachers consider the function of the behavior?

Teachers and school psychologists are often involved in designing classroom behavioral interventions. Functional behavioral assessment, mandated under certain circumstances by IDEA (1997), is considered a best practices approach in designing behavioral interventions. A functional assessment can result in an intervention tailored to a specific student's needs. The purpose of this study was to determine whether teachers considered the function of a behavior when determining a classroom intervention. A sample of 209 Kentucky teachers were given scenarios of students exhibiting problematic behaviors. Information was provided so that the function of the behavior was apparent. The results found that few teachers considered the behavioral function when deciding upon an intervention. Few differences were found between regular and special education teachers. Implications for school psychologists are discussed. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Teacher stress interventions: A systematic review

Due to the increased pressure from test‐based accountability practices, teachers have reported high levels of stress and burnout. High teacher stress has an impact on school outcomes, including links to absenteeism, burnout, school climate, and teacher behavior management. Teacher stress interventions may be an important first step toward reducing these negative outcomes. Although there have been several recent intervention studies in the domain of teacher stress, there has been no systematic review to compare the type and effectiveness of teacher stress interventions. Included within this review are interventions from a variety of modalities such as knowledge‐based, behavioral, cognitive‐behavioral, and mindfulness approaches. Results indicated that the most effective interventions were in the mindfulness, behavioral, and cognitive‐behavioral domains. Interventions which delivered solely informational content were among the least effective.     

Introduction: Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Special Education

A critical issue facing the field of education is the need to improve teachers' preparation to effectively manage student behavior in the classroom. Many pre- and in-service teachers receive exposure to evidence-based behavioral interventions, such as schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports, during teacher preparation programs; however, face-to-face instructional time is always at a premium given the range of learning experiences that must be acquired prior to licensure. Consequently, many educators begin their careers without strong classroom management skills, which has many unfortunate consequences, including the decision for some to leave the field within the first three to five years. In this study, we evaluated content acquisition podcasts based on validated instructional design principles. We focused on determining the extent to which preservice teachers could learn core information related to schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports using a short multimedia vignette compared to students who learned content using traditional methods (e.g., reading and note taking). Results show students who learned by watching content acquisition podcasts significantly outperformed students who had unlimited time to read a chapter on SW-PBIS and had access to other learning materials on a test of knowledge related to schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports. Implications for practice and future research are presented.     

Behavior problems in the classroom: A national survey of inter ventions used by classroom teachers

Research has investigated different variables involved in the implementation of behavioral interventions in the classroom. Results suggest that different factors such as acceptability of the intervention, psychologist-related variables, teachers' preferences, variables involving the intervention itself, and children's intervention preferences affect the implementation of behavioral interventions. However, no research has investigated the types of interventions teachers actually use in the classroom for behavior problems. This study surveyed a national stratified random sample of 228 regular and special education teachers. A questionnaire that had been previously developed by the researchers was utilized to ask what methods were used by the teachers to remediate behavior problems in their classrooms. Data were analyzed to determine types of interventions used and relationships to gender, degree, type of school (elementary, middle, or high school), grade taught, type of class (regular or special education), and region. Implications for school psychologists are discussed.     

Racial and emotional factors predicting teachers' perceptions of classroom behavioral maladjustment for urban African American male youth

The present study investigated the predictive influence of students' reactive emotional coping and racial socialization experiences on teachers' perceptions of classroom behavior adjustment problems. Participants were 148 African American male youth attending a secondary school in a large northeastern city. Behavioral outcomes included teacher ratings of student behavioral overactivity in different classroom situations. Results using hierarchical regression analyses show that measures of social rejection sensitivity, anger expression, and racial socialization predict teacher‐observed behavioral overactivity, with overt anger expression being the most powerful predictor. Findings suggest that racial socialization and particular styles of emotional coping are important determinants for teachers' impressions of classroom behavior for some African American adolescent males. Implications for future research and interventions with African American male youth in urban secondary schools are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Some legal considerations and implications for the use of behavior modification in the schools

Legal considerations and implications for the utilization of behavior modification in the schools are presented. A limited number of applicable judicial proceedings and accompanying legal principles are explored. Special attention is focused on the derivation of disciplinary authority, the procedural and substantive rights of students, and the possible implications for several specific behavioral interventions within the classroom setting.     

An Approach to Facilitative Teaching through Literature

Dealing with student behavior is often cited as one of the most frustrating aspects of teaching, yet many classroom teachers receive no pre-service training in the basics of behavior management. This article describes the process of implementing a quick behavioral analysis for the purpose of designing a basic intervention. It will provide general education teachers with the means to choose the appropriate interventions when behavioral problems occur in their classrooms.     

A comparison of the mystery motivator and the Get 'Em On Task interventions for off‐task behaviors

Attending to instruction is a critical behavior for academic success. Many elementary school teachers, however, identify disruptive and inattentive classroom behaviors as key barriers to students' successful educational performance. This study examined the impact of two class‐wide positive behavior support programs. The Mystery Motivator and Get 'Em On Task interventions were implemented in an alternating treatments design with fifth grade participants to decrease off‐task behaviors. Results indicated that both interventions effectively decreased off‐task behavior at the class‐wide level. Implications and suggestions for future research on evidence‐based behavioral interventions are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Longitudinal research on the behavioral characteristics of children with learning disabilities

This paper summarizes a program of research on the behavioral characteristics of children with learning disabilities (LD) compared to average achievers. Longitudinal studies over a 3-year period beginning in the first and second grades showed that children with LD, as a heterogeneous group, displayed a persistent pattern of maladaptive classroom behavior that distinguished them from average achieving peers and that was associated with continued underachievement over time. Subsequently, children with LD in the longitudinal sample were clustered into seven different subtypes that represented attention problems, conduct and classroom management problems, withdrawn-dependent behavior, and normal behavior. Although no differences in achievement were found initially between behavioral subtypes, children in the attention and conduct problem subtypes had poorer academic outcomes 3 years later compared to those in the withdrawn subtype and those who had no significant behavior problems. The collective findings from this research are discussed in terms of the developmental relationship between learning disabilities, attention disorders, and social/emotional problems, and implications are drawn for a greater focus on behavioral interventions in special education and prevention efforts in the early grades.     

Behavioral features of the mentally retarded adolescent; Implications for mainstream educators

The present paper presents current psychological and educational literature associated with the behavioral characteristics of the mentally retarded adolescent. Empirical constructs including adaptive behavior, motivation, reinforcer effectiveness, locus of control, and social discrimination skills of the mentally retarded are discussed. Current literature is translated into practical strategies for working effectively with the mentally retarded adolescent in the secondary classroom.     

Implementing Conjoint Behavioral Consultation for African American Children from a Low-SES,Urban Setting

This study investigated the effectiveness of conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) for addressing externalizing behavior concerns in African American children at home and school in a low-socioeconomic status (SES), urban setting. A small-n, multiple-baseline design was employed across participants. Three of the six caregivers were unable to follow through with the consultation process, constituting a 50% completion rate. The three remaining caregivers implemented the empirically supported interventions with moderate integrity. Caregiver and teacher ratings showed that the procedural acceptability of CBC was high throughout the consultation process. The classroom teachers consistently found the behavioral interventions highly acceptable; however, the caregivers' perceptions of the interventions initially were less favorable and improved as the interventions progressed. Clinically significant gains were observed across settings for all children. Consultants should be prepared to modify consultation and intervention procedures to enhance social validity, integrity, and effectiveness with caregivers of low-SES.     

The Effect of Ignoring Classroom‐Level Variance in Estimating the Generalizability of School Mean Scores

Contemporary educational accountability systems, including state‐level systems prescribed under No Child Left Behind as well as those envisioned under the “Race to the Top” comprehensive assessment competition, rely on school‐level summaries of student test scores. The precision of these score summaries is almost always evaluated using models that ignore the classroom‐level clustering of students within schools. This paper reports balanced and unbalanced generalizability analyses investigating the consequences of ignoring variation at the level of classrooms within schools when analyzing the reliability of such school‐level accountability measures. Results show that the reliability of school means cannot be determined accurately when classroom‐level effects are ignored. Failure to take between‐classroom variance into account biases generalizability (G) coefficient estimates downward and standard errors (SEs) upward if classroom‐level effects are regarded as fixed, and biases G‐coefficient estimates upward and SEs downward if they are regarded as random. These biases become more severe as the difference between the school‐level intraclass correlation (ICC) and the class‐level ICC increases. School‐accountability systems should be designed so that classroom (or teacher) level variation can be taken into consideration when quantifying the precision of school rankings, and statistical models for school mean score reliability should incorporate this information.     

Teacher attributions for children's attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder behaviors predict experiences with children and with classroom behavioral management in a summer program practicum

Elementary school teachers often implement classroom behavioral management systems to address student misbehavior. Common problems targeted by these systems are the inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive behaviors characteristic of attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study examined teachers' attributions for why children display ADHD behaviors, and how such attributions affect their experiences with children in the context of interventions to manage these behaviors. Participants were 32 preservice teachers undertaking a practicum in a summer program for 137 children (Grades 1–3), some of whom had ADHD. Teachers were trained to implement classroom‐wide behavioral management. Teachers' attributions for children's ADHD behaviors were assessed using a vignette measure, before teachers had met their students or begun training on intervention techniques. When controlling for attributions regarding oppositional behavior, teachers' initial attributions for ADHD behaviors as less internal/controllable predicted children reporting more positive relationships with that teacher during the summer program. Teachers' initial attributions for ADHD behaviors as less stable predicted teachers' greater satisfaction with the intervention techniques during the summer program and their greater attunement to children's social networks. Cognitions about the causes of children's ADHD behaviors held by preservice teachers may relate to their subsequent experiences with children in the context of implementing classroom behavioral management.     

Labeling,Affect, and Teachers' Hypothetical Approaches to Conflict Resolution: An Exploratory Study

The current study investigated how teachers would intervene in hypothetical conflicts experienced by students in the classroom and how informal labeling of students and affect relate to teachers' hypothetical interventions. Thirty-one teachers from various early childhood learning centers were recruited for participation. Teachers were presented with 3 hypothetical situations depicting children involved in peer conflicts. They were asked to rate the child who had initiated the conflict according to lists of positive and negative characteristics, as well as to rate how much positive and negative affect was elicited from the situation. Next, teachers recorded how they would intervene in each conflict, with responses coded as either mediation or cessation. Results suggested that teachers tended to use more cessation than mediation in dealing with classroom conflict and that interventions varied depending on the described behavioral background of the child presented. Labeling and affect also varied among the 3 different child characterizations of easy, difficult, and ambiguous. Findings lend support to a relationship between both labeling and affect with teachers' negotiation interventions. Understanding the implications of this study in the context of its limitations is highlighted.     

Documenting support needs and adjustment gaps for students with disabilities: teacher practices in Australian classrooms and on national tests

Accommodations or adjustments for students with disabilities (SWDs) who need them are required in Australian education law and policy for classroom instruction and assessment, and external educational accountability tests. Drawing upon the structure of the Assessment Accommodations Checklist and more than a decade of accessibility research, the Checklist of Learning and Assessment Adjustments for Students (CLAAS) was developed to help teachers select and document adjustments that support SWDs and students with additional needs in classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests. The CLAAS was trialled with 21 primary school teachers documenting adjustments for 89 students with diverse needs. Teachers indicated that the CLAAS provided a comprehensive list of adjustments, was useful for recording adjustments across classroom instruction and assessment, and external tests, and provided guidance about potential adjustments for SWDs or with additional learning needs. The documented adjustments also indicated some considerable gaps between supports provided in classrooms compared with the Australian educational accountability tests. Findings also provided initial evidence for the reliability and validity of use of the CLAAS for its intended purposes. The CLAAS is a promising tool for helping both researchers and teachers systematically document and provide equitable and inclusive adjustments for SWDs and additional learning needs given their needs for classroom learning, assessment and external testing and examination requirements.     

Temperament and Language Skills as Predictors of Teacher-Child Relationship Quality in Preschool

Current educational policy emphasizes "school readiness" of young children with a premium placed on preschool interventions that facilitate academic and social readiness for children who have had limited learning experiences prior to kindergarten (Rouse, Brooks-Gunn, &; McLanahan, 2005). The teacher–child relationship is viewed as a critical mechanism for the effectiveness of interventions (Girolametto, Weitzman, &; Greenberg, 2003; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, 2003). The purpose of this study was to determine how children's temperament and language skills predict teacher–child relationship quality. The sample consisted of 99 at-risk preschool students. Three findings emerged: (a) bolder children with lower language complexity were more likely to have higher levels of conflict in their relationships with teachers, (b) shyer children with greater language complexity were more likely to have dependent relationships with their teachers, and (c) teacher effects accounted for more of the variance in conflictual and dependent teacher-child relationships compared to children's behavioral inhibition and language complexity. This study shows that teacher-child relationships are multirelational. Individual differences in temperament and language skills affect teacher-child interactions, and ultimately, contribute to the effectiveness of classroom interventions. Such information helps to unpack the complexities of classroom quality by increasing awareness among practitioners of factors contributing to positive teacher–child relationships.