Lower levels of parent-child affective flexibility indicate risk for children's problem outcomes. This short-term longitudinal study examined whether maternal depressive symptoms were related to lower levels of dyadic affective flexibility and positive affective content in mother-child problem-solving interactions at age 3.5?years…

Young gifted children perform in the top 10% in assessments of cognitive, social, expressive or other abilities. The study first considers why, and how, cognitively gifted pupils in particular may face enforced underachievement as early as in preschool. A longitudinal multilevel model is developed to represent various types of interaction between…

This longitudinal study of adolescents in the first year of secondary school, examined the relationship between psychological functioning at the beginning of year 7 (mean age 11.25 years) with attainment at the end of year 7 (mean age 11.78 years). Depressive symptoms, school liking and conduct problems predicted lower attainment across time…

This study explored the association between teacher-reported student-teacher relationship quality (closeness and conflict) and demographic factors, school functioning and child mental health in a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted among a national sample of Norwegian school children (N?=?825) in grades 1 to 7. Bivariate analyses and…

Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support (BP-PBS) is a prevention-oriented program created to support students with strategies to combat bullying. BP-PBS supports the idea that all students should have access to positive behavior support to minimize problem behavior at school (Horner, 2011). The goal of this study was to investigate the…

Discursive practices enacted by educators in kindergarten create a blueprint for how the educational trajectories of students with disabilities get constructed. In this two-year ethnographic case study, I critically examine educators' relationships with students considered to present challenging behaviors in one classroom located in a…

This study evaluated the use of classroom-level behavior management strategies that align with School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS). Direct observations of universal classroom management strategies were conducted across 33 elementary classrooms in elementary schools implementing SW-PBIS with high fidelity. Findings…

In a prospective population-based study, mothers and fathers of 1,247 children reported their physical and mental health during pregnancy, after delivery, within the child's first 18 months of life, and at 12 years. Additionally, maternal health clinic nurses rated parents' well-being and perceived need for support. At age 12, child outcomes were…

Noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) is a function-based treatment for problem behavior that has produced robust effects across a variety of response topographies and reinforcement functions among individuals with developmental disabilities. Several narrative reviews have adequately described this literature. The purpose of the present article was to…

Tourette syndrome is a neurodevelopmental disorder believed to be genetic. The most visible symptom is the presence of tics. These involuntary movements or sounds can range from simple (sniffing, throat clearing, blinking) to complex (words or phrases, hopping, body contortions). They may be frequent for a few weeks, then fade away almost…

Schools in Maryland and Connecticut are rethinking suspension policies and practices. They are finding that promoting positive behavior choices rather than punishing the negative is leading to higher graduation rates, especially among students of color. In the 2003-2004 academic year, Baltimore City Public Schools recorded 26,000 suspensions. Six…

Staff members working at alternative schools must use best practices to effectively serve at-risk students and reduce expulsion rates. Expulsion is directly linked to high school dropout rates, with subsequent social costs. Today's alternative schools serve at-risk students who exhibit problematic behaviors, providing them an opportunity to…

The descriptive qualitative case study examined the resources nonpublic school staff members used to manage severe maladaptive behaviors and to facilitate the reintegration of students with severe maladaptive behaviors into public schools. The case study involved the participation of 17 nonpublic school staff members in semi-structured…

Educators face multiple forms of misbehavior in the classroom on a regular basis. Quantitative data in the academic literature indicates that some subgroups, particularly minority students, lower income students and boys, face higher rates of disciplinary actions than their peers. Whether this indicates that those students misbehave more often,…

"The Hard Truth" is a book written for principals and school administrators who want to implement effective change. The topics of the book candidly discuss the problems, people, and issues that get in the way of true school reform; and what building level principals can personally do attain the best possible outcomes.