In Chapter One, a systematic literature review was conducted to analyze intervention studies that measured student- teacher relationships (STR). STR are important for all students (Burchinal, Peisner-Feinberg, Pianta, & Howes, 2002; Hughes, Luo, Kwok, & Loyd, 2008; Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004). Students who have positive relationships that include high levels of closeness with their teachers have better academic, behavioral, and social emotional outcomes (Mihalas, Morse, Allsopp, & McHatton, 2009; Roorda, Koomen, Spilt & Oort, 2011). In addition, students who have relationships with their teacher that are high in conflict are more likely to demonstrate negative behavior, social skills and academic achievement (Murray & Greenberg, 2001; Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004). Fourteen intervention studies were synthesized in this systematic literature review to identify strategies that can be used in the classroom to improve STR. Ten strategies were represented in two or more studies that had a positive impact on STR: (a) specific praise and positive feedback, (b) direct student intervention, (c) de-escalation by ignoring or redirecting, (d) increased one-to-one time, (e) helping students change their representational models, (f) adjusting the teachers representational models, (g) tangible reinforcement, (I) parent involvement, and (j) morning meetings. One intervention in Chapter One that improved STR was dialogue journaling (DJ). DJ is an ongoing, personal, and interactive written conversation between the teacher and student. Previous research suggests that DJ has the potential to help students and teachers improve their relationships as they develop a personal connection that is mutually respectful. DJ also has the potential to reduce students’ disruptive behavior, improve their interactions with the teacher, and enhance their writing skills. In Chapter Two, a multiple baseline across participants single-case design study was conducted to examine the relationship between DJ and disruptive behavior, teacher praise, writing length, writing quality, and STR with four middle school students with emotional and behavior disorders in a therapeutic school. Students responded to journal prompts or wrote to a topic of their choosing during baseline and maintenance. During intervention, students and teachers corresponded in writing through the dialogue journals. A functional relation was found between DJ and disruptive behavior, but not between DJ and teacher praise, STR or writing skills. However, there was an effect demonstrated between DJ and writing length for two students. In addition, three of the four students reported an increased perception of teacher-student relationships. Students and teachers expressed satisfaction with the intervention. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of a second tier intervention on at risk students' behaviors and academic success. The study included 113 middle school and junior high students identified as being at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders using the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD). The participants were assigned to a control group (no treatment), one, two, or three semesters of the intervention. The intervention integrated components of social skills instruction, self-management techniques, and social and emotional awareness. Students' behaviors and academic success were measured using school data (i.e. GPA, Office Discipline Referrals, attendance, and tardies) and Achenbach Teacher Rating Forms (TRF), in pretest-posttest intervention designs over a five-year period. This research used archival data funded in part by an OSEP Federal Grant (H324c030124). Primary investigator was K. Richard Young and co-primary investigator was Ellie L. Young. Results indicated that students receiving the intervention did not differ significantly from the control group in all areas measured.