published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

This thesis examines the significance of the study of art, specifically discipline-based art education, for behaviorally disordered public school students. A brief description of the distinctions between art education and art therapy is given and appropriate terms are defined. A discussion of the labels that constitute behavioral disorders and the general educational needs of that population is included. General benefits of art instruction for behaviorally disordered (BD) students are explored with the intention of demonstrating how a discipline-based art program can specifically enhance those benefits. A sample discipline-based drawing lesson adapted for behaviorally disordered students follows.

This study examined the current status of schoolwide positive behavior support efforts in Texas. The study specifically (a) examined the impact of statewide positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) training on the rates of discipline records, in-school ¬suspensions, out-¬of¬-school suspensions, disciplinary alternative education placements, and expulsions of public schools in Texas; (b) investigated the overall effectiveness of schoolwide positive behavior support; and (c) determined the differences between rates of discipline records, in-school ¬suspensions, out-¬of¬-school suspensions, disciplinary alternative education placements, and expulsions in schools participating in the Texas Behavior Support Initiative (TBSI): Schoolwide PBS Project when compared with matching schools who did not participate in the project. This study demonstrated that schools can significantly reduce problem behavior in their schools when implementing PBIS with fidelity. Creating effective systems of PBIS required training, coaching, and on¬site technical assistance by trained and experienced PBIS facilitators.

The purpose of this study was to explore regular education student perceptions of the effects of implementing behavioral interventions for seriously emotionally disturbed students (SED) in the regular classroom. Student perceptions of classroom friction or disruptiveness, apathy, and general enjoyment or satisfaction were evaluated. It was predicted that regular education students would report more classroom friction, increased apathy, and less satisfaction when interventions were implemented in the regular classroom for a target SED student.

The purpose of this study was to delineate the differences between the types of behavioral management techniques used by teachers of students with emotional/behavioral disorders.

This study was conducted to measure the effects of classroom instruction entitled Citizenship curriculum Training on high school discipline. Data for this study were collected and analyzed for fifty-eight ninth-grade students who had been referred to the principal's office three or more times the semester prior to the experimental treatment. An experimental group of twenty-nine students received citizenship curriculum instruction. The control group of twenty-nine students received only the school's traditional curriculum during second period class. Two teachers presented the citizenship curriculum training which included instructional units on beliefs, attitudes, emotions, anger, decision-making, communications, confrontation, positive attention, stress, peer pressure, authority figures, getting along in school, and the society game. Data were collected relative to grade-point average, absences, discipline referrals, and attitude toward high school as measured by the Remitters High School Attitude Scale. T-tests for correlated samples and analysis of covariance examined the effects of the Citizenship Curriculum Training on the four variables measured. The .05 level of significance was used to test the four hypotheses. The results of the study indicate that Citizenship Curriculum Training does not improve the students' gradepoint averages, absentee rate, lower the number of discipline referrals, and does not improve students' attitude as measured by the Remitters High School Attitude Scale. It is recommended that similar studies be conducted to address the problems of grade-point average, number of discipline referrals to the office, high absentee rate, and attitudes toward high school by teaching discipline students in small classes with a curriculum that aims at improving these specific problems. Future studies should collect the posttest data the first grading period following the experimental treatment to test for immediate results.

D.Ed. (Psychology Of Education) / The writer's personal experience as educational adviser at a TED aid centre shows that theft amongst children often occurs. Of significance is the frequency of theft occuring in younger children. Statistics obtained from the Central Statistics Service show that theft amongst children in South Africa is reaching alarming proportions. Theft is one of the misdemanours of a child that is commonly not handled pedagogically correctly by the parent It may well be that people steal due to a physical need, however, the reason for theft by children is more complex and profound than mere physical need. Before therapeutic action can be taken, it is imperative that some attempt be made to get to know the child better. This study includes a literature study as well as an empirical investigati m. Within the framework of the literature study, an attempt is made to gain perspective on the problem of theft by children. Attention is given to information obtained from literature pertaining to tl e child who steals in respect of contributory causes: personality theory, learning theories and personality development theories; a short discussion of the child in the senior primary and junior secondary school phases; as well as the treatment of the child who steals. The empirical investigation includes the pedo- and psycho-diagnostic testing of a number of children that steal. By means of case studies an attempt is made to uncover those factors that cause these children to steal. For this purpose school children in the senior primary and junior secondary school phases who had been reported to TED aid centres on the East Rand for theft behaviour were included in this investigation. Information was obtained by using the form which is completed upon reporting to the centre; the results of selective tests; interviews with the child's parents or custodians; and discussion with the child himself or herself. The analysis of the case studies is largely qualitative, although it includes quantitive facets as well...

A review of the literature regarding behavioral characteristics and underlying factors for behaviorally disordered (BD) students revealed that both elementary school aged and secondary school aged BD students may be able to be described by a similar factor structure. Utilizing ratings obtained on a national sample of BD students with the Behavioral Dimensions Rating Scale (BDRS). Research Edition, the pattern of item ratings for students in grades kindergarten through five (K-5) and grades six through eleven (6-11) was examined to confirm this literature-based theory. Multigroup simultaneous confirmatory factor analysis using maximum likelihood estimation procedures was utilized to compare the covariance structures of students in grades K-5 and grades 6-11. A goodness-of-fit index revealed that the covariance matrices of the two groups were invariant. Since the same factor structure could be used to describe BD students in grades K-5 and grades 6-11, the means for the two groups were compared using Hotelling's T^2 statistic for two independent samples. The analysis resulted in finding a significant difference between the two groups' means. A univariate F test was conducted for the behavioral dimensions to locate the source of the mean difference. A significant difference was found only for Factor I: Aggressive/Acting Out, indicating that teachers perceive these types of behavior to be more problematic for students in grades K-5. No significant differences were found between the two groups' means on Factor II: Socially Withdrawn, Factor III: Irresponsible/Inattentive, or Factor IV: Fearful/Anxious. This investigation has demonstrated that teachers can use the BDRS, Research Edition with confidence when assessing the behaviors of both elementary and secondary school aged students. Areas for further investigation include an examination for invariance across (a) more narrowly defined grade distributions, (b) gender, and (c) socioeconomic status.

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