The Effectiveness of Two Universal Behavioral Supports for Children With Externalizing Behavior in Head Start Classrooms

Abstract

To add to the emerging early intervention research on universal supports for children, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention designed to increase teachers’ use of two universal behavioral supports on target children’s behavior. The children targeted for this study were at elevated risk for problem behavior according to teachers’ nominations and ratings. Three teachers in Head Start settings were selected to participate in this study. The Multi Option Observation System for Experimental Studies coding system was used to collect data on teacher and student behavior. The intervention included providing teachers with specific instruction in implementing precorrective statements and behavior-specific praise statements and then, after the intervention sessions, providing feedback on implementation. A multiple-baseline design was used, and baseline, intervention, and maintenance data were collected. Results indicate that teachers increased their use of the targeted universal supports and a functional relationship was observed between this increase and improvement in children’s behavior. Maintenance data were also promising. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

A Demonstration of the Universal Problem-Solving Approach to Address Children’s Inappropriate Behavior in Head Start Classrooms

“…Their research demonstrated that individual consultation, consisting of instruction and feedback, increased HS teachers' use of these universal strategies and decreased children's problem behavior in small group activities. Smith, Lewis, and Stormont (2011) achieved similar results in a large group circle activity. Likewise, Fullerton, Conroy, and Correa (2009) found that once early childhood teachers were taught to use specific praise with four target preschoolers, their students' appropriate behavior increased and problem behavior decreased.…”

Managing Student Behavior with Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams: An Observational Study in Early Elementary Classrooms

“…Individual student behavior was measured directly via MOOSES (Tapp et al 1995), an event-recording computer software system that has been successfully used in other studies involving observations of student and teacher behavior (see e.g., Reinke et al 2013;Smith et al 2011). MOOSES enables the observer to collect data for later analysis, using a laptop or tablet computer.…”

Implementing Conjoint Behavioral Consultation for African American Children from a Low-SES, Urban Setting

“…During the CPAI, the consultant introduced an evidence-based intervention package that incorporated several empirically supported components often used with children who exhibit externalizing behaviors: visual and verbal reminders, teacher feedback, a mechanism through which the children could earn positive reinforcement in the classroom, and a method for the teacher and caregiver to communicate so as to enable the student to earn privileges at home following appropriate behavior at school (Jensen, Olympia, Farley, & Clark, 2004;Jurbergs, Palcic, & Kelley, 2007;Smith, Lewis, & Stormont, 2011). The intervention was fine-tuned and individualized to meet the needs of each child, teacher, and caregiver (for example, by tailoring frequency and type of reinforcement).…”