Parent-teacher conferences offer an opportunity to cooperatively prevent and solve learning and behavior problems. The phases of a parent-teacher conference include: preconference phase (notification, preparation, agenda planning, and arranging environments); conference phase, which utilizes a problem-solving approach; and postconference phase,…

Examined uses and concurrent relations of Teacher's Self-Control Rating Scale (TSCRS) and The Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment (Walker-McConnell Scale) through analysis of classroom teachers' referral of students (N=92) with academic problems. Found moderate to high levels of concurrent validity and significant…

Twenty-four parents of hearing-impaired children (aged 2-12) participated in a self-instructional program to reduce stress. Participating parents reported no significant decreases in stress levels relative to control subjects (n=26). Parents' perceptions of child misbehavior revealed that the incidence of child misbehavior decreased for…

Investigated behavioral adjustment of 61 children (ages 4-16) during terminal illness and first year following sibling's death from cancer. Collected data from parents and teachers using Child Behavior Checklist. Results indicated that bereaved siblings demonstrated significantly higher levels of behavior problems and significantly lower social…

Describes a fourth-grade student who had been in detention hundreds of times but who was attentive and well-behaved during tutoring sessions in reading. Argues that nothing is wrong with school rules, only with their consequences--detentions and suspensions isolate the student. (RS)

Many learning-disabled students experience social skill problems which call for training to promote success in school, work, and social settings. Social skill problems fall into three categories: skill deficits, performance deficits, and behavioral excesses. Interventions generally focus on increasing the individual's repertoire of skills, using…

The study of staff acceptability of behavioral interventions for self injurious behavior (SIB) in persons with severe/profound mental retardation indicated that: accelerative interventions were more acceptable than reductive treatments; acceptability of treatments varied as a function of SIB severity; and client status and type of work setting did…

An alternating treatments design was used to compare gentle teaching, visual screening, and a task-training condition in the reduction of high-level stereotypy of three persons (aged 7, 21, and 28) with mental retardation. Visual screening produced the greatest and most consistent decrease, while gentle teaching was found to have limited…

On a peer sociometric measure, 101 learning-disabled and 156 low-achieving students received lower ratings than 608 normally achieving students. Parent/teacher behavior ratings for 77 of the learning-disabled and low-achieving students found that children rejected in peer sociometric ratings exhibited lower social competence and more behavior…

A conceptual framework is presented as a guide to defining starting points for primary prevention of behavioral and emotional disorders. Selected approaches reflecting these concepts are reviewed, and implementation considerations within the school setting are discussed. (SLD)

Described is the adaptation to the educational setting of a family therapy-based systems approach to communications, intended to improve classroom atmospheres of both beginning and experienced teachers who were experiencing difficulty in creating and maintaining a good working atmosphere. (CB)

Data collected in 1972 found single common factor accounting for positive correlations among various adolescent problem behaviors, including problem drinking, marijuana use, delinquent-type behavior, and precocious sexual intercourse. Conducted maximum-likelihood factor analyses in 1985 on new samples of high school juniors and seniors. Replicated…

The study evaluated the indirect effects on stereotypic behavior frequency of several fixed-interval reinforcement schedules on behaviors of three profoundly retarded adults. Stereotypic behavior increased in direct relation to the interval length suggesting such behaviors may be partially controlled by reinforcement frequency for adaptive…

Chronically disruptive students are often funneled into "watered-down" alternative schools that warehouse rather than educate them. The Atlantic County (New Jersey) Alternative High School is a successful college-based program that expects referred students to fulfill normal academic requirements while taking tuition-free college…

Violence against children is increasing; so is random student violence and disruptive behavior in classrooms. Instead of fortifying their gates, schools must teach children alternatives to violence and how to make better choices. A "humane highway" can be constructed by reducing cynicism, welcoming all students, replacing reward- and…