Universal screening serves to identify students at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties while their behavior is still amenable to treatment. However, there are few universal screeners available for middle school students who may be at heightened risk for developing emotional and behavioral difficulties due to major academic and social…

Nine high school students with emotional and behavioral disorders received instruction on how to write argumentative essays to self-advocate for their transition-focused needs. A special education teacher and paraprofessional received training on the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) model of writing instruction. They provided instruction…

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between language behavior in students with or at risk of emotional and behavioral disorders. School-age students in K-4 grades (N = 300, 76% male) were sampled across three school districts. Students were grouped based on oral language ability and measured on teacher-rated subscales of…

This exploratory grounded theory study examined teacher perspectives of social competence in urban alternative high schools. Research questions elicited teachers' conceptualizations of social competence and descriptions of how their views on students' social-emotional behaviors influence pedagogy. The specific school context was behavior-focused…

School staff have an important role to play in identifying and assisting pupils who require additional support to regularly attend school, but their beliefs about risk factors might influence their decisions regarding intervention. This qualitative study investigated educational practitioners' beliefs about risk factors for attendance problems.…

Verbal aggression (VA) is among the most prevalent forms of problem behavior in schools with detrimental effects for both perpetrators and victims, yet little is known about VA among students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Accordingly, we surveyed 279 teachers of students with behavioral disorders to examine the prevalence,…

To understand and support teacher-student interactions, there is a need for research on teachers' daily emotions in interactions with students. Therefore, this study investigated the development of teachers' negative emotions in interactions with individual students with attachment problems. Using a 3-week diary study, data were collected from 71…

Research has shown that the attitudes of teachers towards pupils can influence their academic and social behaviour. In the context of special education needs (SEN), the same processes likely apply, and there is evidence that teachers' attitudes influence the success of inclusive initiatives. While the literature on attitudes to pupils with SEN is…

Robert A. Gable is the Constance and Colgate Darden Professor of Special Education and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia. He earned his PhD from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and was on the faculty at Peabody--Vanderbilt and the University of Pittsburgh prior to his appointment at Old Dominion…

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…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a tiered intervention that assists school personnel in determining eligibility for special education services. Studies support the use of RTI as an early intervention for addressing significant learning disabilities (SLD) and social emotional behaviors, as well as for students who are culturally and linguistically…

Building on existing research on Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD), the current study investigated the collateral effects of social skills prompts on the writing outcomes and problem behavior of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Generalization measures involved the use of video prompts to explore their impact (if…

With the current trend in education toward instructing all students inclusively in the general education setting it is necessary to determine whether general and special educators are adequately equipped to provide instruction, which takes place inclusively, for students with the disability classification Emotional Behavior Disorder. An…

By typical definitions in the special education world, inclusion would not be recognizable as it exists at Memorial Elementary. Memorial is responding to a widely documented trend in public schools: over-representation of students of color, particularly Black and Brown students, in "high-incidence" special education categories, including…

Cultivating and retaining special educators competent to serve students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) has proven persistently difficult. Improving educational systems' capacity to meet this challenge will require better understanding of the roles special educators in these settings should be prepared for and supported to fulfill.…