Ashley Rila

The purpose of this study was to expand the praise literature by examining K–12 teachers’ preferences for praise and whether their acceptability for praise as a behavior management tool declines as grade level increases. Teacher acceptability and preferences for praise and reprimand were collected through the Teacher Praise and Reprimand Preference Survey (TPRPS), which is a survey adapted from the previously existing Adolescent Preference for Praise Survey (APPS). One hundred forty teachers from rural, suburban, and urban school districts in the U.S. completed the TPRPS survey. Results showed that as grade level increased, teachers reported praising students less frequently for academic work and appropriate behavior. Significant differences were found between elementary and secondary teachers’ preferences for praising students’ work and behavior. Compared with high school teachers, elementary teachers preferred to praise students out loud for doing their work, and elementary and middle school teachers preferred to reward students (out loud and quietly) with points, tickets, or token economies for work. This study provides insight into teachers’ acceptability and preferences for praise and reprimand, and results may help consultants support teacher praise, especially among secondary teachers.

Behavior intervention technologies (BITs) are digital tools designed to support behavior change through strategies such as goal-setting, monitoring, feedback, and reinforcement. While BITs have been widely studied in the health and wellness fields, research on their application in education settings is emerging. In this pilot study, we examined the effects of a new, enhanced version of MoBeGo (Monitoring Behavior on the Go) on one fourth-grade grade student’s academic engagement (AE) and disruptive behavior (DB) in both general and special education settings. Using AB single-case designs, the student and two teachers implemented MoBeGo, a BIT that involves teachers assessing students’ behavior, goal-setting, students self-monitoring their own behavior, and feedback. Results indicated improvements in AE and decreases in DB during intervention compared with baseline in both settings, with the greatest improvements in the general education classroom. Teachers and the student rated the social validity of MoBeGo favorably. We discuss key findings, limitations, and future directions in this brief report.

Interventions for students with or at-risk of emotional/behavioral disorders (EBDs) frequently target idiosyncratic behaviors defined by teachers, behavior specialists, or researchers. Consequently, the extent to which a problem behavior exists and the operationalization of the problem behavior largely depend on the perceptions of school staff. A number of research practices, including the use of standardized screening measures and the assessment of social validity, are designed to ensure that students who receive behavior interventions present with legitimate problems that are meaningful to stakeholders. The prevalence of such methods in recent studies for children with EBD remains unclear. This review examined the use of methods to validate the need for behavior intervention in single-case design studies involving EBD published in Behavior Disorders from 2000 to 2021. Identified articles ( n = 34) featured 129 student participants. Teachers were typically responsible for identifying study participants; however, standardized screening methods were used in most articles. Targeted behaviors were generally created by researchers or teachers. Task engagement represented the dependent variable in more than 50% of studies. Less than half of the articles featured social validity, with many procedures assessing both teacher and student perspectives. Key findings, limitations, and implications for research and practice are discussed.

This issue commemorates the scholarship published in Behavioral Disorders over the past five decades. The unwavering dedication to the interests of students with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBDs) reflected in the journal’s pages has coincided with considerable variance in approaches to research, respect for participants, and intervention methodology. This article provides a summary of these changes in studies that appeared in Behavioral Disorders between 1975 and 2024. Of the 1,423 identified studies, 59.11% featured an empirical study. Of these, descriptive (52.84%) and single-case design studies (23.71%) appeared most frequently. A closer inspection of participants and methods featured in experimental research revealed greater transparency in terms of demographic variables such as race/ethnicity, with limited progress related to characteristics such as socioeconomic status or English proficiency. Interventions generally emphasized classroom applications of behavioral intervention strategies for children without disabilities. Despite considerable variance across decades, findings suggest recent work has in many ways adjusted to address contemporary emphases on factors such as fidelity and social validity. Implications for the field are discussed following a review of findings.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine burnout profiles and organizational variables that impact burnout in school mental health providers, such as school counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and interventionists. We disseminated a survey to a large sample of school personnel across a Midwestern state. From the larger sample, we analyzed responses from school mental health providers (n = 120), as there are severe shortages of these professionals within the state and across the country. When shortages occur, caseloads are higher, thus increasing the work demands and the propensity for burnout. With burnout leading to attrition from the field, this creates a vicious cycle that could be prevented through the awareness and implementation of strategies to counteract the factors contributing to burnout. Results indicate school mental health providers (n = 120) in this state endure high levels of emotional exhaustion, while still maintaining a sense of personal accomplishment. Further, higher levels of perceived organizational support and job satisfaction appeared to lower burnout, whereas respondents who worked in schools implementing a multi-tiered system of support experienced higher burnout. Key findings, implications for practice, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

Assessing the extent to which interventions might generalize involves an understanding of for whom and in what contexts interventions have succeeded. Identifying the characteristics of service recipients as well as observers, teachers, and other members of implementation teams involved in intervention research represents an emerging consideration in special education literature involving single-case designs. In addition, the effectiveness of interventions for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may be influenced by cultural, linguistic, and economic differences between students and interventionists. This review describes the characteristics of students with EBD and implementation teams featured in single-case design behavior intervention studies published in nine special education journals from 2000 to 2020. Screening of available studies ( n = 4,877) resulted in a sample of 140 articles. Reports of student demographic data were high (66.4%–98.6% of articles depending on the variable); however, authors typically did not describe students’ socioeconomic status (SES). Information regarding implementation teams varied from 1.4% to 46% of articles depending on the variable. Implications for future research follows a discussion of findings.

The use of teacher praise is considered an evidence-based practice, yet little praise research has taken place in secondary school settings. Due to developmental differences, high school students likely present unique preferences for praise and reprimand compared to younger students. Therefore, there is a need to study high school students’ preferences for evidenced-based strategies. A total of 55 high school students from seven states in the United States, participated in a pilot survey examining preferences for praise and reprimand. Most students reported receiving praise for schoolwork and appropriate behavior was acceptable and receiving rewards (for work and behavior), while still acceptable, was less favorable than praise. Students preferred private praise, messages sent home to parents/guardians, and get out of work passes. Students least preferred public posts or school displays, no recognition, and praise out loud. For reprimands, students most preferred private verbal or written reprimands and least preferred detention or Saturday school. Implications for maximizing praise with high school students by considering student preferences and future research directions are offered.

Behavior-specific praise (BSP) is one of the simplest classroom management strategies to implement and considered an evidence-based practice. Unfortunately, teachers underuse BSP and deliver more reprimands to students in their classrooms. Secondary students receive the highest rates of reprimands and exclusionary discipline (i.e., office discipline referral [ODR], suspension, expulsion) with students of color receiving disproportionate rates compared to their White peers. Performance feedback is a commonly used strategy to change teacher practices however, little is known about the impact of performance feedback on the equitable delivery of BSP and reprimands to students by race and sex. The purpose of this multiple baseline design study was to examine the effects of a visual performance feedback (VPF) intervention with secondary teachers on their equitable delivery of BSP and reprimands and the collateral impacts on student outcomes. In the first phase of intervention, teachers received VPF on their total BSP and reprimands. In the second phase, teachers received disaggregated VPF on their rates of BSP and reprimands delivered to students by race and sex. Results indicate a functional relation between VPF and total BSP and an overall reduction in total reprimands. Mixed results were found between VPF and the equitable delivery of BSP and reprimands rates delivered to students by race and sex. Student outcomes indicated an increase in average class-wide academic engagement and no impact on ODRs as no teacher delivered a single ODR. Key findings, limitations, and future research are discussed.

Self-monitoring is one of the most widely used and widely researched strategies for improving student behavior. However, specific research-based guidance about how to design effective self-monitoring interventions and to whom they should be delivered does not yet exist. To this end, we examined how various treatment components and participant characteristics moderated response to self-monitoring interventions. We included 66 single-case studies on academic engagement and 21 single-case studies on disruptive behavior. These studies included 290 participants with challenging behavior, 183 of whom had a disability. After extracting raw data from original studies, we analyzed data using multilevel modeling for each dependent variable (i.e., academic engagement, disruptive behavior). Across both dependent variables, student age and educational setting impacted treatment effects, as did the inclusion of goal-setting, feedback, and reinforcement. Based on our findings, we describe implications related to designing self-monitoring interventions. We also discuss limitations and future directions.