We consider an emerging challenge in special education that involves the interplay between an emphasis on evidence-based practices (EBPs) and the need to provide individualized intensive interventions for students with significant emotional and behavioral problems. With the use of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), teachers are expected to…

This essay provides a broad overview of adverse childhood experiences and their impact on the middle level learner. The author finds points of intersection between current research on traumatized students and tenets of the middle level philosophy to make the argument for trauma informed practices that holistically serve young adolescents.

Education is usually considered a force for good, associated with hope and optimism about better individual and social futures. Yet a case can be made that education and education policy in recent decades, far from being a force for good, has had nefarious effects at multiple levels. This can be seen in the growing alienation of significant…

Objective: This narrative review aimed to draw on the literature regarding school interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder and exposed to trauma. Method: However, because of the paucity of literature in this area, the intention of this review was also to explore possible intersections between trauma-informed school practices and…

In recent years restorative practice in schools has been heralded as a new paradigm for thinking about student behaviour. Its premise is to provide solutions to indiscipline, to restore relationships where there has been conflict or harm, and to give pupils a language with which to understand wrongdoing. This article offers a critique of…

"Positive handling" has become a popular intervention within education and other services in England in the management of behaviours that challenge. This paper uses a vignette of an observation of the handling of children with autism as a starting point for consideration of whether this practice can ever really be experienced as positive…

While functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) are currently federally mandated requirements, public schools have not been provided clear federal guidance concerning what constitutes an acceptable FBA through Individuals With Disabilities Education Act or related regulations. The purpose of this article is to examine recent rulings regarding FBAs…

Schools implement Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) as a way of meeting students' needs in classrooms. PBIS focuses on tiered instruction. Tiered instruction is a teaching strategy in which the educator implements incremental changes that increase supports based on students' needs--academic or behavioral. Yet, tiered instruction…

This publication is part of the "Leading by Exemplar" project, a multi-year study conducted by Bellwether Education Partners. In this project, every aspect of the Head Start exemplars' program design and practice was closely examined in an effort to understand each program's "secret sauce." Leading by Exemplar has three goals:…

School communities in both urban and rural settings need trauma-informed (TI) supports; however, the adversities experienced and access to student supports may be unique to rural school communities. In addition, the contextual challenges experienced by rural schools and communities, as well as the strengths that can be drawn from them, will…

Three encouraging trends in special education are greater focus on instruction, emphasis on positive approaches to problem behavior, and greater reliance on scientific evidence. Next steps involving instruction should include research on modifications of instruction needed to accommodate learners with disabilities and on the place in which these…

Traditionally, the field of resilience research, especially as it relates to children and youth, has been well ensconced in the discipline of psychology. Sociologists, when they do engage with the concept, tend to do so at the level of the community. In recent years, an increasing number of scholars have called for a construction of resilience and…

Latino students are the largest growing minority group in the U.S. school system. However, there are critical barriers that impeded the development of sustained academic success for this particular population. Latino students have been found to be over-represented in the delivery of disciplinary actions and in the identification of disabilities in…

Shame, shame management and reintegrative shaming feature in some restorative justice literature, and may have implications for schools. Restorative justice in schools is effective when perpetrators of wrong-doing can accept and take ownership of their wrongful acts, are appropriately remorseful, and seek to make amends. Shame may be understood as…

Legislation and contemporary social policies that favor inclusion and academic accommodations have contributed to a rise in the enrollment of students with disabilities, including students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), on postsecondary campuses today. However, the literature is scarce about how instructors can routinely address the needs of…