Teachers continually seek to find new and innovative ways to create classroom environments conducive to learning to discourage problem behaviors in students. Alternative seating, such as therapy balls and seat cushions, has been widely researched and found to have a positive relationship in decreasing student problem behavior and increasing…

In this demonstration, we implemented the CSS in two self-contained classrooms (Spencer, 2013) to support educators and students with diverse needs. With brief training and targeted feedback, teachers improved their use of evidence-based practices, and student on-task behavior increased. The CSS can be a valuable tool for any setting where…

The Preventing Relational Aggression in Schools Everyday (PRAISE) Program is a school-based program that has shown promise for reducing aggression. PRAISE, 20-session classroom-based universal prevention program, was designed to be appropriate and responsive to the needs of youth within the urban school context. A preliminary trial of PRAISE…

This study evaluated the impact of a school-based program designed to reduce implicit prejudice towards migrants in fifth-grade school children. The program used empathy and perspective taking and direct and indirect contact as strategies to reduce ethnic prejudice. Multiple activities were used, including drawings by migrant children as…

Background: Mental health issues are increasing in higher education and finding ways for students to get help when needed is important. Objective: We tested if the tone of a short syllabus and the presence of a special statement addressing mental health would increase intentions to approach instructors for help. Method: We used a 2 (Tone: warm vs.…

Multi-Sensory Environments (also called sensory or Snoezelen® rooms) are specialised spaces that contain equipment to modify the environment. They are commonly used in special-needs schools with autistic children, but empirical investigation into how to best use Multi-Sensory Environments with autistic children has been limited. Based on…

We report on a novel mental health classroom consultation program that is guided by psychodynamic principles rather than a scripted curriculum or manualized program. Based on each teacher's needs and existing skills, consultants may divide their time among meeting with teachers, directly intervening with students, referring parents for services,…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of a gender-specific intervention targeted to adolescent males to reduce sexual risks. Method: This study used a randomized clinical trial comparing a broad-based male empowerment curriculum with a no-treatment control group. The sample (N = 580) was recruited…

The prevalence of in-school savings programs (ISSPs) for children and youth is widespread, but research on their effectiveness is limited. This study investigates the long-term effects of an ISSP conducted in one U.S. elementary school. Survey data were collected on the financial behaviors of high school students, who participated in or did not…

This research study was to obtain, through the application of a qualitative narrative design of open-ended questions, the perceptions of school administrators regarding the effectiveness of the 2015 modified legislated implementation of House Bill 2398 and Texas Truancy Prevention Measures programs (TTPM). The TTPM policies and procedures are…

Effective use of classroom management practices is critical to creating positive classroom climates supporting students' academic and behavioral outcomes, and teachers in rural areas have a strong need for training in classroom management. One classroom management practice with significant support is behavior-specific praise (BSP). Research shows…

Lifestyle risk behaviours--physical inactivity, poor diet, poor sleep, recreational screen time, and alcohol and tobacco use--collectively known as the "Big 6" emerge during adolescence and significantly contribute to chronic disease development into adulthood. To address this issue, the Health4Life program targeted the Big 6 risk…

The COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures greatly interfered in students' social, emotional, and academic development creating behavioral struggles after returning to school. This concurrent mixed-methods study examined teacher perceptions of student behavioral change and social-emotional learning (SEL) during the return to in-person…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of embedding special interest areas (SIAs) in whole-group (WG) instruction on engagement and out-of-seat (OOS) behaviors for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in general education classrooms. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the functional…

Research indicates that Response to Intervention (RTI) increases student achievement and significantly improves student academic and behavioral outcomes. RTI has demonstrated significant student gains in the elementary setting and research tends to be more heavily centered at the elementary level; however, RTI is expanding to being applied in the…