Progress and Priorities in Research to Improve Outcomes for Students With or at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

The Peacock Hill Working Group (PHWG) published a seminal position article nearly 30 years ago on the state of the field of special education for children with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). They concluded their discussion with a set of recommendations for practice, policy, and research. The purpose of the present article is to revisit the PHWG’s calls to the field with an emphasis on setting a research agenda related to children and youth with EBD. As a follow-up to the problems and promises identified by the PHWG, we identify progress and priorities for each of their six calls for research to improve outcomes for students with EBD. We address the broader context underlying each recommendation and how it has changed over time, describe research progress to date, and identify priorities to move the field forward. The overarching goal of this article is to inform and help shape the next phase of research on EBD, which in turn will advance the implementation and scale-up of effective programs and practices to better meet the needs of students with EBD in schools.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of MTSS-B in High Schools: Improving Classroom Management to Prevent EBDs

“…Additional scale-up research is needed to examine EBP implementation in schools (see Fagan et al, 2019; Lloyd et al, 2019) to determine how to the optimize support provided, to ensure high implementation fidelity, and to translate these efforts into improved student outcomes. Although the schools in this study all expressed a high degree of interest in training in these specific EBPs at recruitment into the project, which was also evidenced through the number of intervention schools that requested and received training in each of the offered EBPs, full implementation of the EBPs rarely occurred.…”

“…Of particular concern are supports for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) and those at risk for developing these problems, given the high prevalence of social, emotional, and mental health issues among school-aged youth and adolescents (Perou et al, 2013). Not only can prevention efforts reduce the potential onset of EBDs, they can also work to ameliorate the symptoms and prognosis for students with EBDs, which can be exacerbated in settings challenged by poor classroom management and school climate concerns (Lloyd et al, 2019).…”

“…The need for MTSS-B research at the high school level is especially great, given elevated rates of bullying and suspension, and the long-term consequences of school dropout (Musu et al, 2019). Moreover, there are relatively few evidence-based prevention programs for high-school students at risk for EBD (Lloyd et al, 2019).…”

Data-Based Decision Making for Social Behavior: Setting a Research Agenda

“…Building on public health models of prevention and intervention, these systems involve the following core features: effective core instruction, universal screening, a continuum of interventions varying in intensity, progress monitoring, and data-driven decision making. Schools across the country have adopted preventive frameworks designed to provide a data-driven continuum of services for the varied needs of students with and without disabilities (Lloyd, Bruhn, Sutherland, & Bradshaw, 2019). These frameworks generally follow a tiered or leveled approach in which the intensity of supports provided at each tier reflects the intensity of students’ needs within that tier.…”

The Peacock Hill Working Group “Problems and Promises” Three Decades Later: Introduction to the Creek Bend Consortium Special Issue

“…However, recent work in screening and early identification, early interventions, and improved classroom practices (as implemented through multitiered systems of support) all hold promise to promote improved outcomes. In the second article, Lloyd, Bruhn, Sutherland, and Bradshaw (2019) provide an analysis of progress made to date on the PHWG research recommendations. As they summarize, progress has been minimal, but the authors offer suggestions to meet the unfulfilled tasks.…”