Educators today are faced with a worthy goal. Every student, including those with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), must be taught by a qualified teacher. However, recruiting, training, and retaining quality special education teachers continue to confound the field. The purpose of this study was to determine if the completion of a NCATE/CEC (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education/Council for Exceptional Children) approved masters program specializing in EBD from a well-known university increased the confidence in knowledge and skills of special educators, the numbers of special educators, and/or the retention of special educators working with students with EBD. The sample in this study was composed of 199 students who had completed the master's degree in special education who specialized in emotional/behavioral disorders from 1985 to 2005. Data were compiled from 80 students at a response rate of approximately 40%. Additionally, five respondents participated in face-to-face interviews. The data did not lend themselves to the quantitative analysis and thus pose a limitation to the generalizability of this study. However, combined with the qualitative analysis, the study provided a rich analysis of a program whose graduates stay in the field of special education providing services to students with EBD.

The research investigation reported herein examined the quality and experience of the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) process as reported by educators working with students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD). The data accrued is based on a 30-item survey and participant telephone interviews examined the overall knowledge of the FBA process by educators and their general experience when conducting a FBA, specifically the procedural timeline, types of education professionals involved, and typical outcomes and results. Survey responses indicated two common barriers in the FBA implementation which often inhibit best practice: lack of true collaborative teamwork and insufficient communication among FBA team members. Survey responses also indicated a level of statistical significance from education professionals working in elementary school settings who self-rated positively higher when conducting a FBA than those education professionals working on either a secondary or special campus. Additionally, participant interviews indicated a growing awareness of the advantages of using the FBA as an early intervention process when dealing with challenging behaviors.

Teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) find that myriad concerns for effective teaching (e.g., salaries, increased paperwork, classroom management) challenge their ability to meet personal and professional needs. The push for certified teachers and limited training to work with students with special needs create stressors that can prohibit effective teaching in the workplace. Teacher moral drops and half of newly hired employees leave the profession. Equally important, student outcomes are affected. Demographic information, program practices, and commitment information from special education teachers across the country were examined in this study. These areas of study helped to determine the best indicators for teacher job satisfaction and barriers that threaten satisfactory working conditions. An online survey was designed to capture 29 areas to explore qualifications and working environments for these teachers. Of the 600 targeted teachers, 332 individuals participated in Likert-like scales to determine their degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction for working conditions, use of intervention strategies, and areas of commitment. Closed-ended and multiple-choice questions were used. Descriptive analyses and tables aided in understanding this study. The resulting factors indicated that, although some respondents pointed to job dissatisfaction within the subset of questions, participants who worked for more than 6 years were less likely to vacate their positions than teachers working for less than six years.

Students with challenging behavior, including those with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders, demonstrate emotional, social, academic and behavioral problems that need support within and outside of school. To this end, self-monitoring has been identified through the literature as a promising approach for remediating challenging behaviors like off-task behaviors, disruptive behavior, and non-academic engagement. Although reinforcement is often included as a component of self-monitoring interventions, the literature is unclear whether reinforcement is necessary. Thus, in this study, a single subject research design ABCBC multi-treatment design was used to investigate the effects of a technology-based self-monitoring intervention with and without reinforcement for two elementary students with behavioral problems. Overall, students benefitted from the intervention, but reinforcement did not result in differential effects. Limitations and implications for further research is streamlined.

This session will present an empirical review of the SWPBS research. A discussion will be held concerning the issues about the effect on students with EBD.

No description available.

Recent research in juvenile justice has focussed on identifying precursors of delinquency, which are referred to as "risk factors." These are biological or psychosocial conditions that increase the probability of an individual developing problem behaviors. Delinquency prevention and intervention programs are adopting a risk-focussed approach which attempts to reduce targeted youth's exposure to risk factors. Limited attention has been paid to investigating whether commonly accepted risk factors are equally relevant across various subtypes of juvenile offenders. Two subgroups of offenders deserving of special attention by virtue of their extremely high prevalence rates in the juvenile justice system are those with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) and those with learning disabilities (LD). The purpose of this study was to determine the relevance of specific individually-, family-, and school-based risk factors for delinquency across three specific groups of juvenile offenders: (a) those with EBD, (b) those with LD, and (c) those who did not qualify as disabled under the definition of disability used in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Individual risk factors that were measured included aggressive/acting-out behaviors, irresponsible/inattentive behaviors, fearful/anxious behaviors, social withdrawn behaviors, age at first arrest and history of substance use. School-based risk factors examined were students' reading and math scores and attitude towards and involvement in school. Attachment to family, parental discipline style, and level of supervision provided by parents were the family-based risk factors examined. Discriminant analysis procedures indicated that juvenile offenders with EBD, juvenile offenders with LD, and nondisabled offenders differed significantly in their demonstration of aggressive/acting-out behaviors, irresponsible/inattentive behaviors and fearful/anxious behaviors. In contrast, no significant differences were found across family-, and school-based risk factors. This implies that until research demonstrates the existence of unique risk factors or a difference in the magnitude of risk factors experienced by juvenile offenders with EBD and LD, it would be premature to develop and implement differential delinquency prevention and intervention programming for these subgroups of offenders.

This study explored whether the relationship between temperament and emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) is moderated by socioeconomic status (SES) in a sample of 73 children ages 5 through 15 years. Caregivers completed the Rothbart temperament surveys and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Indicators of SES included total household income and occupational status, while indicators of EBDs included the Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems, and Total Problems scales of the CBCL. Temperament variables included Fear, Frustration, Sadness, and Shyness. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed 4 regressions significant for moderation. A conclusion gleaned from these results is that the relationship between particular temperament dimensions and Externalizing Problems and Total Problems is stronger in low-SES children than high-SES children but only when taking into account occupational status.

Systematic screening for social, emotional, and behavioral concerns (SEBC) identifies at-risk students and provides information to guide interventions that may prevent negative outcomes (Glover & Albers, 2006; Kauffman, 1999; Severson, Walker, Hope-Dolittle, Katochwill, & Gresham, 2007). However, the screening process may be influenced by the gender of the student (Young, Sabbah, Young, Reiser, & Richardson, 2010). This study further examined the influence of student gender on screening by assessing the congruency of gates one and two of a screening process based on student gender. Participants included 59 middle school teachers who nominated at-risk students on the Teacher Nomination Form (TNF; Davis, 2012) and then completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BASC-2 BESS; Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2007) on each nominated student. A two-tailed z-score was calculated to see if the TNF predicted BASC-2 BESS T-scores better for one gender over the other. A z score of -0.63 (p > .05) was obtained in the internalizing category and a z score of 0.39 (p > .05) was obtained in the externalizing category; the difference between correlation coefficients for males and females was not statistically significant. While more males were nominated than females in both the internalizing and externalizing categories, the screening instrument does not measure differently for males and females according to the data analysis provided here. Disproportionate identification of males and females in the screening process may be explained by other factors that could be the focus of additional research.

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority in the U.S. (NCES, 2004). Despite dramatic increases in Latino enrollment, a dearth of information exists regarding culturally responsive services. Latino students face poor education outcomes, including the highest dropout rate of any race (President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans [PACEEHA], 2003), and disproportionate over-representation in special education programs (Aaroe, 2004; Artiles & Trent, 1994; U.S. Department of Education, 1992, 1995, 2000). The present study explored issues relevant to serving Latino students who may be at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders. This study used qualitative interviews to better understand the school experiences of Latino students identified as at risk for emotional or behavioral problems using the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD). Themes from the interviews were organized into four general areas; the results provided in-depth information regarding positive and negative school interactions with peers, characteristics of positive and negative teacher-student interactions, school adjustment issues, and home issues which were relevant to students' education.