This study combined a number of behaviour modification strategies into a programme aimed at changing
behaviours of delinquent and acting out children.
The programme was used at Duffield Place, a
small special school where such children were referred
when it was deemed that they could no longer be catered
for in their home schools.
An examination was made of the five main
theories of delinquency (Psychoanalytic, Biological,
Conditionability, Sociological and Social Learning) and
seven behavioural procedures commonly used with delinquent
and acting-out children (systematic adult attention and
feedback, token economies, contracting, stimulus change,
assertiveness training, time out and generalization
training). The first seven children to finish the
programme in 1981 were then examined, using a case study
approach, to answer two questions -
1. Can acting out and delinquent children be
removed from their home schools and be taught
various skills that will generalize when they
are returned to a home school?
2. Can the. programme be assessed by the staff
and consultants working at the centre?
Criteria used to evaluate effectiveness were
the number of offences involving police contact, whether
the child remained in school until he or she was fifteen
years old, whether the home school reported a decrease in
aggressive/disruptive behaviours and whether there was
an increase in measured self-esteem and attainments. Most
criteria were met with most children and maintained so the
evaluation met the needs of the public schools system.
However functional relationships between particular interventions
and behaviour changes were not established and
evaluation by personnel other than those at the centre
would be necessary to establish these relationships.
Results from programmes like that at Duffield Place
should provide a more complete theoretical basis for
working with delinquent and acting-out children.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219147 |
| Date | January 1982 |
| Creators | Olsen, Jerry, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Jerry Olsen |
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