xv, 253 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The High School Behavior Education Program (HS-BEP) is a secondary level intervention for high school "at risk" students that provides both academic and social supports. Students participating in the HS-BEP attend a 45-minute study-skills course two to three days a week that focuses on organizational and self-management skills. As part of the study-skills class, students also participate in a modified behavior education program (BEP) designed to establish access to adult support. Six high school students identified by their teachers as "at risk" socially, and/or academically participated in the study. The students were enrolled in a Pacific Northwest high school implementing school-wide positive behavior support. Direct observation and permanent product data were collected on (a) the fidelity with which the HS-BEP was implemented, (b) academic engagement during general content classes (English, math, history, etc.), (c) problem behavior during classes, (d) percentages of course assignment completion, (e) class attendance, and (f) number of office discipline referrals. A single-case multiple baseline experimental design across students was used to assess the primary research question: is there a functional relation between the implementation of the HS-BEP and an increase in academic engagement. Secondary analyses examined the impact of the HS-BEP on (a) decreases in problem behaviors, (b) increases in assignment completion, (c) increases in class attendance, and (d) decreases in office discipline referrals for "at risk" high school students engaging in escape maintained behaviors. Results demonstrated a functional relation between implementation of the HS-BEP and improved academic engagement. Levels of problem behavior were too low to assess impact, and small to moderate improvements in assignment completion were observed. Implications are provided for the design of secondary-level supports in high schools. References / Committee in charge: Robert Homer, Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; K Brigid Flannery, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Deanne Unruh, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt

Schools are facing an increasing pressure to deal effectively with students' problem behaviors in the school environment. Research suggests that Behavior Monitoring Programs (BMPs) are effective and efficient secondary interventions to use in remedying problem behavior in the classroom and are acceptable to teachers, parents, and students. Most of the research on BMPs has been conducted at the elementary school level. The current study investigated the effectiveness of a BMP within a school-wide system of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) with three suburban high school students. Problem behaviors for each student were targeted based upon previous office discipline referral data (ODR) and teacher comments, and three behavioral goals were made for students based upon these findings, along with teacher input. Effectiveness of the intervention was measured by the increase in teacher's behavioral ratings on the Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC). Furthermore, teachers, parents and students rated the intervention's effectiveness via a five-item intervention acceptability questionnaire. Results of the study suggest that the BMP intervention is both effective and acceptable for use with secondary students. All students experienced an increase in behavioral ratings on the DBRC during intervention. Across all students and all behaviors, the intervention resulted in an overall mean improvement of 63% in problem behaviors in the classroom. Average effect sizes were large while probability levels were low. Furthermore, all teachers, parents, and students rated the intervention as being acceptable. The average rating that all parents gave for all five items (on a 6 point scale with higher numbers indicating greater acceptability) was 5.2, while the average for students was 4.3. The student's teachers together rated all five items as 4.8.

Problem behaviors in the school setting have become more frequent as well as challenging for teachers and faculty to decrease while attempting to help their students attain their academic goals. Within the last decade, school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) has become more widespread as an evidence-based practice within the school system. SWPBS uses a multi-tiered support structure in order to affect behavior change across an entire school population. Several common secondary interventions have been utilized with high success rates. However, the research conducted thus far using the Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) program, a secondary intervention, has shown a lesser degree of success in behavior change with those students whose problem behavior is maintained by negative reinforcement or escape from aversive tasks. The current study examined the effects of the CICO program, adapted to address negative reinforcement contingencies. Using a multiple baseline across participants design, students in this study were exposed to a modified CICO intervention strategy in which problem behaviors, specifically related to the escape function as determined by a routine analysis, were targeted for reduction while academic engagement were targeted for acquisition. Results provided reductions in problem behaviors and an overall increase in academic engagement across participants with teacher implementers indicating the modified CICO program as feasible and acceptable. Implications for future research are discussed.