The increase of students with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder (EBD) and the increased time they are in the regular education classroom presents multiple challenges for untrained regular classroom teachers. At the local site it was noted that leadership needed a deeper understanding of the practices used by the teachers with EBD students. The purpose of this study was to identify educator's descriptions of effective instructional strategies when working with EBD students. Using Vygotsky's theories of defectology and zone of proximal development as the framework, the guiding questions for this study focused on training, instructional strategies, and behavior management tools that teachers deemed successful in the inclusion classroom. Data were collected using a case study exploring the design with purposeful sampling strategies for participant recruitment. Two focus groups with 14 regular Kindergarten through fifth grade classroom teachers were conducted along with personal interviews with 5 behavior specialists. Data were analyzed using open and axial coding with iterative re-categorization strategies. The findings highlighted effective teaching strategies that focused on improving the overall educational experience in the inclusive classroom by targeting improvement of academic performance, social skills, communication techniques, and behavior management strategies. This study focused on a positive social change by positioning teachers to create a successful educational environment for all students. The study's project provided a culminating professional development project that presented the various strategies discovered during the data collection and analysis process.

This study assessed the influence of language on the ability of children identified as being at risk for internalizing behavior disorders to successfully participate in a social skills intervention program. Fourth and fifth grade students participated in Strong Kids: A Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum in Grades 4-8, a program which promotes emotional resiliency. The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fourth Edition (CELF-4) and Children's Communication Checklist-Second Edition (CCC-2) were both completed to obtain a global language score and pragmatic language score. The Teacher's Report Form (TRF), a shortened 10-item version of the Internalizing Student Symptom Scale (ISSC), and a 20-item knowledge based assessment relating to the Strong Kids curriculum were completed prior to and after the intervention. These behavioral assessments were administered in order to determine improvement in academic performance, adaptive functioning, and behavioral/emotional problems with relation to language functioning. It was found that children with higher general language abilities made significantly positive improvements with regard to withdrawal than children with lower general language abilities on measures taken prior to and directly after the Strong Kids curriculum. Additionally, the ISSC revealed that children with lower general language abilities rated themselves as having significantly more positive changes in behavior than children with higher general language abilities on measures taken prior to and six weeks following the Strong Kids curriculum. Pragmatic functioning, determined by the CCC-2, was not associated with significant behavioral improvements between children with high and low pragmatic language skills.

The diploma thesis addresses the issue of special education interventions in individuals suffering from specific behavioral disorders. Its theoretical part describes behavioral disorders in general, it explains what specific behavioral disorders are, and deals with their diagnostics and classification. Furthermore, it describes possibilities of interventions with individuals with specific behavioral disorders. It is focused on art therapy as on one of the techniques used in special education interventions. In its empirical part, the thesis treats the problem of the application of art therapy in the Educational care center environment with a client suffering from a specific behavioral disorder. The practical part of the thesis was implemented by means of qualitative research methods, specifically using a case study.

The theme of the master thesis is the intervention approaches used to support pupils with a specific behavioral disorder. The main aim of the thesis is to map the content of the consultancy services in Zlin Region, which are provided to pupils with specific behavioral disorders in schools and school counseling facilities, specifically pedagogical-psychological counselling centres. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical parts. Basic concepts will be defined in the first chapter. The following chapter presents classification and differentiation of specific behavioral disorder from a medical point of view, risk factors of development of specific behavioral disorder, major and associated shows of specific behavioral disorder and its consequences. The third chapter deals with interventions and treatment options for specific behavioral disorders including prevention. Foreign approaches to pupils with a specific behavioral disorder are also outlined in this chapter. The researching part contains a chapter devoted to the methodology of research. There are included research objectives, research issues, data collection methods and the definition of a research sample. The following chapter already provides data analysis and interpretation. The chapter concludes by answering research questions....

Teacher-student relationships can influence the academic, social, and behavioral adjustment of children and youth. Students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) experience poor quality relationships with teachers. The current study explores the importance of working alliance (i.e., agreement on tasks and goals, bond) among teachers and their students. Seventy-six teacher-student dyads completed measures of classroom working alliance, perceptions of the student-teacher relationship, student engagement, and student behavior (i.e., externalizing and internalizing behavior). Findings indicated that (a) students and teachers have weak agreement about the quality of their alliance, (b) working alliance was associated with student engagement, and (c) students’ externalizing symptomology predicted teacher ratings of alliance. Interpretation of these findings, study limitations, and suggestions for future research and practice are discussed.

The current literature lacks empirically-supported preventative approaches for kindergarten students who are socially withdrawn and behind in the development of social skills. Furthermore, parents are underutilized in interventions during this critical period of social development. In response to this need, a classroom-based intervention consisting of (a) social skills training, (b) self-evaluation and reinforcement, (c) home notes and parent involvement, and (d) adult mediation was implemented to increase the positive social engagement of three kindergarten students. The effects of this intervention were evaluated on the playground during recess using partial interval recording of target students’ positive or negative engagement with at least one peer. Improvements of social interactions on the playground were demonstrated by each target student during the implementation of the intervention, but only one student maintained these improvements in the follow-up phase. Future studies should investigate whether addressing the limitations of this study would yield stronger results with this under-identified population of students.

This diploma thesis deals with a problem of iclusion of pupils with behavioral disorder in the first grade of elementary shool. The goal of the thesis is to describe an approach of the teachers in the first grade of ordinary elementary school to these pupils. The theorethical part of the thesis describes complex of problems of behavioral disorders, inclusion and current situation of czech educational system. The practical part of the thesis focuses on two czech elementary schools where I have been doing a research during school year 2016/2017. In a process of finding solution of examined problem was used a way of qualitative research and observing methods, analyzes of articles and documents, an interview and comments. The thesis contains a complex case report about pupils with behavioral disorder. This case report is based on information gained during the research and there are also described pedagogical approaches of their teachers. According to that research was found out that a topic of school inclusion is ongoing and teachers are very familier with it. But sometimes they keep mistaking this concept for a concept of integration. There was also found out that teachers have experience with children with behavioral disorder but they are not always able to work correctly with these children. Main...

Current research shows that school’s behavior intervention plans are lacking in key components, indicating a need for a standardized model of assessment that sustains teacher adherence, acceptance, and feasibility. Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) is a model that combines the principles of applied behavior analysis and positive behavior support to provide a standardized approach to conducting a functional assessment and creating a behavior plan. Studies have indicated that PTR is effective in improving student behavior and academic engagement. The current study evaluated the use of PTR for three high school students classified as emotional behavioral disorder (EBD). Results indicated that teacher-implemented functional assessment and intervention planning through the use of PTR was effective at creating substantial reductions in problem behaviors and improvements in replacement behaviors for all three students. In addition, teachers were able to implement the interventions with high levels of fidelity, and social validity scores obtained from both the teachers and students indicated that the acceptability of the PTR procedures and results was relatively high.

Research shows that children with disabilities are more likely engage in problem behaviors and have behavioral, social, and academic deficits in a school classroom than those children without disabilities (e.g., Owens et al., 2012; Pierce, Reid, & Epstein, 2004). Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRCs) have been found to improve disruptive behaviors, such as task refusal or calling out in class, of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, intellectual and developmental disorders and typically developing students; however, research evaluating the efficacy of DBRCs with students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is lacking. Studies also indicate that DBRCs can be effectively implemented by teachers (e.g., Taylor & Hill, 2017) and that peers can implement a variety of interventions with fidelity (e.g., Check in check out [CICO]; Collins, Gresham, & Dart, 2016). Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of DBRC, implemented by peers, on the behaviors of students at risk for EBD and whether peers can implement the intervention procedures with high integrity. The study used a non-concurrent multiple baseline design across three participants. In this study peer mediated DBRC led to a decrease in disruptive behavior and an increase in appropriate behavior for all three target students who were at risk for EBD. The peer mediators also implemented the DBRC procedures with high integrity.

This study identified the expected knowledge/skills needed for working with children and youth with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) in general education classroom settings, as identified by general educators.