Mary Magee Quinn

Youth with Disabilities in Juvenile Corrections: A National Survey

Improving our knowledge of the number of incarcerated youth with disabilities can assist educators, other professionals, and policymakers to develop more effective services for youth. This article reports the findings of a national survey conducted to determine the number of youth identified as having disabilities in the juvenile corrections systems in the United States. The data show that, when compared to the national average, there is an overrepresentation of students identified as having disabilities, especially emotional disturbance, in those systems.

A Meta-Analysis of Social Skill Interventions for Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders

Many programs designed for children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) include a social skill training component. Using quantitative methods of meta-analysis, the findings from 35 studies investigating the effects of social skill interventions for students with EBD were synthesized. The pooled mean effect size (ES) was 0.199, from which the average student with EBD would be expected to gain a modest eight percentile ranks on outcome measures after participating in a social skill training program. Studies were further grouped and analyzed according to different variables (e.g., similarities of the intervention, participants, and assessment procedures). Slightly greater ESs were found for interventions that focused on teaching and measuring specific social skills (e.g., cooperating, or social problem solving) compared to more global interventions. Several pertinent issues for reviewing the results of this research synthesis are addressed.

Social Skills Interventions with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Quantitative Synthesis of Single-Subject Research:

Sixty-four single-subject studies examining the effectiveness of social skills interventions with students with emotional or behavioral problems were included in this synthesis. The results of quantitative synthesis procedures using percentage of nonoverlapping data suggest that social skills interventions have limited empirical support for their overall effectiveness. Implications for future social skills research and quantitative analysis methodology are discussed.

An Examination of School Climate in Effective Alternative Programs

The alternative education field lacks a common definition and has a major divide between the differing philosophies of alternative programs; little empirical evidence is available to identify the components necessary to create effective alternative educational programs. Tremendous growth in the availability of alternative programs in the United States over the past several decades, however, illustrates continuing demand for such programs as well as the need for research on the characteristics that constitute effective alternative programs. In this article, the authors study exemplary alternative programs in 3 racially and economically diverse communities to characterize the school climate as viewed by the students and the staff. At this relatively early stage in the field of alternative education, it is essential to examine the similarities, as well as any differences, in the social climate of highly effective alternative programs and to consider their potential relationship with student academic and behavioral success. Furthermore, it is important to recognize how these findings might be one foundation for future inquiry and research on alternative education.

Methodological Issues in Functional Analysis: Generalizability to Other Disability Groups:

Functional assessment is now required for some students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) reauthorization provisions to assist in the identification of positive behavioral intervention plans and supports. Functional analysis, the approach to functional assessment that is used to identify the causes of behavior and facilitate the development of such plans, has an extensive history in behavioral theory and practice. However, four methodological issues should be resolved before the field can adopt functional analysis as standard practice in the schools: (1) client characteristics, (2) response classes, (3) analog assessments, and (4) criteria for determining behavioral function. At this time, most of what we know about functional analysis of behavior is based on research with self-injurious behavior conducted with clients having severe and profound mental retardation. Until these methodological issues have been resolved, we must question the use of this technique as outlined in the 1997 amendments to IDEA.

Warning Signs of Problems in Schools: Ecological Perspectives and Effective Practices for Combating School Aggression and Violence.

SUMMARY One need not look hard to find evidence of concern related to the nature of student behavior in our schools. School violence, aggression, bullying, and harassment (e.g., racial or sexual) are often cited as challenging behaviors confronting educators and community leaders. Unfortunately, most schools address these concerns with aversive consequences delivered to individual perpetrators in a hope of reducing the future probability of undesired behavior. A growing body of literature identifies the need to explore the social context of behavior. The community, school, classroom, family, and peer group interact with student characteristics to help prevent, support the development of, and even exacerbate the display of both desired and undesired behavior. This article applies the logic of warning signs and functional behavioral assessment to schools as it explores the social context of the school and the classroom. The school-wide and classroom-based factors that have been associated with or found to support problem behaviors are discussed. Information is provided that will allow educators to assess their own schools and classrooms in an effort to promote a climate that will aid in the prevention of violence and aggression.

The Development of Disruptive Behavioral Disorders and Correlated Constraints: Implications for Intervention.

A systems perspective of the development of disruptive behavioral disorders is presented and discussed with an emphasis on correlated constraints. The concept of correlated constraints suggests that behavior development involves the interconnected contributions of multiple factors working together as a system. Implications of this perspective are considered in relation to prevention and treatment, social skills interventions, and service delivery for youths with and at risk of developing emotional or behavioral disorders.

Right Reason in the Integration of Group and Single-Subject Research in Behavioral Disorders.

In this discussion of quantitative research synthesis (meta-analysis), past criticisms of meta-analysis are reviewed along with the ways in which they have been addressed. The problems associated with synthesizing single-subject research are discussed, particularly the difficulties in obtaining a metric equivalent to the effect size calculated for group-design research. After analyzing recommended approaches, the authors endorse the percentage-of-nonoverlapping-data metric. Their earlier single-subject synthesis showing limited efficacy for social skills instruction is then reviewed. The findings are discussed in relation to the nature of single-subject research, the proper role of research integration, and the influence of subjectivity in interpreting research findings. Finally, possible reasons for disappointing findings regarding the effectiveness of social skills instruction are explored. The authors conclude that, until expressed concerns are remedied, it is neither incorrect nor illogical to question the efficacy of social skills instruction.

Policies Matter: For Students, for Teachers, and for Better Outcomes.

Abstract Policies mandate or prohibit behavior, reward, sanction, legitimizes and provide inducements for particular behaviors; transfer resources to enable particular types of activities; and define or transfer authority. Although administrative decentralization and poor enforcement barriers can limit the impact of policies, policies constrain school and teacher practice. This article elaborates upon current policy debates and discusses translating policy into practice. The article introduces Preventing School Failures issue and employs 3 policy issues that affect students with emotional and behavioral disorders to introduce policy analysis, identify policy issues affecting schools, describe the policy environment in which these issues are nested, and explore the impact that policies have on practice: the IDEA and its reauthorization, discipline and zero tolerance, and state and national standards based accountability.

Safe and Effective Schooling for All Students: Putting Into Practice the Disciplinary Provisions of the 1997 IDEA

Abstract The 1997 IDEA stipulates that states address the needs of school personnel as they relate to positive intervention strategies to deal with student behavior that impedes learning. In response to that mandate, the Virginia Department of Education drew upon accumulated literature and input of experts to develop, implement, and evaluate an inservice program on functional behavioral assessment/positive behavioral interventions/supports. Discussion is on the step-by-step training process whereby schools are able to establish pupil-specific, classroom-level, and schoolwide efforts to facilitate positive academic and nonacademic outcomes for all students. We present preliminary data that supports the effectiveness of both the content and delivery of this innovative program.