Middle school is a cornerstone for success in high school. However, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement of adolescents often decline as they transition from elementary to middle school, resulting in lower school grades and more challenging behaviors, especially for adolescents with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders…

Classroom management is a common challenge in middle schools. Class-wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a multi-tiered intervention designed to decrease problem behaviors at the classroom level (Wills et al., 2010). It is comprised of evidence-based practices such as teaching classroom expectations, increasing teacher praise, and…

Middle school teachers frequently struggle with positively managing student behavior. However, praise-to-reprimand ratios (PRRs) have received little research attention. PRRs studied in elementary school have been positively associated with improvements in on-task and prosocial behavior, but limited research has been conducted on optimal PRRs in…

School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) relies on effective implementation of Tier 1 practices to ensure accurate identification of students in need of more intensive supports at Tier 2 or Tier 3. While measures of school-level fidelity are widely used, measures of classroom-level implementation of Tier 1 supports are…

Middle school teachers frequently struggle with positively managing student behavior. However, praise-to-reprimands ratios (PRRs) have received little research attention. PRRs studied in elementary school have been associated positively with improvements in on-task and prosocial behavior, but limited research has been conducted on optimal PRRs in…

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has become an increasingly worrying phenomenon among adolescents and young adults. This study sought to address the paucity of data about the prevalence, nature, and functions of NSSI in the South African context. The Inventory of Statements about Self-harm and the Beck Depression Inventory-II were administered to…

During the transition from elementary to middle school, adolescents may become increasingly vulnerable for emotional and behavioral problems. Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams for middle school (CW-FIT MS), the independent variable examined in this study, was developed to improve teaching and learning by fostering student engagement.…

During the transition from the elementary to middle grades, young adolescents may become increasingly vulnerable for emotional and behavioral problems. Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams for middle level school (CW-FIT MS), the independent variable examined in this study, was developed to improve teaching and learning by fostering…

Middle school special education teachers are often concerned about challenging behavior. In recent years, school wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) has been shown to be effective in improving students' behavior. Class-wide Function-related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT) is a SWPBS-based program designed to for implementation at the classroom…

A withdrawal design was used to examine the influence of a self-monitoring procedure on the overall effectiveness of an interdependent group contingency intervention implemented in a sixth-grade classroom in an alternative school serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Dependent variables included student on-task, off-task,…

The difficulties students identified with emotional and behavior disabilities present sometimes strain inclusive educators. General education teachers often find themselves ill equipped to provide effective support for both students with and without disabilities. An effective intervention that may hold promise for included students with academic…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) too often do not receive adequate services or care in their school settings, particularly during transitions in educational placements. In addition, school support teams often struggle with creating transition plans that honor the needs of students with input from key stakeholders responsible…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) have academic, behavioral, and social characteristics that present unique needs within schools. Educators across the country are responding to the academic, behavioral, and social needs of all students, including students with E/BD, by implementing a continuum of supports across a…

Understanding excessive absenteeism is important to ameliorating the negative outcomes associated with the behavior. The present study examined behavioral reinforcement profiles of school refusal behavior: negative reinforcement (avoidance) and positive reinforcement (gaining parental attention or receiving tangible benefits from not attending…

Since its publication in 2012, "The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students" has helped countless classroom teachers, special educators, and others implement an effective, new approach to teaching focused on skill-building, practical interventions, and purposeful, positive interactions…