Examining the Effects of Academic and Social Interventions on the Behavior of Students with or At-risk for Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

Certainly the educational issues of students with and at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are complex and multi-faceted (Forness, Freeman, Paparella, Kauffman, & Walker, 2012; Lane, Walker, Crnobori, Oliver, Bruhn, & Oakes, 2013; Wagner, 2004; Wiley & Forness, 2011). While improvements have been made in interventions for challenging behavior through a developing technology of functional behavior assessment and multi-tiered models of support, there remains a need for the demonstration of more effective academic and behavioral interventions applied in schools and under the direction of school personnel. The current study examined two such interventions across multiple students in a variety of educational settings. Using a reversal design and targeting both teacher and student behavior, two interventions, increasing opportunities to respond (OTR) and positive peer reporting (PPR), were systematically investigated across six elementary age students at risk of being identified with EBD. Results indicated that OTR was successful at increasing mean on-task behavior with four students, decreasing disruptive behavior with five students, and increasing percentage of correct responses with four students. PPR was successful at increasing mean on-task behavior with four students and decreasing mean disruptive behavior with four students but did not result in increases in percentage of correct responses. A combination of OTR and PPR was implemented with two students, which resulted in the highest means of on-task behavior and correct responses and the lowest mean disruptive behavior with one student. The second student was also observed to have the highest mean on-task behavior and mean percentage of correct responses during this intervention, along with a decrease in disruptive behavior.