The life space interview, in which a teacher (or other important member of the child's world) interacts with a student in terms of the student's direct life experience in order to set boundaries and appropriate actions, is an effective technique for structured interaction with adolescents with severe behavior disorders. In order to facilitate the…

Discussed is the application of behavior management techniques to problem behaviors of normal children in the home or school. Examples are given of such techniques as behavioral contracting between child and adult, reduction of undesirable behaviors through withdrawal of reinforcers ("bother sticks" and "temper tickets"), the use of a timer to…

The sixth part of a 10-part series, this report was compiled by the Educational Development Center at Wilkes College. The series deals with various aspects of the treatment of delinquents and is intended as a summary of research findings in each of the areas treated. Each report was prepared by a scholar-practitioner and is presented in a way that…

Two versions of the Disturbing Behavior Checklist (DBC), an indicator of the relative disturbingness of behaviors characteristic of mildly handicapped (emotionally disturbed and learning disabled) students were field tested with 250 and 150 university students, teachers, supervisors, and school psychologists. Both checklists were relatively…

The author discusses the legal and administrative concerns, best professional practices concerns, and political concerns related to the use of physical restraint and time out procedures with seriously behaviorally disordered children. Among the points made are that the courts may consider such approaches to be cruel and unusual; that direct…

The usefulness of an approach to reduce impulsive behavior in 11 institutionalized behavior disordered boys (10 to 16 years old) was investigated. Ss were taught to use five steps to solve cognitive problems. Steps involved task analysis, were modeled by the experimenter followed by reinforcement of verbalization of the rules, and included active…

This paper discusses the importance of environmental factors--namely, classroom seating--to classroom management. A specific incident is discussed, whereby disruptive behavior developed in students because of the spatial separation of their desks from the teacher's desk. Solutions to the seating problem are offered in the text and in figures drawn…

A teacher describes her efforts to deal with an 11-year-old severely emotionally impaired girl in a classroom with other acting out, aggressive students. The girl's behavior problems included breaking, tearing, spitting, swearing, running, and sexual aggression. A positive reinforcedment system was found to be primarily responsible for success in…

Discovery of the underlying dimensions of teachers' observations of discrete, overt problem behaviors, and determination of the extent to which these dimensions of problem behavior are related to other indices of adaptation to school among Anglo-, Negro-, and Mexican-American children are the research objectives. Teacher nomination forms contained…

To date, efforts to educate the disadvantaged child have failed because most teachers and administrators have been unable to transcend the gulf between his culture and their own. Two concepts, however, are basic to any suggestions about educating the disadvantaged. First, it is possible to educate children "by providing a model for emulation and…

The prevailing paradigm for understanding the causes and correction of learning and related behavior problems is seen as over-emphasizing person variables. It is suggested that an interactional model would be more in keeping with contemporary psychological theorizing and available data. Implications of understanding causal determinants in…

The author discusses the ego development of the troubled youngster in the classroom and how teachers can use this knowledge to help him reduce his self defeating and negative attitudes to learning and relating. (LS)

Presented is the final report on the Behavior Recycling Program (BRP) which was designed to return socially maladjusted mentally retarded adolescents to public school classes. It is explained that behavior change data was gathered through a series of questionnaires given to students, teachers, probation officers, and parents. The author suggests…

This paper describes a study which had a twofold purpose. The first was to determine which methods of influence were used by teachers to control pupils who exhibited various types of disruptive misbehavior. The second purpose of this study was to determine why teachers chose those specific methods of control. Influence was considered from the…

The PACE I.D. Center, a Title III, Elementary and Secondary Act, project of the South San Francisco Unified School District, has demonstrated the effectiveness of early intervention techniques focused on the young child and his total environment; school, home, and community. The Dissemination process and a suggested model for implementing the…