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Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) exhibit challenging behaviors and social skills delays that can interfere with their ability to build relationships. Intervening early (e.g., in elementary school) can prevent short- and long-term consequences of these challenging behaviors. General educators serve as the primary teacher of these students, with some students with EBD spending more than 80% of their school day in the general education setting. In addition, given the amount of time elementary students spend with their general educators, these educators may be able to build a community that can help students establish and maintain positive relationships while engaging equally and actively in classroom activities. The purposes of this study were to (a) explore elementary general educators' perceptions of social inclusion of students with EBD, and (b) identify facilitators of and barriers to social inclusion. We identified four themes: social inclusion, relationships, facilitators, and barriers and needs. Findings indicated that general educators work to socially include students with EBD, but they faced barriers related to collaboration with special educators and needed professional development. Implications include the need for more collaboration between practitioners to promote socially inclusive environments for students with EBD.

Many students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) engage in challenging behavior on a daily basis. Such behaviors can have negative impacts on students, teachers, and families. In an effort to support students with EBD, this article provides general and special education teachers with a five-step process for teaching replacement behaviors. Each step is described in detail to illustrate how it can be applied.

Students who engage in challenging behavior should receive preventive and intervening supports and services in general education settings based on their individual needs. These supports are necessary for students to be successful in school, yet preservice teachers receive limited education and training in both classroom and behavior management. As such, the purposes of this study were to identify the effects of an online behavior management training on newly graduated elementary education teachers immediately after completing their teacher preparation programs and to explore their perceptions regarding the training. A randomized-controlled trial was used, with 39 participants in the intervention group and 44 participants in the waitlist-control group. Results indicated participants in the intervention group showed a statistically significant increase in both knowledge and self-efficacy compared with participants in the waitlist-control group, and insignificant gains in their ability to analyze the use of behavior management strategies. Participants reported feeling the training was highly effective and were eager to implement the strategies with their future students.

Children in early childhood classrooms (i.e., preschool through early elementary) who engage in persistent challenging behaviors often show social-emotional delays and are at risk for grade retention, referral to intervention or special education, and long-term educational and societal consequences. The social-emotional delays children with persistent challenging behaviors have could impact play skills, emotional regulation, and social interactions with peers. These skills impact their ability to function within their classroom environment. However, if the classroom teacher is able to promote a socially inclusive classroom environment that integrates children into the classroom community, ensure equitable and active participation in social activities with typically developing peers, and promote reciprocal and positive relationships with peers and adults, children who engage in persistent challenging behaviors may be more successful in school, and have more positive outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to identify ways to create a socially inclusive environment for children who engage in persistent challenging behaviors and/or who have social-emotional delays or disabilities.

Much of the current literature focuses on how preservice teachers are prepared to support entire classrooms (i.e., classroom management) instead of individual students (i.e., behavior management). Because of this gap in the literature, little is known about how preservice elementary education teachers are prepared to support students who are perceived to engage in challenging behavior in their classrooms. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to explore preservice elementary education teachers' knowledge, experiences, and needs for using behavior management strategies with individual students. Findings indicated preservice teachers had limited knowledge about behavior management strategies and sought further opportunities to support students who they perceived to engage in challenging behavior. Practitioner Points: Preservice teachers associate student behavior with disability and/or home experiences. Participants believed that students who engaged in challenging behavior also had disabilities, experienced trauma at home, or were from a "rough" home.Classroom management strategies are taught in a variety of ways: university coursework, cooperating teachers, university supervisors, and so on. However, preservice teachers did not report learning behavior management strategies during their teacher preparation programs or student teaching placements.When preservice teachers work with individual students with behavioral support needs, they use universal strategies instead of individualized interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]