S. Andrew Garbacz

Family involvement for children with disruptive behaviors: The role of parenting stress and motivational beliefs

Children with disruptive behaviors are at risk for adverse outcomes. Family involvement is a significant predictor of positive child behavior outcomes; however, little research has investigated parent psychological variables that influence family involvement for children with disruptive behaviors. This study investigated the role of parental motivational beliefs (i.e., role construction and efficacy) as a potential mechanism by which parenting stress impacts family involvement for families of children with disruptive behaviors. Results indicated that parent role construction mediated the relation between parenting stress and all aspects of family involvement examined (i.e., home-based involvement, school-based involvement, and home-school communication). Parent efficacy mediated the relation between parenting stress and home-based involvement only. Parents of children with disruptive behaviors reporting stress may experience negative beliefs about their role and efficacy to support their childs education, which may thereby negatively influence their actual involvement. Therefore, parent motivational beliefs may serve as an important point for intervention to support involvement of families of children with disruptive behavior.

The effectiveness of a partnership-centered approach in conjoint behavioral consultation.

Abstract The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the extent to which a partnership orientation in conjoint be-havioral consultation (CBC) may predict case outcomes and determine the relationship between a partnership orien-tation and implementation integrity of CBC. CBC is a problem-solving process by which families and teachers work collaboratively with a consultant to address students’ academic, behavioral, and social needs. Twenty children, their parents and teachers, and consultants were involved in CBC services. Outcomes included parent and teacher ratings of acceptability, satisfaction, perceptions of effectiveness, and child performance across home and school settings. Part-nership orientation scores and process integrity data were collected across interviews for each case. Results suggest that both parents and teachers consistently find CBC to be an acceptable, effective, and satisfactory form of service deliv-ery. Findings reveal that consultants can conduct CBC interview objectives effectively within a partnership orientation. A partnership orientation in CBC was significant in predicting teachers’ acceptability and satisfaction with the process; however, parents’ acceptability and satisfaction with the CBC process was not predicted by a partnership orientation.

Congruence in Parent-Teacher Communication: Implications for the Efficacy of CBC for Students with Behavioral Concerns.

Abstract. The present study examined parent–teacher congruent communication within conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC). Specifically, the study purpose was to determine the extent to which congruence in parent–teacher communication (i.e., the degree to which parents and teachers view their communication in a similar fashion) moderated CBCs effects on childrens social skills. Drawn from a large randomized trial investigating the efficacy of CBC, the participants were 166 children and their parents and 74 teachers. The findings suggested that CBCs effects on teacher-reported childrens social skills depend on congruent parent–teacher communication. Specifically, for students whose parents and teachers have these communication conditions, social skills are expected to increase only in the context of the CBC intervention. Implications for CBC research and school-based consultation are discussed.

Family Engagement Within Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

Parent educational involvement is an important avenue for enhancing student outcomes. Schools seek myriad ways to include families; however, the parent involvement practices used by schools lack coordination and are disconnected from existing school approaches. Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a systematic and coordinated framework used in more than 19,000 schools to support student behavior. Despite its success, PBIS implementation underemphasizes comprehensive systems for engaging families. The purpose of this article is to present a framework of family engagement within PBIS. The purpose of coordinating and sequencing family engagement within PBIS is to increase the efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, and durability of PBIS by supporting students across settings. Furthermore, this model extends current parent involvement frameworks by coordinating systematic family engagement in education.

A Multidimensional Examination of Parent Involvement across Child and Parent Characteristics.

The purpose of this study was to clarify equivocal findings in the parent-involvement literature and examine novel interactions in a New Zealand context. Specifically, this study tested direct effects of school year, parent education, family structure, and child gender on parent involvement in elementary school. In addition, interactions between parent, family, and child characteristics were explored as moderators on the relation of school year and parent involvement. Participants were 421 primary caregivers of children attending their first through final years of elementary school on New Zealand’s South Island. Structural equation models were used to detect direct and interaction effects. Findings revealed statistically significant direct effects for several parent, family, and child characteristics examined. No interaction effects were found. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Proactive Parent Engagement in Public Schools: Using a Brief Strengths and Needs Assessment in a Multiple-Gating Risk Management Strategy.

This study examined the viability of a brief, parent-reported strengths and needs assessment as the first step in a multiple-gating approach to proactive positive behavior support for families. The Positive Family Support–Strengths and Needs Assessment (PFS-SaNA) was designed to collaboratively engage parents early in the school year in a home–school coordinated Positive Family Support (PFS) system. In this study, we evaluated the reliability and validity of the PFS-SaNA in the context of public middle schools. Findings suggest that the 14-item, unidimensional PFS-SaNA shows convergent validity with teacher ratings of risk. It can be easily and cost-effectively used by school personnel when parents register their children for school at the beginning of each school year.

A multidimensional examination of New Zealand family involvement in education

The purpose of this study was to preliminarily examine family involvement with the primary caregivers of a specific population of New Zealand primary school students through a pilot validation of a New Zealand version of the Family Involvement Questionnaire, Elementary Version (FIQ-E; Manz, Fantuzzo, & Power, 2004). Participants were 285 primary caregivers of children attending primary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were conducted to determine the factor structure of the New Zealand version of the FIQ-E. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a factor structure similar to the original FIQ-E; however, fewer and different items loaded onto the common factors. Implications for these findings, including differences in the factor structure and intercultural family involvement research, are explored.

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The present study examined the efficacy of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC) for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in early elementary school. In addition, the parent-teacher relationship, parent and teacher competence in problem solving, and CBC acceptability were examined. Participants included 3 children with ASD in early elementary school, and their parents and teachers. Findings suggested (a) CBC was efficacious for treating childrens social behavior in classrooms, (b) 2 of 3 parent-teacher dyads reported improvements in the parent-teacher relationship, (c) all parents and teacher reported increases in their problem-solving competences, and (d) CBC was highly acceptable to parents and teachers. Implications for CBC research and interventions for children with ASD are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Examining the utility of behavioral health integration in well-child visits: implications for rural settings.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of integrating behavioral health services into well-child visits in underserved, remote, and/or fringe areas. Specifically, the following were examined: the structure of the well-child visit for standard care in comparison to when a behavioral health provider was integrated into the visit and the effect of integrating a behavioral health provider on behavioral health topics covered and parent satisfaction. Participants were 94 caregivers of children attending well-child visits. Group differences were examined for participants in well-child visits with a behavioral health provider and participants in a standard well-child visit. Findings suggest a statistically significant increase in caregiver-rated perception for the number of topics covered with the integration of a behavioral health provider in the well-child visits. No significant effects of caregiver-rated helpfulness or satisfaction were observed. Implications for the findings and future research directions are discussed.

Strategies for Effective Classroom Coaching

Although implementation of evidence-based behavioral and instructional practices has been identified as an educational priority, popular methods for increasing implementation of evidence-based practices (i.e., professional development) have not had the desired effect. This article aimed to present frameworks and practices coaches can use with classroom teachers to facilitate the implementation of evidence-based interventions in schools. Examples are provided to illustrate how the strategies can be implemented.