Laura’s Response to Emotional and
Behavioral Disorders
I chose an
article titled, Evaluation of a Mentoring Program for Elementary School
Students at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders by Paul Caldarella,
Michael B. Adams, Shauna B. Valentine, and K. Richard Young from Brigham Young
University. The focus of this article was to evaluate a school-based mentoring
program with adults and elementary students at risk for emotional and
behavioral disorders. Through the research provided by the team, this mentoring
program associated with improvements in students’ self-esteem, attitudes about
school and peer-to-parental relationships. The research also suggested that
academic achievement along with some behavioral improvements had taken place.
More
research has shown that students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD)
experience less academic instruction and are frequently removed from class
compared to students with other disabilities. Academic failure for students
with EBD is primarily due to lack of content knowledge, task incompletion and
skill deficiency. In order to combat EBD with at risk students the school-based
approached used was Positive Behavior Support (PBS). The fundamentals to PBS is
a practical approach that uses preventative teaching strategies.
PBS is a three tiered model designed
to address individual needs. According to the PBS model tier one is targeted at
80 percent of students which best respond to universal or primary level
interventions reinforcing behavioral expectations of the school community. The
secondary level interventions target specific service and support to 15 percent
of the population. This 15 percent is most commonly labeled at risk. While the
remaining 5 percent is in the third tier. These students require highly focused
assessment and interventions mostly including the population of students with
educational disabilities.
While the purpose of the article was
to evaluate and describe this particular school-based mentoring program the
evaluation focused on the impact of social competence, antisocial behaviors,
academics and attendance. The results of the evaluation supported mentoring as
a secondary level PBS intervention for potential at risk students with EBD. The
positive feedback surveyed from parents and teachers expressed that
participation in the program helped improve social competence, decreased
antisocial behavior and improvement academically. The research also showed the
positive effects of the program like homework completion and a change in the
attitudes toward school among at risk students for EBD.
In conclusion, the article was
informative and the results from research provided was very positive. It was
enlightening to read about the positive turn-a-round for the at risk students
that participated within the study. Although, the results suggest school-based
mentoring as a strategy for improving potential outcomes for at risk students
with EBD, this is only one case study and results may vary.
References
Caldarella, P., Adams, M. B., Valentine, S. B., & Young,
K. R. (2009). Evaluation of a mentoring program for elementary school students
at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. New Horizons In Education,
57(1), 1-16.
Interesting article. I would agree that students with behavioral issues are likely taken out of the classroom more often than other students, but I'm not sure this is the primary reason for their academic struggles. If a child is acting out in class they aren't focused on the material being discussed regardless of their presence. It would be hard to learn. However, if it is hard to learn, you become overwhelmed and that extra time can lead to bad behavior choices. Behavioral issues can stem from children who are struggling academically first, too. I guess it's a little bit like the chicken and the egg. I can see why they go hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteGreat critique of the article, Susan. I also agree that these students are probably removed from the classroom more, but I do not know if that is the primary reason for their academic difficulties. As we continue to read research this semester, this is how you should approach the findings of studies.
ReplyDeleteMentoring is a great program for students with EBD. Many of EBD students do not have anyone positive in their life and a mentoring program can help those students build positive relationships with teachers and staff. Another interesting PBIS program is check in / check out, I think check in, check out can be more beneficial for these students because they do not get pulled out of class as often.
ReplyDelete