Review and analysis of literature on self-management interventions to promote appropriate classroom behaviors (1988–2008).

Abstract

In the late 1980s, J. W. Fantuzzo and colleagues conducted a review of the selfmanagement literature in order to better define the characteristics of this class of interventions. Results indicated that many interventions were minimally studentdirected despite the title “self-managed” and that student-managed interventions demonstrated incremental effects above teacher-managed interventions. In the current study, updated information was compiled with regard to how self-management interventions have been described, including the degree to which self-management interventions continue to rely on external (i.e., teacher) contingencies. Review of the literature identified 16 different characterizations of self-management interventions, each of which varied widely in terms of the number of intervention components included as well as the degree to which students were involved in implementation. Although self-observation and recording of a predefined behavior appear to be the cornerstones of self-management interventions, meaningful differences were noted, including whether reinforcement was involved and whether changes in performance were tracked over time. Furthermore, although self-management interventions appear to have undergone a small shift toward increased reliance on internal (i.e., studentmanaged) contingencies, adults continue to play a large role in the implementation.