Responding to Student Escalation: Non-Compliance, Disruption, and Disrespect

Presenters

• Terrance M. Scott, University of LouisvilleFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

PhD

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

1994

First Presenter's Field of Study

Special Education

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Univrsity of Oregon

First Presenter's Institution

University of Louisville

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

Terry began his career as a counselor in residential treatment and has worked with students with challenging behaviors across a variety settings – including all levels of public school. Having received his Ph.D. in Special Education at the University of Oregon in 1994 (with an emphasis on emotional and behaviors) he has previously been a faculty member at the Universities of Kentucky, Florida, and Oregon. His research has focused on how adult behaviors can impact probabilities for student success – with special attention to students with behavioral challenges. He has been an invited speaker in multiple countries around the world and is the author of 5 books and numerous peer reviewed articles. .

Location

Scarbrough 1

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Positive Behavior Interventions and Support

Relevance to Primary Strand

This session is related to the development of interventions to be deployed in schools for students who need more intense interventions, including students with disabilities or students considered to be at risk.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Student Learning and Development

Brief Program Description

This session reviews a predictable cycle of behavior escalation, identifying how adults should best respond at each phase. Video examples of student non-compliance, disruption, and disrespect will be used to demonstrate principles of effective responses to mild escalation.

Summary

The teacher plays the most immediate and important role in managing student agitation. That is, the teacher is responsible for the expectations and interactions that serve as the most immediate precursors for student reaction. To date, researchers have established a correlational connection between teacher-student relationships and student social behavior such that more positive relationships predict more successful student outcomes. Consider that teacher behaviors are responses to student behaviors, which are in turn responses to the teacher’s behaviors – one affects the other. The synchrony between child and teacher defines relationship development.

The cycle of acting out has been well-described in the literature and teacher strategies for maximizing the probability of student de-escalation have been demonstrated for both extreme and more mild escalations:

Calm: focus on teaching students to handle circumstances when they are not calm

Trigger: students begin perseveration and teacher focus is on distracting them away from frustration

Agitation: Students obviously upset and focused - teacher uses redirection and prompts strategies that have been taught

Acceleration/Peak: behavior escalate quickly and include verbal/physical aggression. Teacher focus is on safety, implementing crisis plan as needed, and calming

De-escalation: students begin to come down - teacher gives space to allow de-escalation and does not confront student

Recovery: teacher uses baby steps to gradually reintegrate student with success. Confrontation does not occur until return to calm.

Evidence

Pianta, R.C. (1996). High-risk children in schools: Constructing sustaining relationships. New York, NY: Routledge.

Strand, P.S., Wahler, R.G., & Herring, M. (2000). Momentum in Child Compliance and Opposition. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 9(3), 363-375

Colvin, G., & Scott, T. M. (2015). Managing the Cycle of Acting Out Behavior (2^nd Ed). New York: Corwin Press.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will understand the cycle of escalation

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be aware of prevention strategies within the cycle of escalation

Learning Objective 3

Participants will understand high leverage reactive strategies within the cycle of escalation

Start Date

6-1-2026 10:15 AM

End Date

6-1-2026 11:30 AM

Recommended Citation

Scott, Terrance M., "Responding to Student Escalation: Non-Compliance, Disruption, and Disrespect" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 6.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/6

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.