ERIC Number: EJ1141302
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Dec
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0279-6015
EISSN: N/A
Effect Size for Token Economy Use in Contemporary Classroom Settings: A Meta-Analysis of Single-Case Research
Soares, Denise A.; Harrison, Judith R.; Vannest, Kimberly J.; McClelland, Susan S.
School Psychology Review, v45 n4 p379-399 Dec 2016
Recent meta-analyses of the effectiveness of token economies (TEs) report insufficient quality in the research or mixed effects in the results. This study examines the contemporary (post-Public Law 94-142) peer-reviewed published single-case research evaluating the effectiveness of TEs. The results are stratified across quality of demonstrated functional relationship using a nonparametric effect size (ES) that controls for undesirable baseline trends in the analysis. In addition, moderators (i.e., classroom setting, age of participant, outcomes, use of response cost, and use of verbal cueing) were analyzed. Eighty-eight AB phase contrasts were calculated from 28 studies (1980-2014) representing 90 participants and produced a weighted mean ES of 0.82 (SE 0.03, 95% CI [0.77, 0.88]). Strong quality produced a combined weighted mean ES of 0.85 (SE 0.642, 95% CI [0.74, 0.97]). Moderator analyses revealed that a TE was slightly more effective for youth between the ages of 6 and 15 years than for children between the ages of 3 and 5 years or when used with behavioral goals in comparison to academic goals. However, no difference was found when implemented in general or special education settings or with the inclusion of response cost or verbal cueing.
Descriptors: Effect Size, Token Economy, Meta Analysis, Nonparametric Statistics, Program Effectiveness, Educational Research, Research Design, Computation, Statistical Analysis, Public Schools, Age Differences, Outcome Measures, Educational Environment, Verbal Stimuli, Responses
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A