J. Ron Nelson

Academic Achievement of K-12 Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders:

This cross-sectional study was conducted with a random sample of 155 K-12 students served in public school settings and established the extent to which students with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) experience academic achievement deficits with attention to age and gender differences. In addition, this study examined particular types of problem behaviors related to academic achievement. Results indicate that students with E/BD showed large academic achievement deficits across all of the content areas, and the deficits appeared to be stable or worsen in the case of mathematics across age. There appeared to be no gender differences. Additionally, externalizing behaviors were related to reading, mathematics, and written language achievement; whereas, internalizing ones were not.

Maximizing Student Learning: The Effects of a Comprehensive School-Based Program for Preventing Problem Behaviors.

This article offers an evaluation of a comprehensive school-wide program based on an effective behavioral support approach for preventing disruptive behaviors.The program consists of five main elements— a school-wide discipline program, one-to-one tutoring in reading, conflict resolution, a video-based family management program, and an individualized, function-based behavior intervention plan—that were developed through a consensus-building participatory process. Seven elementary schools in one district were studied for 2 years. Comparisons with the districts remaining 28 elementary schools indicated strong positive effects on the number of formal disciplinary actions and academic performance of schools. In addition, comparisons between target students (those who exhibited disruptive behaviors) and criterion students (those who did not exhibit disruptive behaviors) indicated positive effects on the social adjustment and academic performance of the target students.

Learner Characteristics that Influence the Treatment Effectiveness of Early Literacy Interventions: A Meta-Analytic Review

The purpose of this article was to systematically review the available research on learner characteristics that influence the treatment effectiveness of early literacy interventions. Meta-analytic procedures were applied to a total of 30 studies that met the inclusionary and exclusionary criteria. Mean average effect sizes were computed for seven primary learner characteristic categories: (1) rapid naming, (2) alphabetic principle, (3) phonological awareness, (4) problem behavior, (5) memory, (6) IQ, and (7) demographic. The primary learner characteristics that influenced the treatment responsiveness of early literacy interventions were, in order of magnitude, rapid naming, problem behavior, phonological awareness, alphabetic principle, memory, IQ, and demographics. With the exception of the demographic category, the obtained effect sizes for the primary learner characteristics were moderately large. The demographic primary learner characteristic (i.e., disability, ethnicity, grade-level status) of children was not statistically (p < 0.05) distinct from zero. The findings, limitations, and future research needs are discussed.

Language Skills of Children with EBD: A Literature Review

This article systematically reviews the available research on the prevalence, strength, durability, and nature of language deficits in children formally identified with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD).After applying inclusionary and exclusionary criteria, we reviewed 26 studies. Approximately three out of four children (71%) formally identified with EBD experienced clinically significant language deficits and approximately one out of two (57%) children with diagnosed language deficits also were identified with EBD.These deficits appeared to be broad-based in that they included pragmatic, receptive, and expressive language deficits.The results from longitudinal studies suggested that the rate of comorbidity between language deficits and EBD tends to either be stable or to increase over time. In addition, prevalence rates varied across studies, depending on the placement of children sampled, the stringency of the criteria for determining language deficit, and the number of language measures used.The findings and future research needs are discussed.

Status of and Trends in Academic Intervention Research for Students with Emotional Disturbance

Recent research has examined overall trends in the experimental literature relating to students with emotional disturbance (ED). The current review was conducted to examine both the status of and trends in interventions designed to improve the academic functioning of students with ED. Fifty-five studies were included in the descriptive analysis, which spanned the years from 1975 to 2002. Descriptive dimensions of the research included participant demographics, settings, research designs, and dependent and independent variables. Results indicated (a) complete demographic information, especially race and socioeconomic status, was difficult to ascertain for many of the participants; (b) settings were generally special education classrooms; (c) researchers used predominantly single-subject designs; (d) treatment fidelity data were often absent; (e) few studies focused on women and girls or minorities; and (f) there has been a recent decline in both the number and type of studies published, particularly in the areas of self-management and peer tutoring. Limitations of the analysis and future research directions are examined.

Rational Emotive Therapy With Children and Adolescents A Meta-Analysis

This article systematically reviews the available research on rational emotive behavioral therapy (REBT) with children and adolescents. Meta-analytic procedures were applied to 19 studies that met inclusion criteria. The overall mean weighted effect of REBT was positive and significant. Weighted z r effect sizes were also computed for five outcome categories: anxiety, disruptive behaviors, irrationality, self-concept, and grade point average. In terms of magnitude, the largest positive mean effect of REBT was on disruptive behaviors. Analyses also revealed the following noteworthy findings: (a) there was no statistical difference between studies identified low or high in internal validity; (b) REBT appeared equally effective for children and adolescents presenting with and without identified problems; (c) non-mental health professionals produced REBT effects of greater magnitude than their mental health counterparts ; (d) the longer the duration of REBT sessions, the greater the impact, and (e) children benefited more from REBT than adolescents.The findings are discussed in terms of several important limitations along with suggestions for future research.

The Utility, Acceptability, and Practicality of Functional Behavioral Assessment for Students with High-Incidence Problem Behaviors:

The 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments require the use of functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and positive behavioral interventions and supports for students with disabilities who are the subject of formal disciplinary actions. FBA has been represented by different terms and associated procedures such as functional analysis, functional assessment, brief functional assessment, and descriptive analysis. However, much of the FBA research has focused on children with severe developmental disorders in clinical settings. In this article, we review the available FBA research conducted with students with high-incidence behavior problems in school settings to examine its utility (i.e., effectiveness), acceptability (i.e., social validity), and practicality (i.e., whether FBA can be conducted by direct service providers in a timely manner). The findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Fostering the Development of Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension Though Contextually-Based Multiple Meaning Vocabulary Instruction

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the effects of contextually-based multiple meaning (i.e., words with multiple meanings) vocabulary instruction on the vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension of students. Third and 5th grade students received either contextually-based multiple meaning vocabulary instruction embedded in the standard language arts instruction offered to all students over a three-month period or the standard language arts instruction alone (i.e., non-specific treatment). Students who received the contextually-based multiple meaning instruction generally showed statistically and educationally significant gains in their vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension relative to students who did not. These gains were most evident in reading comprehension. Additionally, students with low initial vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension achievement tended to show greater gains than those with average to high achievement. These effects were more pronounced in the case of 3rd grade students. The results and limitations are discussed.

The Convergent Validity of Office Discipline Referrals with the CBCL-TRF

Office discipline referrals are one approach that educators could use (a) as a guide in the development and/or selection of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs; (b) as an outcome measure with which to assess the effectiveness of those programs; and (c) as an early screening procedure to identify children who might benefit from the secondary and tertiary programs.The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which children who met the borderline and clinical cut-off scores on the Teacher Report Form (TRF; Achenbach, 1991b) received one or more office discipline referrals (the most liberal criteria possible) to determine the levels of false negatives (failure to detect a problem when one exists) that would occur if one used office discipline referrals as an early screening device.The relatively high levels of false negatives suggest that the use of office discipline referrals as an early screening device may fail to identify relatively large numbers of young children in need of interventions and supports.This issue appears to be even more pronounced in the case of students who are experiencing internalizing-related problems. Results, limitations, and future research needs are discussed.

Effects of Direct Instruction, Cooperative Learning, and Independent Learning Practices on the Classroom Behavior of Students with Behavioral Disorders A Comparative Analysis

The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the effects of direct instruction, cooperative learning, and independent learning instructional practices on the classroom behavior of students with behavior disorders. Results indicated that there were distinct differences in the classroom behavior of the students during the direct instruction condition. In this condition, they displayed higher rates of on-task behavior and lower rates of disruptive behavior relative to the cooperative learning and independent learning conditions. There appeared to be little or no differences between the classroom behavior of the students during the cooperative learning condition and that during the independent learning condition. The results suggest (a) that the instructional sequence underlying direct instruction practices reduces the disruptive behavior of students, and (b) that instructional practices may serve as an aversive stimuli in classrooms.