Supporting Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Lee Kern, Michael P. George, Mark D. Weist

• Publisher: Brookes Publishing
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781681251240
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Inclusive Education

Severe social, emotional, and behavioral challenges can be major obstacles to your students' academic success. Break down those barriers with the research-based interventions in this book, your guide to addressing serious problem behaviors in K-12 classrooms. Aligned with recommended practices for schoolwide positive behavior supports (SWPBS), this book presents a highly effective tiered approach that helps you develop school- and class-wide interventions and match behavior interventions to each student's needs. Developed by trusted PBS experts and packed with concrete strategies, this essential resource will prepare teachers to prevent and reduce severe behavior problems, improve students' social interactions, and increase academic engagement. A must for both preservice and in-service educators! THE GUIDE YOU NEED TO:

• Improve the behavior of students with or without a specific diagnosis
• Boost your behavior management skills and empower yourself to take action
• Assess and improve your classroom environment, including physical setup, routines, and emotional climate
• Prevent behavior problems by keeping students engaged and motivated during instruction
• Directly teach social skills during your everyday classes and routines
• Identify student mental health problems and select appropriate interventions
• Determine when a student needs Tier 2 intervention or more intensive Tier 3 supports
• Conduct functional behavioral assessments and use them to develop support plans
• Select and use a behavioral management system to track your students' progress

PRACTICAL MATERIALS: Real-world strategies, case studies, forms, and reflection activities that can be used right away in the classroom and across various school settings.

School Behavior Problems and Models of Prevention and Intervention

Each year, children and adolescents across the nation assemble in schools, facing new social and emotional challenges they must navigate as they adjust to life in the classroom. For some, this is their first time experiencing the contextual features of a schoolhouse and working alongside large numbers of peers. Others are experiencing the novelties of brand-new teachers, perhaps new schools, classrooms full of different peers, and expectations they may not fully understand. Educators must be prepared not only to create safe and orderly school environments, but also to offer supports that ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed in academics as well as the social, emotional, and behavioral realms. In this chapter, we discuss many of the challenges educators face today. We also introduce readers to a model of prevention and intervention that we use to structure the delivery of supports described throughout this book.

BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN SCHOOLS

Educators have long understood the link between academic achievement and behavior problems. There is convincing research showing that behavior problems can impede academic success and that a poor curriculum or inadequate instruction can lead to behavior problems (U.S. Department of Education, 2009; Vander Stoep, Weiss, Kuo, Cheney, & Cohen, 2003). Moreover, some children may be genetically predisposed to particular psychiatric disorders (see Norman & Malla, 2001), which at some point can interfere with their school performance.

Although most behavior problems can be prevented and psychiatric problems reduced through appropriate intervention, schools struggle to put systems in place that adequately address students with these types of needs. In fact, research indicates that for several decades, teachers have reported that student behavior problems are one of their top concerns (e.g., Bullock, Ellis, & Wilson, 1994; Elam & Rose, 1995; Fink & Janssen, 1993; Mastropieri & Scruggs, 2002). Both experienced and first-year teachers report that the training they received was inadequate to address the behavior and mental health problems their students exhibit (Koller et al., 2004; Oliver & Reschly, 2010). For example, in a survey of more than 111 teachers, Gable and colleagues (1992) found that behavior management was ranked high in importance and that teachers reported they had failed to receive training to adequately prepare them to provide effective interventions. Even teachers specifically trained to work with children and youth having emotional and behavior problems reported poor college-level preparation. In a national survey of teachers certified in the field of emotional and behavioral disorders, nearly two thirds indicated that their college coursework was poor preparation for the situations they encountered as teachers (George, George, Gersten, & Grosenick, 1995). Inadequate preparation of teachers with students having emotional and behavioral disorders continues to be a concern (Oliver & Reschly, 2010; Rosenberg, Sindelar, & Hardman, 2004).

A close look at teacher preparation programs helps explain the genesis of this problem. State, Kern, Starosta, and Mukherjee (2011) reviewed program requirements and syllabi from undergraduate elementary general education teacher certification programs around the country. They found that 15% of the teacher training programs required no courses whatsoever in behavior management. On average, across all of the programs reviewed, future educators received 115 minutes, or just under 2 hours, of course instruction about individual interventions and only 39 minutes about classwide interventions. This provides evidence that as teachers begin their careers, they have not been taught the many indispensable skills necessary not only to organize and manage students in an effective and efficient way, but also to address the difficulties of students who enter school with more substantial emotional and behavioral needs. Moreover, the research reveals that teachers do not receive instruction in these skills after they have begun teaching, either through inservice or other methods of postcertification teacher training provided by schools (Koller et al., 2004).

Just how pervasive are behavior problems in today’s schools? It is not entirely clear whether problems are on the rise or whether they have always been present, but variables such as growing class size, diminished parent involvement, and failure to implement effective interventions have driven their importance to the forefront. Regardless, the presence of students with emotional and behavioral problems is clear in every school in America. There is some research that is helpful in understanding the current prevalence of school problems, although estimates vary greatly. In a comprehensive literature review, Irvin, Tobin, Sprague, Sugai, and Vincent (2004) examined whether office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) are valid indicators of school behavior problems and climate. They found convincing evidence that the level of ODRs provides a good gauge of the climate of a school in critical areas such as student misbehavior, student and teacher perceptions of safety, classroom orderliness, student social adjustment, and the prevalence of juvenile delinquency and behavior disorders. Thus, it appears educators can rely on ODRs as general indicators of problems within a school.

Models of schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS), replicated in schools throughout the United States, suggest that approximately 15% of students will experience moderate behavior problems and another 3%–5% will have significant behavior problems, as measured by the number of ODRs they receive. Specifically, students with moderate behavior problems will receive two to five ODRs in a school year and students with significant behavior problems will receive six or more ODRs in a school year (Irvin et al., 2004). These data offer a general understanding of the number of students who will require supports beyond those typically provided in a well-structured school.

In the area of mental health or psychiatric concerns, roughly one in five children and adolescents will experience clinically significant levels of symptoms and impairment from mental health disorders (Merikangas et al., 2010) at some point in their development. This is a much higher number than most people realize, underscoring the universality of mental health challenges and that many people experience challenges at some point in their lives (e.g., related to loss, divorce, unemployment). The most common mental health disorders in children and adolescents are anxiety and mood disorders and disruptive behavior disorders (which include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]; see Chapter 12), and as children move into adolescence and young adulthood, these problems are also increasingly connected with co-occurring behavioral problems and substance abuse (Merikangas et al., 2010). Furthermore, around one in 10 youth are affected by a severe mental illness that will significantly compromise their adaptive and school functioning and, for many students, continue into adulthood and compromise many domains of life, including familial, social, and vocational adjustment as well as physical health status (National Institute of Mental Health, 2001).

Within the educational system, students with significant social, emotional, and/or behavioral disorders are identified under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) 2004 (PL 108-446) as having “emotional disturbance.” Because the term emotional disturbance is stigmatizing and inappropriate (e.g., Walker, Geddes, Lever, Andrews, & Weist, 2010), we use the term emotional and/or behavioral disorders (EBD) throughout this book. This group of students has very poor educational outcomes. For example, more than half of students identified as having EBD drop out of high school (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). Further, acting-out behaviors (e.g., problems controlling aggressive impulses), internalizing difficulties (e.g., withdrawal), and social interaction problems contribute directly to poor outcomes later in life (see Aud et al., 2011; Levin & Belfield, 2007). The failure of students with EBD to graduate high school can be viewed as one more exacerbating milestone in an already tenuous life trajectory.

These sobering findings underscore the need for early identification and effective teaching and intervention for students at risk for, starting to show, or clearly showing emotional and/or behavioral challenges, and also highlight the critical role teachers have in assisting these students.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

There has been much speculation about the causes of emotional and behavioral problems. The widely accepted diathesis–stress hypothesis suggests that all people are born with some vulnerabilities to emotional and/or behavioral problems but that level of vulnerability varies (Goforth, Pham, & Carlson, 2011). Vulnerability can be viewed as a predisposition or area in a person’s life where there is increased risk for negative circumstances or personal problems (see Chapter 11 for additional information about risk factors). For example, a person growing up in a home with substance abuse has enhanced vulnerability later in life when around people with substance abuse issues and is also at increased risk for abusing substances. The level of vulnerability and number of risk factors or adverse events an individual experiences influence whether EBD will manifest (Sameroff & Chandler, 1975). For example, someone with low vulnerability may still display significant EBD if he or she experiences a significant adverse circumstance (e.g., severe abuse). Alternatively, someone with relatively high vulnerability may not develop more significant EBD if he or she is raised in a very nurturing environment and experiences a range of protective factors. In general, the more risk factors children experience, the more likely they are to have problems in functioning, whereas the more protective factors they experience, the more likely they are to function well and experience success. The presence of protective or “resilience” factors can help mitigate or reduce the impact of risk factors.

In terms of risk factors, educators are beginning to understand that behaviors seen in early childhood suggest which children may be at risk for later problems. For example, evidence points to children’s early self-regulation skills as important for adjustment. Self-regulation refers to a child’s ability to control and modulate his or her behavior in response to various cognitive, social, and emotional environmental demands (Posner & Rothbart, 2000). A child with poor self-regulation has difficulties interacting with peers, frequently argues or aggresses toward classmates, and may have tantrums or cry excessively. Poor self-regulation in young children can be exacerbated by a number of variables, such as child temperament and exposure to punitive and coercive parenting (Caulkins & Fox, 2002). Other risk factors for problem behavior that have been identified in young children, but may be less susceptible to intervention, include being male, having medical problems, and having genetic predisposition (e.g., Lavigne & Faier-Routman, 1992; O’Connor, Deater-Deckard, Fulker, Rutter, & Plomin, 1998).

Researchers have also examined risk factors that may influence the development of behavior problems as children age. For example, in a longitudinal study, O’Connor and colleagues (1998) examined variables that predict externalizing problems in middle elementary years (up to age 10) in four domains (child, sociocultural, parenting, and peer related). They found the aforementioned child risk variables (being a boy, more resistant temperament, medical problems) predicted later externalizing problems. Additional domains that also predicted externalizing problems were sociocultural risks (lower socioeconomic status, living with a single mother, higher child-to-adult ratio in the household, teenage pregnancy, unplanned pregnancy, more stressful life events), parenting/caregiving risks (extensive nonmaternal child care, lower father involvement, higher parental conflict, exposure to violence, harsh discipline, likelihood of physical abuse, lack of positive parenting, and maternal positive attitudes toward aggression), and early peer experiences (peer rejection in kindergarten). These risk variables, along with gender (male) and ethnicity (African American in the case of their study), were very good at predicting externalizing and aggressive behavior in children during middle childhood. Further, when several risk variables were present, the odds of having externalizing problems increased.

When examining risk factors in a child’s life, it is equally important to consider protective factors. Protective factors are conditions or attributes that diminish a student’s risk and allow him or her to adapt to otherwise difficult circumstances or situations. A number of protective factors are malleable and can be strengthened via school support and intervention (O’Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009; Youngstrom, Weist, & Albus, 2003). For example, academic achievement has been identified as a protective factor that can be developed through good academic instruction. Teachable protective factors that can be enhanced in children and adolescents include emotional regulation, coping and problem-solving skills, spirituality and faith involvement, helping others, participating in extracurricular activities, and reading for pleasure. Other protective factors are external to the student and can be enriched by others. These include a nurturing and warm family environment, an engaging school with a positive climate, clear expectations for behavior, regular interaction with nonfamilial positive adults, and opportunities for appropriate recreation and physical exercise (see Scales, Benson, Leffert, & Blyth, 2000). Chapter 12 delineates specific strategies to increase protective factors in schools.

Because many risk factors are difficult to alter (e.g., family economic status, single parent), it is judicious and more efficient to concentrate on protective factors. Schools are uniquely positioned to capitalize upon and strengthen student protective factors. Throughout this book, we emphasize student strengths that can be enhanced and specific skills that can be taught to increase the likelihood of optimal outcomes.

THE DETRIMENTAL OUTCOMES OF PROBLEM BEHAVIORS

Educators tend to view problem behaviors as isolated events that must be addressed through consequences. This traditional and rather narrow approach fails to offer sufficient supports to change behavior in a meaningful and durable way. A look at the long-term outcomes of problem behavior underscores the need to identify more effective solutions.

In the area of academics, problem behavior distracts from learning and interferes with student success (Barton-Arwood, Wehby, & Falk, 2005; Ruhl & Berlinghoff, 1992). For example, students identified by the school system as having EBD scored in the lowest 25th percentile as a group in pivotal areas such as reading comprehension and mathematics calculation (Bradley, Henderson, & Monfore, 2004; Lane et al., 2005), and more than 66% failed com...