Classroom and Behavioral Management of Students Who Are At-Risk

Format

Individual Presentation

Presenters

Edward J. Sabornie, NC State UniversityFollow

First Presenter's Institution

NC State University

Second Presenter's Institution

NA

Third Presenter's Institution

NA

Fourth Presenter's Institution

NA

Fifth Presenter's Institution

NA

Location

Harborside East & West

Strand #1

Academic Achievement & School Leadership

Strand #2

Mental & Physical Health

Relevance

This proposed presentation relates to the “Academic Achievement & Leadership” strand in that students who are at risk for developmental problems, and identified for special education purposes, will be the focus of the session. The presentation also pertains to the “Mental & Physical Health” strand in that school-based treatments for students with behavioral and emotional disorders will also be prominent in the session discussion.

Brief Program Description

The objective of this presentation is to examine and quantify, via a meta-analysis, the results of single-case design research (i.e., n = 23 studies) related to classroom and behavioral management of students with behavioral disorders (BD) published from 2000 - 2016. The target audience includes educators and professionals concerned with students who are educationally at-risk and identified with BD.

Summary

A primary (if not the primary) concern of K-12 public education in the United States relates in some way to the challenge of how to manage student behavior to facilitate their learning. Academic achievement is predicated on the likelihood of a student staying in school and attending while there. Teacher recruitment and retention are directly related to their ability to manage the behaviors of students with competence and confidence as a precursor to instructing them. School policies and programs are often promulgated on the basis of management of student behaviors.

Ability to use effective, evidence-based classroom and behavioral management methods are crucial skills for all teachers, but especially for those who serve students who are at risk for, or have, BD. Many students with behavioral problems present serious challenges to successful classroom management because of the extreme inappropriate and externalizing behaviors that they frequently display. Such behaviors include, to name only a few, teacher and peer disrespect, noncompliance, physical aggression, impulsivity, off-task behavior, and lack of following classroom rules. An additional result is that students with behavioral problems who demonstrate disruptive behavior in classrooms are likely to elicit feelings of rejection from their teachers. Such students are also likely to receive intrusive management procedures (e.g., time-out, other types of punishment) in the classroom. It is not surprising, therefore, that teachers of students with behavior problems—in all types of educational environments—spend a substantial amount of the school day involved with classroom and behavioral management issues.

This presentation will examine and present 21^st century classroom and behavior management research with students who have BD. Classroom and behavior management interventions that have been implemented in research will be scrutinized and quantified in the presentation, along with their strength of effectiveness, when applied with students with BD. In other words, the research and classroom management interventions will be evaluated via an already completed meta-analysis of the related single-case design studies (n = 23) published from 2000 through 2016.

Evidence

The audience will learn what are the most effective means for managing classroom behavior of students with BD based on available research published in the 21^st century. The presentation will demonstrate what interventions are effective—and at what effect size—for the age and gender of students with BD across educational settings. Improved practice of attendees will result by knowing and using the most efficacious interventions shown in the meta-analysis. The 23 studies found in the meta-analysis will also be examined for technical adequacy using What Works Clearinghouse criteria. Individual study effect sizes were calculated using percentage of all nonoverlapping data (PAND) with robust Phi; confidence intervals were also computed for all tabulated effect sizes. The average PAND with Phi effect size across the 23 studies found in the meta-analysis was .81 (range = .53 to .96), which demonstrates strong efficacy across interventions.

The focus of the presentation concentrates on what educational professionals are likely to use in school environments serving students with BD. Such pupils have been historically marginalized in school largely because of the classroom behavior problems shown by them, and the inability of some teachers to use evidence-based classroom and behavior management procedures.

This presentation addresses recent quantitative evidence in journals related to classroom and behavior management of students with BD. Only peer-reviewed studies are included in this meta-analysis, and recommended methods of analysis (i.e., effect size and confidence interval calculations) are used to determine efficacy of the studies and interventions. Single-case design research with effect sizes will be used to inform the audience members of which interventions are recommended; professionals in attendance can then decide on what works best in specific classrooms serving students with BD.

Biographical Sketch

Edward J. Sabornie, Ph.D., is a Professor of Special Education at North Carolina State University. He has expertise in school and community-based treatment and education of people with high incidence disabilities such as learning disabilities, mild-moderate intellectual disability, and behavioral-emotional disabilities and disorders. Dr. Sabornie's basic science research interests and expertise include examinations of the social status of persons with high incidence disabilities, and characteristics, similarities, and differences across the categories of high incidence disabilities. He has served as co-editor and editor of the peer review journal, Exceptionality, from 1992 to 2010, and presently serves on the Editorial Boards of five international peer-review journals in education. Dr. Sabornie has published numerous articles, chapters, and a textbook (now in its 3rd edition) dealing with special education instruction in the schools, classroom and behavioral organization and management, and secondary-level special education methods and procedures. He is Co-Editor of the Handbook of Classroom Management (2015; 2nd ed.), as well as a co-author of 2 chapters in the handbook. Dr. Sabornie has served as the advisor for hundreds of graduate students seeking degrees at the Master's and doctoral levels at three different universities. In addition, he has consulted in numerous lawsuits involving children and adults with disabilities in school and in the community, and has testified in depositions and in court supporting plaintiffs as well as defendants.

Keyword Descriptors

Classroom management, Behavior management, Behavioral disorders, Single case research, Classroom behavioral interventions, Special education

Presentation Year

2017

Start Date

3-7-2017 4:00 PM

End Date

3-7-2017 5:30 PM

Recommended Citation

Sabornie, Edward J., "Classroom and Behavioral Management of Students Who Are At-Risk" (2017). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 97.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2017/2017/97