Every principal and teacher in every K-8 school in the country knows that children who struggle with difficult social, emotional, or behavioral issues also have difficulty learning. What educators do not always know is how to help these students. What are best practices in this area, and how can a principal and his or her staff implement them? As…

This article discusses the results from an initial quantitative analysis of survey data collected from the Principals and Behaviour Survey (PABS) conducted in New South Wales, Australia. PABS was built upon a foundation of existing validated studies measuring principals' attitudes to the inclusion of students with disabilities in mainstream…

Three conditions of behavioral disturbances and impaired school performance (learning disability, attentional disorder, and childhood major depression) are suggested as being associated with dysfunction of the right cerebral hemisphere. (Author/PN)

A behavioral intervention program for conduct problem children with both behavioral and academic difficulties in elementary school was evaluated. A standard 20-hour treatment program was provided. Significantly greater behavioral improvement occured for treated than for control children. However, at follow-up, these differences were no longer…

Fifteen fifth grade students designated disruptive by their classroom teachers in the State College Area School District of Pennsylvania were divided into three groups and exposed to three weeks of differing lead-up activities followed by a week of residential outdoor education activities at Pennsylvania's Stone Valley Outdoor School. Employing…

In this study a signalling device and counter were used to provide immediate reinforcement for appropriate behavior. The results suggested the apparatus could be a useful addition to the repertoire of school personnel for the modification of inappropriate classroom behavior. (Author/BW)

Teachers of 2 children (ages 7 and 13) with autism were trained to conduct a descriptive analysis and a classroom experimental analysis of aberrant behavior. Each procedure identified negative reinforcement as a maintaining variable for aberrant behavior. Intervention based on the assessment was successfully implemented with one child and had…

Presents a study of the role of sociocognitive conflict theory in cognitive growth. Analyzes whether five- to seven-year-old student dyads can solve a conservation of length task when presented with contradictory solutions or whether they require the correct answer. Concludes that conflict does not result in appropriate learning. (SG)

Farley's theory of arousal and stimulation-seeking proposes specific educational alternatives for high and low arousal and hyperkinetic children. This study tested the prediction that open classrooms provide children at the lower end of the physiological arousal continuum with enough external stimulation to reduce their overt seeking of…

Black first-and second-grade students (N=40) were given instructions intended to induce possessiveness for both a designated toy and a play area. Each subject then surreptitiously observed an experimental confederate dressed in a clown costume play with either the designated toy or another toy. Results are discussed. (Author)

Five elementary students with severe emotional disturbance participated in a comprehensive functional assessment process designed to yield a useful understanding of their desirable and undesirable behaviors. Individualized hypotheses were developed regarding relationships between classroom events and the occurrence of target behaviors, and…

Critical features of sound observational studies fall under three categories: the sampling framework; the theoretical model; and the statistical procedure. If the methodology for explanatory, rather than descriptive, observational studies can be applied within these categories, more consistent, convincing, useful explanations of educational…

This article reviews various aspects of seven approaches to the treatment of childhood depression--psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive, familial, rational-emotive, multimodal, and drug interventions. Implications for practitioners are considered in terms of target selection, choice of treatment methods, rational evaluation based on developmental…

A functional analysis involving antecedent events was conducted with four students identified as having behavior problems. Off-task behavior was measured while task difficulty and level of adult attention was manipulated during analog sessions. Results revealed higher rates of off-task behavior during difficult tasks and improved behavior when…

A seven-step, behaviorally based, decision-making process was taught to children ages nine to ten years. As compared to a no-treatment control group, children receiving the decision-making training obtained significantly greater scores. (Author)