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This practicum project addressed the need to improve antisocial behavior in disruptive elementary school children, using a skill deficit perspective. Six student participants were selected on the basis of a high number of school suspensions and their identification as disrespectful, confrontational, and self-absorbed, as well as behaviors that included classroom disruption, defiance toward adults, disregard of school rules, and aggressive confrontations. These students were at risk for academic failure and were placed in an alternative educational setting. The Responsible Initiative for Strengthening Education (RISE) program was designed and implemented to help these students choose socially acceptable behaviors over self-defeating ones. RISE included efforts to strengthen problem-solving techniques, improve social skills, strengthen academic performance, and address specific aspects of difficulty unique to each student. Parent support was also included as a program component. Surveys, behavioral checklists, and pre- and posttests indicated that the majority of students made significant progress in learning to use conflict management techniques; classroom participation became more consistent and academic performance improved. (Contains 21 references.) (EV)

Making students responsible for their own learning in biology is a national issue. The goal of this Master's project was to increase students' responsibility for their own learning in order to increase academic output and decrease the incidence of inappropriate behavior. The targeted population consisted of sophomore high school students in a biology classroom. The high school was located in a stable, urban blue-collar community in northern Illinois. The problems of academic output and inappropriate behavior had been documented by annotated teacher records, student records, and school records. Students also answered surveys designed to determine the causes for the students' lack of responsibility. Analysis of probable cause data revealed that students: (1) lacked intrinsic motivation and interest in science; (2) had low self-esteem; and (3) had possible family dysfunctions. Large class size may have contributed to the problem. A review of solution strategies suggested by knowledgeable others, combined with an analysis of the problem setting, resulted in the selection of the following categories of intervention: use of cooperative learning and employment of the theory of multiple intelligences. Post-intervention data indicated an increase in students' responsibility for their own learning through an increase in academic output and a decrease in the incidents of inappropriate behavior. (Three appendices contain a student classroom discipline record form and two student surveys. Contains 37 references.) (BGC)

Due to the overuse of physical containment within the agency where this practicum study was conducted, an in-service training program was designed and implemented aimed at better preparing staff to de-escalate aggressive behavior. A three hour training session and a conclusive one-and-a-half hour long testing period (involving lecture, role play, video taped situations, and group discussion) were implemented. Staff trainees were observed within this milieu in order to insure that a transfer of learning to the practicum setting had been accomplished. The training increased staff verbal de-escalation skills, behavioral observation skills, and decreased assaultive behavior by eight 6- to 12-year-old girls in a residential treatment facility. Eight appendices include an implementation plan, list of physical restraints, injury log, de-escalation training guide, and a documentation review form. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/TS)

This action research project implemented and evaluated a program to enhance students' prosocial behaviors. The targeted population consisted of students in two second and one third-grade classrooms in a declining urban area of a large midwestern city. The problem of inappropriate behaviors was documented through discipline reports, anecdotal teachers' journals and observations by school personnel. Probable underlying causes included the breakdown of family values due to single-parent homes, high teen pregnancy rates, numerous foster care placements, high student mobility rates, and gang/drug influences. Other possible causes were related to delayed academic skills, large class size, and a lack of school support personnel. Increasing numbers of children with physical, emotional, and mental disabilities were other factors contributing to inappropriate behaviors throughout the school setting. A review of solution strategies as suggested by educational literature and other professional sources resulted in the following intervention: implementation of cooperative learning structures, developing activities which provided opportunities for modeling and practicing pro-social skills, and augmenting and supporting existing conflict resolution programs. Post-intervention data indicated that the implemented social skills program made an impressive behavioral difference in the targeted students. Contains 26 references. (Author/SD)

This research project implemented and evaluated a program in interpersonal skill development designed to increase the use of applied social skills at a middle school located in northeast Illinois. Evidence of inappropriate interpersonal skills was gathered by using observation checklists, teacher and student surveys, and discipline referrals. Analysis of probable causes revealed that students may exhibit inappropriate skills in the classroom setting because of an increase in single parent families, increased TV viewing, and dual-income families. A review of solution strategies suggested by knowledgeable experts, combined with analysis of the problem setting, resulted in three major areas of intervention: strategies to improve conflict resolution skills, positive self-esteem, and problem solving skills. The post-intervention data indicated that students exhibited an increase in their ability to recognize and resolve conflict and were able to communicate more effectively with both their peers and teachers. The data also indicated that the students exhibited higher self-esteem. Subsequently, the project recommended that students be tracked for a minimum of 2 years in order to establish a solid baseline and allow further documentation of behavior; teachers should allow many opportunities to develop positive self-esteem, practice conflict resolution skills, and use good communication skills; and that teachers need to play an active role in providing opportunities for success in each of these areas. Appendixes include the survey instruments, behavior checklist, and three lesson plans. (Author/SD)

Several studies have indicated that children frequently and actively attempt to manipulate adult behavior. Yet children have not been routinely used as behavioral change agents in the classroom. To study the extent to which teachers' evaluations of students' behavior and academic progress could be changed, 67 male high school students participated in a behavior modification training program. All of the students were identified as having behavior or learning problems prior to the training. A post-test evaluation after the 12 sessions showed that students trained in the use of behavior management techniques positively influenced teachers' academic and behavioral assessments of students. The findings suggest that training students in behavior modification techniques represents a viable means by which students can take an active role in determining the quality of their classroom experiences. (Author/JAC)

An innovative therapeutic use of the wilderness environment was explored. A purely recreational outdoor camping program organized in 1971 for economically deprived youths subsequently developed into an outdoor therapeutic program designed for problem youth. The wilderness environment was employed as an effective treatment milieu for helping youths develop responsibility and trust. Cursory evaluation of early programs indicated the therapeutic potential of the wilderness; however, more sophisticated evaluations were needed to substantiate the reported positive outcomes. A therapeutic approach including transactional analysis, assertive training, personal causation and modeling theories was drafted and incorporated into an effective treatment modality of the Wilderness Experience Program to meet the goal of developing an overall emancipated youth. Evaluation of 124 participants in the 1973 program and of 54 participants in the winter 1974 program by two paper and pencil inventories, a self-esteem measure and a behavior rating form, indicated positive results in both programs. A control group, employed in the 1973 program design, showed no consistent improvement on these measures. Furthermore, the results suggested a transfer of the newly acquired problem solving skills learned in the wilderness environment to school and home environments upon termination from the program. The program's success demonstrates the value of an alternative form of therapeutic treatment. (Author/NQ)

Fifteen fifth grade students designated disruptive by their classroom teachers in the State College Area School District of Pennsylvania were divided into three groups and exposed to three weeks of differing lead-up activities followed by a week of residential outdoor education activities at Pennsylvania's Stone Valley Outdoor School. Employing pre- and post-tests, data were collected by classroom teachers, an outside observer, and counselor-teachers via the Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale, the Peterson-Quay Behavior Problem Checklist, and informal taped interviews with the teacher-counselors on the final night of the outdoor school experience. Data were analyzed in terms of total and individual test scores and the lead-up approaches (field experience, media and discussion orientation, and workbook project). Major findings were: the media/discussion oriented group demonstrated significant behavioral improvements re: achievement anxiety, decision making abilities, attention span, relevant characteristics of a person who is not nervous, withdrawn, or inattentive; the field experience group improved in teacher rapport; a resident outdoor school experience could positively influence certain problem behaviors; and the type of lead-up methods used did influence behavioral outcomes. (JC)

The recommendations of the Warnock Committee <1978) and the 1981 Education Act stated that the goals of education were the same for all pupils and they set the scene for all children, irrespective of handicap, to be educated in ordinary schools. The principle of equal opportunities for all pupils, whether or not they have statements of special educational needs, finally achieved statutory recognition in the 1988 Education Reform Act. All pupils now share the same right to a broad, balanced and differentiated curriculum relevant to their needs. However, in spite of the fact that numerous HMI reports state that special schools offer narrow and restricted curricula which may hinder the prospect of reintegration into mainstream schools for their pupils, there is evidence indicating that teachers continue to refer 'maladjusted' or 'difficult to teach' children for assessment with a view to special school placement. This study provides a critical analysis of the processes associated with referral and integration for two groups of children. When the research began, the referred children in mainstream school were likely to be transferred to special school, and the children in special school were already integrating into mainstream.

This study reviews the conventional wisdoms of home and school being the main causal factors of disruption in schools, by researching the views and perceptions of pupils, teachers and parents with regard to disruptive behaviour. The 67 primary and 15 secondary schools of Aberdeen city were selected because they provided a large sample population covering the full socio-economic spectrum. From these schools 1776 P7 and 1303 S2 pupils were surveyed by questionnaire for their perception of themselves, school and home background. The propensity of these pupils for disruption was measured by teacher questionnaire. Separately all schools provided information on their behavioural policies and their view of disruption. Two socially contrasting areas, including 2 secondary and 7 primary schools, were selected for research on the standards of pupil behaviour. From these schools 724 parents of pupils from P1, P7, S1 and S3 were surveyed by questionnaire for their views on parental/school liaison. The exclusion record for all schools was examined and a sample of 10 excluded pupils were surveyed by questionnaire and interview. Exclusion rates and measurement of pupil behaviour showed that disruption had increased during 1983 to 1989 particularly amongst boys. The results from the pupil survey indicated a close relationship between pupil self-esteem and their perception of home, school, themselves and disruption. Significant variations of the standard of pupil behaviour according to their year group were also evident. These extend previous findings by showing the importance of home, school and pupil characteristics in influencing disruption. Thus it is suggested that inter-related multi-causal factors lead to disruption in school. These factors provide a key to the earlier prediction of pupils with a potential for disruption and demonstrate the need for improved parental/school liaison. Finally, recommendations for future research and policy development are summarised.

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is a proactive and preventative approach for teaching appropriate behaviour in the school setting to promote positive academic and social performance. The PBL approach is based on the Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) model from the United States of America (www.pbis.org) and in 2005 was initially introduced to schools in the geographical region of South Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This study investigated parent involvement in PBL in two primary schools in South Western Sydney. Research across many decades has demonstrated that parents have a significant influence on the behaviour, academic performance and school attendance levels of their children (Alvarez-Valdivia et al., 2013; Bowlby, 1951; Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Christenson & Hurley, 1997; Cooper & Crosnoe, 2007; Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Monti, Pomerantz & Roisman, 2014; Vincent & Tomlinson, 1997). Accordingly, the NSW Department of Education (NSW DoE) policies (NSW DET, 1996, 2006(a); NSW Education Act, 1990) and PBL literature (www.pbl.schools.nsw.edu.au) all emphasise the importance of parents, as partners with teachers, in the shared responsibility of educating children. There is a deficiency of implementation guidelines, aligned to Department policies and PBL literature that promote parent involvement in schools. Furthermore, such guidelines may not provide the necessary flexibility to support parent involvement across all schools due to the variability of school systems and contexts. Therefore, the implementation of PBL into Australian schools in the twenty-first century to promote the positive social and academic performance of students, and the knowledge that parents are a significant influence on student performance, it is critical to investigate the role of parents in PBL. Parent participation in PBL could be a factor that contributes to the fidelity of PBL processes and the overall sustainability of the positive behaviour systems. To date, there is a lack of Australian studies that have investigated parent involvement in PBL. Consequently, this study will contribute to Australian and international knowledge about parent involvement in PBL and, more widely, within schools. This study employed a qualitative methodology. The participants were teachers, parents and students from two South Western Sydney primary schools. The students were interviewed in focus group discussions, while the teachers and parents were interviewed according to their preference for an individual or group discussion. A semi-structured interview and the researcher’s reflective listening technique enabled participants to elaborate on particular themes which provided an in-depth understanding of parent involvement in PBL and more widely within the schools. Findings of the analysis showed that teachers believed parents had been involved in PBL implementation, however, the data showed that parents had gained knowledge about PBL vicariously through their children and not as a result of being involved in PBL implementation processes. The nature and extent of parent involvement were further explored more broadly within the two schools. Barriers to parent involvement and stakeholder perspectives to promote and improve parent involvement in general were identified.

Elementary principals are required to perform a variety of duties which include, but are not limited to, administrative and instructional tasks. Intense job accountability for all students to raise the achievement of at-risk third grade students has caused principals to face challenges and to use strategies to increase student achievement. The demands of the job of principal of an elementary Title I school are complex, especially when many of the students in the school are at-risk of failure. The legislative No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 mandates and obligates principals to do their best for all students enrolled in Title I elementary schools especially for those students who are at-risk. This study revealed both challenges of principals in working with third grade at-risk students as well as strategies principals use to raise at-risk third grade student achievement. The researcher explored the challenges that Georgia two elementary principals faced in raising achievement of at-risk third grade students and the strategies that principals use to raise achievement of at-risk third grade students using a qualitative, phenomenological research design. The Phenomenological research design was appropriate for this study because it provided a means for the researcher to explore the lived experiences of two Georgia elementary principals at two Title I schools. The collection of data was obtained through school observations, interviews with two principals, eight teachers, and focus group discussions with parents, and school artifacts. Four common themes and patterns emerged from the qualitative research study in each area of challenges and strategies used. Challenges that principals faced in raising achievement of at-risk third grade students: (1) lack of teacher training to know how to work with some at-risk students, (2) inadequate funding for teaching at-risk third grade students, (3) maintaining smaller class size, (4) lack of time and knowledge to gather and analyze at-risk third grade student achievement data. Strategies that principals use to raise achievement of at-risk third grade students: (1) teacher training for working with at-risk third grade students, (2) programs used to raise achievement of at-risk third grade students, (3) use of effective leadership practices by principals to raise at-risk third grade students achievement, and (4) parent and community involvement in the schools to raise achievement of at-risk third grade students.

The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which fifth-grade teachers, teachers in special education, and child psychiatrists hold similar views regarding the seriousness of commonly observed student behaviors. In addition, the views of these three groups are compared to research regarding which behaviors in children are predictive of future delinquency. The Wickman Scale, consisting of fifty commonly observed children's behaviors, and a fifteen-pair Semantic Differential Scale, designed for use in this study, were administered to a group of fifth-grade teachers, a group of special education teachers, and a group of child psychiatrists.

The purpose of this investigation was to develop a descriptive profile of both adjudicated and nonadjudicated adolescents educated in a juvenile center/school for delinquent and/or maladapted youth in order to (a) disclose the characteristics of the contemporary adolescent delinquent educated in a community based facility with both day and residential components, (b) discern any differences in demographic data, scholastic data, handicapping conditions, and delinquent behaviors among handicapped and nonhandicapped adolescents with delinquent or maladaptive behaviors, and (c) discover the prevalence by types of handicaps exhibited by this population since the implementation of Public Law 94-142. The subjects for the study were 102 adolescents educated in a juvenile center/school during September 1, 1981, through August 31, 1982.

This study examined the relationship among the factors of parental stress, marital adjustment, life event stress, and behavior problems of children and whether the sources and levels of parental stress, marital adjustment, and life event stress differed among families of children with . behavior problems and families whose children did not experience behavior problems. The subjects for this study were 60 mothers and their children from the North Texas metropolitan area chosen from two populations. Group I was composed of mothers of 30 children referred to a university related counseling center for behavior problems. Group II was composed of 30 mothers of children identified as not experiencing difficulty. Each mother completed the Parenting Stress Index (PSI), Short Marital Adjustment Test (SMAT), and Social Readjustment Rating Questionnaire (SRRQ). Hotellings T tests were used to determine whether the groups differed on sources and levels of parenting stress, marital adjustment, and life event stress. The groups differed significantly on the variables of sources and levels of parenting stress but not on marital adjustment or life event stress. The multiple regression technique was used to determine which variable or combination of variables would predict group membership. Parenting stress was found to be the best predictor of group membership. Based on this study, mothers who have a child with behavior problems do have an increased level of parenting stress. This increased level of stress is related to characteristics of their child and to their own personal characteristics. Those mothers who experience increased levels of parenting stress do not experience significantly less satisfaction in their marriages nor do their children experience more stressful life events than other children.

This investigation is concerned with demonstrating the effects of an easily managed classroom contingency-management treatment package on increasing arithmetic performance while decreasing disruptive behavior for whole classes of students. The study proposed, among other things, that programs differ in the degree to which each student must depend upon other students for reinforcement

This thesis examines the perceptions of interpersonal adequacy held by preadolescent behaviour disordered boys through comparisons with perceptions held of them by putative significant others and normative comparison with their peers. The sample, selected according to behavioural status, comprised 70 boys drawn from 22 regular primary schools in south west Sydney, Australia. Thirty five boys, identified as behaviour disordered, were matched with boys whose behaviour was perceived to be appropriate in the school setting. An overview of the results would suggest that the influence of selected putative significant others on the multidimensional self concepts of preadolescent boys is not universal and varies according to behavioural classification

This study of the readjustment of problem children was undertaken as an integral part of the physical education program of the city schools of Gladewater, Texas, to determine if physical education in itself is, or can become, a positive factor in reshaping the lives of such children.

"The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of selected non-symptomatic characteristics collected through the administration of a schedule to 119 cases known to the Child Guidance Clinic of Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, Florida. This study has attempted to ascertain the significant differences between cases classified as schizophrenic reactions and cases classified under "no psychiatric disorder found" with respect to the distribution of these characteristics"--Introduction.