This article offers an evaluation of a school-wide program designed to increase the institutional capacity of elementary schools to educate students who exhibit disruptive or externalizing behavior. The project included four elements: school organizational practices, a school-wide classroom management intervention, individual behavioral programs, and an advisory board. Two elementary schools serving large numbers of disadvantaged students were studied over a period of 2 years. Comparisons with two matched elementary schools indicated strong positive effects on the disciplinary actions of the schools and on the teachers' perceptions of their ability to work with children who exhibit disruptive behavior as well as the extent of shared goals among staff for working with disruptive behavior. Additionally, comparisons between target students (i.e., those who exhibited disruptive behavior), and criterion students indicated positive effects on the social adjustment, academic performance, and school survival skills of target students.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allessi, G. (1988). Diagnosis diagnosed: A systemic reaction. Professional School Psychology, 3(2), 145–151.
2.
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base.New York: Basic.
3.
Bullock, L. M., Reilly, T. F., & Donahue, C. A. (1983). School violence and what teachers can do about it. Contemporary Education, 55, 40–44.
4.
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
5.
Carr, E. G., & Durand, V. M. (1985). Reducing behavior problems through functional communication training. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18, 11–126.
6.
Center, D. B., & McKittrick, S. (1987). Disciplinary removal of special education students. Focus on Exceptional Children, 20(2), 1–9.
7.
Colvin, G., Kameenui, E., & Sugai, G. (1994). Reconceptualizing behavior management and school-wide discipline in general education. Education and Treatment of Children, 16, 361–381.
8.
Colvin, G., Sugai, G., & Kameenui, E. (1993). Curriculum for establishing a proactive school-wide discipline plan.Eugene: University of Oregon, Project PREPARE, Division of Learning and Instructional Leadership, College of Education.
9.
Cotton, K. (1990). School improvement series, Close-up #9: School wide and classroom discipline.Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
10.
Doyle, W. (1986). Classroom organization and management. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (pp. 392–431). New York: Macmillan.
11.
Drabman, R. S., & Spitalnik, R. (1973). Social isolation as a punishment procedure: A controlled study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 16, 236–249.
12.
Edgar, E., & Levine, P. (1987). Special education students in transition: Washington state data 1976–1986.Seattle: University of Washington, Experimental Education Unit.
13.
Elam, S. E., Rose, L. C., & Gallup, A. M. (1992). The 24th Annual Gallup/Phi Delta Kappa poll of the public's attitudes toward public schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 74(1), 41–53.
14.
Evans, W. H., & Evans, S. S. (1985). The assessment of school violence. Pointer, 2(1), 18–21.
15.
Card, G. C., & Berry, K. K. (1986). Oppositional children: Taming tyrants. Journal of Child Psychology, 15, 148–158.
16.
Greenbaum, S., & Turner, B. (Eds). (1989). Safe schools overview: NSSC resource paper.Malibu, CA: U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Education, and Pepperdine University.
17.
Gunter, P. L., Denny, R. K., Jack, S. L., Shores, R. E., & Nelson, C. M. (1993). Aversive stimuli in academic interactions between students with serious emotional disturbance and their teachers. Behavioral Disorders, 18, 265–274.
18.
Harris, J. R. (1995). Where is the child's environment?. A group socialization theory of development. Psychological Review, 102(3), 458–489.
19.
Horner, R. H., Day, H. M., Sprague, J. R., O'Brien, M., & Heathfield, L. T. (1991). Interspersed requests: A nonaversive procedure for decreasing aggression and self-injury during instruction. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 24, 265–278.
20.
Horvath, A. O. (1982). Working alliance inventory (revised). Instructional Psychology Research Group, 82(1). Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada: Simon Fraser University.
21.
Hranitz, J. R., & Eddowes, E. A. (1990). Violence: A crisis in homes and schools. Childhood Education, 67, 4–7.
22.
Huesmann, L., Eron, L., Lefkowitz, M., & Walder, L. (1984). Stability of aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120–1134.
23.
Iwata, B. A., Vollmer, T. R., & Zarcone, J. R. (1990). The experimental (functional) analysis of behavior disorders: Methodology, applications, and limitations. In A. C. Repp & N. N. Singh (Eds.), Perspectives on the use of nonaversive and aversive interventions for persons with developmental disabilities (pp. 301–330). Sycamore IL: Sycamore.
24.
Jones, V. (1993). Assessing your classroom and school-wide student management plan. Beyond Behavior, 4(3), 9–12.
25.
Kazdin, A. (1987). Conduct disorders in childhood and adolescence.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
26.
Kerr, M., & Nelson, C. M. (1983). Strategies for managing behavior problems in the classroom.Columbus, OH: Merrill.
27.
Miller, D. E. (1986). The management of misbehavior by seclusion. Residential Treatment of Children and Youth, 4, 63–73.
28.
Naglieri, J. A., LeBuffe, P. A., & Pfeiffer, S. I. (1993). Devereux behavior rating scale-School form.San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corp.
29.
Neel, R., Meadow, N., Levine, P., & Edgar, E. (1988). What happens after special education: A statewide follow-up study of secondary students who have behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 13(3), 209–216.
30.
Nelson, J. (1992). Increasing the capacity of schools to meet the needs of students who exhibit disruptive behavior. Proposal to the U.S. Department of Education from Eastern Washington University, Cheney.
31.
Nelson, J., Colvin, G., & Smith, D. J. (in press). The effects of setting clear limits on the social behaviors of students in the common areas of the schools. Journal for At-Risk Issues.
32.
Nelson, J. R., Johnson, A., & Marchand-Martella, N. (1996). A comparative analysis of the effects of direct instruction, cooperative learning, and independent learning practices on the disruptive behaviors of students with behavior disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 4(1), 53–63.
33.
O'Neill, R., Horner, R., Albin, R., Storey, K., & Sprague, J. (1990). Functional analysis of problem behavior: A practical assessment guide.Sycamore, IL: Sycamore.
34.
Office of Special Education Programs. (1995). Seventeenth annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
35.
Patterson, G. R. (1982). Coercive family process.Eugene, OR: Castalia.
36.
Patterson, G. R., & Forgatch, M. (1987). Parents and adolescents: Living together.Eugene, OR: Castalia.
37.
Pianta, R. C., & Steinberg, M. (1992). Teacher-child relationships and the process of adjusting to school. New Directions for Child Development, 57, 61–80.
38.
Pullis, M. (1992). An analysis of the occupational stress of teachers of the behaviorally disordered: Sources, effects, and strategies for coping. Behavioral Disorders, 17, 191–201.
39.
Robins, L. (1981). Epidemiological approaches to natural history research: Antisocial disorders in children. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 20, 556–580.
40.
Rosen, L. A., O'Leary, S. G., Joyce, S. A., Conway, G., & Pfiffner, L. J. (1984). The importance of prudent negative consequences for maintaining the appropriate behavior of hyperactive students. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12, 581–604.
41.
Rutherford, R. B., & Nelson, C. M. (1995). Management of aggressive and violent behavior in schools. Focus on Exceptional Children, 27(6), 1–16.
42.
Shores, R. E., Jack, S. L., Gunter, P. L., Ellis, D. N., DeBriere, T. J., & Wehby, J. H. (1993). Classroom interactions of children with behavior disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 1, 27–39.
43.
Sprick, R., Sprick, M., & Garrison, M. (1993). Interventions: Collaborative planning for students at risk.Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
44.
Sugai, G., & Colvin, G. (1996). Debriefing: A proactive addition to negative consequences for problem behavior. Manuscript submitted for publication.
45.
Wagner, M., & Shaver, D. (1989). Educational programs and achievements of secondary special education students: Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study.Menlo Park, CA: SRI.
46.
Walker, H. M., Colvin, G., & Ramsey, E. (1995). Antisocial behavior in school: Strategies and best practices.Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
47.
Walker, H. M., & Severson, H. H. (1990). Systematic screening for behavior disorders user's guide and administration manual.Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
