Middle school teachers frequently struggle with positively managing student behavior. However, praise-to-reprimand ratios (PRRs) have received little research attention. PRRs studied in elementary school have been positively associated with improvements in on-task and prosocial behavior, but limited research has been conducted on optimal PRRs in…

Students placed in special education programs for emotional and behavioral disorders with emotional disturbance (ED) identification have academic outcomes that lag both students in regular and special education. This issue is especially important for youth attending urban schools. Although prior research has examined students identified as ED,…

Middle school teachers frequently struggle with positively managing student behavior. However, praise-to-reprimands ratios (PRRs) have received little research attention. PRRs studied in elementary school have been associated positively with improvements in on-task and prosocial behavior, but limited research has been conducted on optimal PRRs in…

Most teachers can quickly name at least one student they clearly remember as challenging their classroom management skills. Most likely, the memory conjures up recollections of inappropriate outbursts, defiant remarks, enticing other students into negative interactions, and even physically harmful or injurious behaviors. These behaviors are…

Students identified with or at risk for Emotional/Behavioral Disabilities (EBD) are being included in the general education classroom with teachers who have little training or exposure to characteristics of and interventions for students with EBD. In this study, we used a simple professional development intervention to train teachers to better use…