Disruptive Students Research Articles

Home-Based Treatment of Disruptive Junior High School Students: An Analysis of the Differential Effects of Positive and Negative Consequences

The effects of two types of home-based treatments designed to reduce the school problems of disruptive junior high school students were investigated. Ten disruptive students were randomly assigned to the two treatments: One program instructed parents to use only positive consequences in response to daily reports brought home from school and the other had parents use a combination of positive and negative consequences. The students whose parents delivered both positive and negative consequences demonstrated a significant decrease from pre- to posttreatment in their rate of referrals to the office for conduct problems. This group also showed a significant pre- to posttreatment decrease in their depression scores on the Children's Depression Inventory. The students whose parents delivered only positive consequences showed no significant pre- to posttreatment changes on these measures. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of “prudent” (calm, concrete, and consistent) negative consequences for the home-based treatment of students with behavior problems.

An examination of the system-wide use of exclusion with disruptive students

This paper describes the use of exclusion as an intervention for dealing with disruptive behaviour in Western Australian schools. There is increasing support for the view that many of the students excluded from school for disruptive behaviour may represent a segment of the school population requiring special services who at present are being denied access to an appropriate education on the basis of a handicapping or disabling condition. Case study and descriptive data are presented to support this position with an accompanying discussion of the legal and service delivery implications associated with the exclusion of this segment of the school population.

Disconnected and Disruptive Students

Disconnected and Disruptive Students

Issues in the suspension and exclusion of disruptive students

Issues in the suspension and exclusion of disruptive students

Issues in the Suspension and Exclusion of Disruptive Students

This paper will address issues associated with the use of suspension and exclusion as an intervention for dealing with disruptive behaviour in schools, with a particular focus on secondary students in Western Australia. There is increasing support for the view that many of the students suspended or excluded from school for disruptive behaviour may be socially/emotionally handicapped and as such are being denied access to an appropriate education on the basis of their handicapping condition. The legal and service delivery implications of this position are discussed within the context of current Australian special education policy and international agreements pertaining to the educational rights of children.

The disruptive student

An inattentive, talkative student in back of a large classroom occasionally requires instructor action to focus his/her attention on the class subject. Reprimands seldom work and often alienate the teacher from the class. To successfully resolve the problem, the teacher should ask the student's name, maintain the approach that it has been the teacher's failure to stimulate this student's interest, then focus attention towards the student for the rest of the lecture, and show genuine interest in helping and becoming acquainted with the disruptive student.

A Synergistic Model for a Juvenile Court Administered Alternative Education Program

Abstract The Alternative Education program coordinated by the Snyder-Union County (Pennsylvania) Juvenile Probation Department provides tutorial instruction to secondary school students who have been referred through the Juvenile Court for minor delinquency and/or truancy. Alternative Education classrooms are located on the campuses of two local universities where undergraduate students serve as tutors. Six school districts have been receiving services from the program since 1981. Originally funded by grants from the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges' Commission and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the program is now self-sufficient through per diems paid by the school districts. A unique aspect of the program is the close relationship between the Juvenile Court and the universities, from which each derives benefits. The school districts have also benefitted in that they now have a viable option for chronic truants, disruptive students and potential dropouts. A reduction in local dro...

Teacher presentation rate and point delivery rate. Effects on classroom disruption, performance accuracy, and response rate.

In a class of five disruptive students, the effects of teacher presentation rate of academic response opportunities and point delivery were assessed on classroom disruption, performance accuracy, and student response rate. Two levels of teacher presentation rate were paired with two point delivery rates resulting in four treatment conditions: high point rate/fast presentation; high point rate/slow presentation; low point rate/fast presentation; low point rate/ slow presentation. Using a multielement design, it was demonstrated that the fast presentation rate was associated with significantly less disruptive behavior than the slow presentation rate. Point delivery had little effect. For some subjects the slow presentation rate was associated with higher student performance accuracy, although the fast presentation rate produced high overall rates of correct performance.

Dealing with the Disruptive Student

Dealing with the Disruptive Student

Dealing with the disruptive college student: some theoretical and practical considerations.

Abstract The increased number of disruptive students attending colleges and universities has reached alarming proportions. In order to deal effectively and humanely with such students, schools must establish a systematic and legally acceptable set of procedures for dealing with disruptive behavior. An on-campus mental health program can be an invaluable asset in assisting college staff in developing and implementing such procedures.

Secondary science laboratory activities

A study conducted with 15 teachers and their classes in two Western Australian high schools indicated that laboratory activities are perceived by a majority of teachers and students as an effective means of learning science. However, laboratory activities were not presented on a regular basis in most classes and appeared to have low status compared to activities that emphasized science content. The laboratory activities were of a cookbook type with most emphasis being directed to data collecting. Few opportunities were provided for students to plan investigations or to interpret data. The amount of time scheduled for laboratory activities was dependent on the topic being taught, the ability level of the students, the presence of disruptive students, the use of non‐science classrooms, large class sizes, and a perception of insufficient time because of the amount of content to be covered. Several of the problems observed in laboratory activities were attributable to a management style which enabled students...

Integration: The disruptive student and suspension

In 1984 the Education Department of Victoria, Australia, declared its support for developing policies and programs committed to the integration of disabled students into the educational and social life of regular schcols. These programs were to include disruptive students. Simultaneously, Victorian education administrators were engaged in revising suspension regulations and the proliferation of off-site facilities for disruptive students. In surveying literature pertinent to school suspension and segregated learning centers, this article highlights the paradox of marginalizing students through suspension and segregation while promoting the rhetcric of integration. Successful integration of disruptive students requires teachers and educational administrators to broaden their focus of attention beyond concentration upon changing individual student behaviour. Consideration of the responsibility of school processes in contributing to aberrant behavior is warranted.

Some ‘Spill‐over’ Effects of a Home‐based Reinforcement Programme in a Secondary School

Abstract A home‐based reinforcement (H‐BR) programme was carried out in a secondary school to increase rule‐following and work completed by two groups of disruptive students. Of particular interest was whether the positive effects of the programme on target students would ‘spill‐over’ to equally disruptive control students in the same classes. The results showed highly significant improvements in the work and behaviour of both sets of target students but positive ‘spill‐over’ effects on controls were only apparent in one of the classes. Possible explanations for this are discussed. It is concluded that the already considerable value of H‐BR programmes in secondary schools as minimal intervention techniques would be enhanced even more if ‘spill‐over’ effects on non‐targeted, classroom sub‐groups could be planned for, rather than hoped for.

A Strategy for Classroom Resolution of Chronic Discipline Problems

The use of anecdotal records to monitor—and improve—the behavior of chronically disruptive students is effective, con venient, and inexpensive, say these writers. They explain the technique on the following pages.

Disruptive Students in Context: Do Schools Make a Difference?

Disruptive Students in Context: Do Schools Make a Difference?

Promoting Generalization of Appropriate Classroom Behaviour: a Comparison of Two Strategies

This study applied a number of behaviour modification strategies in an attempt to reduce the level of disruptive classroom behaviour, and to programme for generalization of treatment effects across time and settings. Eight disruptive students represented either the Control, the Experimenter-selected Objects, or the Self-selected Activities Group. During intervention phases subjects in the Experimenter-selected Objects Group received school related material reinforcers for low levels of disruptive behaviour. The Self-selected Activities Group experienced a more complex set of conditions: partial self-determination of natural reinforcers, self-evaluation and recording, bonuses, group contingencies, individual progress graphs, eventual transition from continuous to intermittent reinforcement, and inclusion of common stimuli in the training and generalization settings. The results indicated that both reinforcement programmes dramatically reduced disruptive behaviour. The less complex package employed with the Experimenter-selected Objects Group, however, yielded significantly better generalization of treatment effects across time in the training setting, as well as across settings during the intervention phases. Additionally, this group showed significantly better maintenance of generalization across settings following programme termination.

Turning a Disruptive Study Hall into an Effective Learning Center

Study halls do not have to be havens for dis ruptive students. These authors in trodoce a program that helps both dis ruptive students and students in need of extra attention.

Alternative schools for troublesome secondary students

Results of a field experiment indicate that a certain kind of secondary school program reduced the disruptive behavior and improved the scholastic performance of students who were about to be suspended or expelled from their conventional schools. The research indicates that the program was demonstrably effective only with those students who were not at the outset extremely depressed and anxious. The essential characteristics of the program are described. The findings document the social psychological processes by which the program achieved its goals. Implications are drawn for a typology of delinquency; causes of delinquent and disruptive behavior; stigmatization; the possibility of an educational program being effective without the direct involvement of disruptive students' families or friends; and for some recurring questions regarding the design of alternative educational programs.

A behavioral program for disruptive Junior High school students: results and follow-up.

The 5-year annual and 4-year follow-up results of a collaborative community mental health center--junior high school program for disruptive students are presented. The program is a comprehensive, behavioral, in-school, regular education project characterized by a token economy, parent contracting, major subjects taught in the morning, small class enrollment, small group and individualized instruction, an early release from school contingency option and frequent parent-school communications. Annual controlled outcome results revealed that the program led to significant and consistent reductions in expulsions, suspensions, and grade failure, and variable, often significant, gains in attendance and achievement. Follow-up findings indicated that former program students in senior high school achieved a significantly higher entry rate, greater attendance, better classroom conduct, and a lower frequency of withdrawal from school.

Reviews of teaching/learning resources

Books, videotapes, filmstrips Theory and practice in teaching and learning: A review of selected resources New Directions for Teaching And Learning Editors‐in‐Chief, Kenneth E. Eble and John Noonan. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass, Inc., 1980 (a series of four books). Improving Teaching Styles Edited by Kenneth E. Eble; pp. 107. $6.95. Learning, Cognition, and College Teaching Edited by Wilbert J. McKeachie; pp. 116. $6.95. Fostering Critical Thinking Edited by Robert E. Young; pp. 103. $6.95. Learning About Teaching Edited by John F. Noonan; pp. 110. $6.95. What Research Says to the Teacher By the National Education Association. NEA Distribution Center, The Academic Building, Saw Mill Road, West Haven, Conn. 06516, 1980; 25 research reports, $1.00 each; 8 color filmstrips, $18.50 each. Total package $140.75. (Note: only the filmstrips are reviewed.) Is There Anything New on Discipline? By the National Education Association, NEA Distribution Center, The Academic Building, Saw Mill Road, West Haven, Conn. 06516, 1980; 6 paperback books, 2 color filmstrips, an audiocassette tape, and a 4‐part audiocassette tape program with pamphlet. Total purchase price, $85.20. Discipline in the Classroom Edited by Elizabeth Wetner; pp. 112. $5.50. Classroom Discipline: Case Studies and Viewpoints By Sylvester Kohut, Jr., and Dale G. Range; pp. 112. $6.50. Discipline and Learning: An Inquiry into Student‐Teacher Relationships By the National Education Association; pp. 158. $5.95. The Disruptive Student and the Teacher By L. Wendell Rivers; pp. 40. $3.95. Maintaining Productive Student Behavior By Kevin J. Swick; pp. 39. $3.95. What Every Teacher Should Know About Student Rights By Eve Cary; pp. 41. $2.95. Classroom Group Management By the National Education Association; 11 min. $18.50. Discipline Techniques By the National Education Association; 12 min. $18.50. Discipline and Motivation: A Genuine Partnership By Raymond J. Wlodkowski; 15 min. $8.00. Discipline: Day by Day By William J. Gnagey; a four‐part program, each tape 9 min. $22.50. Videotapes TEACHERS TALKING TO TEACHERS: VIDEOTAPE IN‐SERVICE TRAINING WORKSHOPS National Education Association, 1201 16th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. Fifteen videotapes, each approximately 30 minutes; study/discussion guides included. Purchase price $157.00/tape. Rental price $35.00/week/tape.