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High baseline respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and infant temperament are associated with a child’s ability to self-regulate, but moderators of this association have not been thoroughly examined in the literature. Parents who are more involved might have more opportunities to interact with and soothe their children. The current study examined whether parental involvement moderated the association between infant temperament and baseline RSA with mothers and fathers across early infancy. Participants included families (n = 91) assessed at 4 and 8 months of age. Infant temperamental surgency and parental involvement were measured via parent-report when infants were 4 months old, and infant baseline RSA was measured at 4 and 8 months of age. Results revealed differences in mother versus father predictors of infant baseline RSA. A significant Infant Surgency X Maternal Play interaction was revealed; infants of mothers who were low involvement increased in their baseline RSA as their surgency increased. A significant main effect of father care was found; infants with highly involved fathers had higher baseline RSA. In conclusion, mothers and fathers may differentially influence their infant’s cardiac physiological regulation based on their specific type of involvement.

This study examines predictors of abandonment of evidence-based practices through descriptive analyses of extant state-level training data, fidelity of implementation data, and nationally reported school demographic data across 915 schools in three states implementing school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS). Schools included in this study were tracked for a 5-year period after initial training, yet some elected to abandon SWPBIS at various times during implementation. Results showed that a small proportion of schools in the sample abandoned SWPBIS (7%). Logistic regression analysis identified school locale as the only statistically significant predictor of SWPBIS abandonment with schools located in cities being more likely to abandon. Results are discussed in terms of addressing types of schools at greater risk for abandonment and the importance of state-level training and coaching support.

Scaling of evidence-based practices in education has received extensive discussion but little empirical evaluation. We present here a descriptive summary of the experience from seven states with a history of implementing and scaling School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) over the past decade. Each state has been successful in establishing at least 500 schools using SWPBIS across approximately a third or more of the schools in their state. The implementation elements proposed by Sugai, Horner, and Lewis (2009) and the stages of implementation described by Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, and Wallace (2005) were used within a survey with each element assessed at each stage by the SWPBIS coordinators and policy makers in the seven states. Consistent themes from analysis of the responses were defined and confirmed with the surveyed participants. Results point to four central areas of state “capacity” as being perceived as critical for a state to move SWPBIS to scale (administrative leadership and funding, local training and coaching capacity, behavioral expertise, and local evaluation capacity), and an iterative process in which initial implementation success (100–200 demonstrations) is needed to recruit the political and fiscal support required for larger scaling efforts.

This study investigated key principal leadership skills associated with socially proactive school environments and examined the relationship between School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) implementation and increased evidence of those skills. Findings indicated the following: (a) certified staff members and principals from all schools rated the importance of each of the 31 skills as high; (b) principals in SWPBS schools received significantly higher ratings associated with behavior management effectiveness; and (c) principals from SWPBS and non-PBS schools received relatively equivalent ratings in regard to transformational and managerial skills. SWPBS-certified staff respondents indicated statistically significantly greater rates of job satisfaction than did those in non-PBS schools. Implications for future research are discussed.

The importance of effective instruction on student academic and social achievement has been well documented. Strong classroom management and the use of high rates of opportunities to respond (OTR) have been two advocated classroom practices to positively impact student performance. This article presents an analysis of data collected across 35 general education classrooms in four elementary schools, assessing instructional variables associated with OTR. The relationship among OTR, measures of classroom management, and student work products was analyzed across Title and non-Title schools. Results indicate that teachers in the present study used components of OTR at rates similar to past research, but there were clear differences among Title I and non-Title schools. In addition, as teacher use of key instructional variables increased or decreased, other key variables posited as necessary by the literature often suffered. Implications for future research are discussed for students in high- and low-risk general education classrooms.

The purpose of this review is to present factors that impede and promote successful transition to kindergarten, with a focus on the specific needs of students with problem behavior. The review addresses competencies that teachers report are critical for success in kindergarten, traditional transition practices, and challenges in implementing transition practices. Suggestions are provided to begin to attend to some of the issues affecting successful transition for children with challenging behavior and include an overarching framework to better support transition practices and specific suggestions for appropriate supports. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 765–778, 2005.

Both No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act require educators to use research-validated practices in classrooms. And yet education, special education, and the field of emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) continue to show large gaps in the consistent use of best practices. The authors propose that the research-to-practice gap can be traced to the lack of clear, consistent criteria to determine what are research-based practices and the absence of support structures to assist educators in implementing such practices. A four-phase review process was developed based on current recommendations from the E/BD literature, and a brief review of classroom-based strategies was conducted. Four practices were identified as being research based. The authors discuss each of these practices and call for the field of special education, and E/BD in particular, to develop and adopt a universal set of standards to determine research-based practice and look to school systems to support their use.

School discipline continues to be reported as one of the top concerns of educators and the American public (Elam, Rose, & Gallup, 1996; U.S. Department of Education, 1998). A recent study indicated that general education teachers reported on average that 1 in 5 of their students exhibited disruptive or off-task behavior and 1 in 20 exhibited aggressive behaviors to the point intervention was necessary (Myers & Holland, 2000). Data suggest that students in middle and high schools are even more at risk for encountering serious violence (Heaviside, Rowand, Williams, & Farris, 1998), with an estimated 16% of all high school students in this country involved in one or more physical fights on school property in the course of a year (Lockwood, 1997). Although the majority of students will not experience exceedingly violent or aggressive behavior, the frequency and intensity of these behaviors still disrupts and can overwhelm the process of schooling for all students (Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey, 1995). Teachers and administrators indicate that addressing school discipline issues is one of the single greatest demands on their time, citing that problem behaviors interfere with their ability to educate and are the most common reason for the removal of students from classroom and school settings (Hofmeister & Lubke, 1990; Todd, Horner, & Sugai, 1999;Walker et al., 1995).

Twelve alcoholic Korsakoff patients, their 12 alcoholic controls, and 27 institutionalized schizophrenics and their 19 controls, recalled two stories. The clinical populations recalled approximately half as much as their controls, yet recalled the same parts of the stories as their controls. For both groups the ability to process simple prose does not seem to be severely impaired when what is recalled rather than how much is recalled is measured.