Abstract
Research indicates that students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) may engage in severe disruptions and off-task behaviors in the classroom setting that adversely impact the learning environment. This leads to many students identified as having EBD being placed in alternative education settings, such as restrictive schools or residential facilities. Due to placement in more restrictive environments and high rates of disciplinary actions, it is especially critical to decrease disruptive behaviors for students diagnosed with EBD. In addition, classroom teachers report disruptive behaviors and conduct problems as a major barrier to teaching their students. An ABC multiple baseline across classes design was used in an alternative school setting to evaluate the effects of explicit social skills training combined with a group contingency on class-wide levels of engagement and disruptive behavior. Participants were students in the first through sixth grade diagnosed with EBD. Through the class-wide intervention, social skills acquisition deficits were targeted through social skills instruction and social skills performance deficits were targeted through reinforcement programs. Results showed an increase in engagement and a decrease in disruptive behavior across all classrooms as a result of the intervention package.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, C. M., & Kincaid, D. (2005). Applying behavior analysis to school violence and discipline problems: school wide positive behavior support. The Behavior Analyst, 28(1), 49–63.
Barrish, H. H., Saunders, M., & Wolf, M. (1969). Good behavior game: effects of individual contingencies for group consequences on disruptive behavior in a classroom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2, 119–124.
Bishop, G. B., Rosen, L. A., Miller, D., & Hendrickson, J. (1996). Evaluation of the boy’s town motivation system in a US school setting. School Psychology International, 17, 125–131.
Cartledge, G., & Lo, Y. (2006). Teaching urban learners: Culturally responsive strategies for developing academic and behavioral competence. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
Cashwell, T. H., Skinner, C. H., & Smith, E. S. (2001). Increasing second-grade students’ reports of peers’ prosocial behaviors via direct instruction, group reinforcement, and progress feedback: a replication and extension. Education and Treatment of Children, 24, 161–175.
Conklin, C. G., Kamps, D., & Wills, H. (2017). The effects of class-wide function-related intervention teams (CW-FIT) on students’ prosocial classroom behaviors. Journal of Behavioral Education, 26, 75–100.
Cook, C. R., Gresham, F. M., Kern, L., Barreras, R. B., & Crews, S. D. (2008). Social skills training for secondary students with emotional and/or behavioral disorders: a review and analysis of the meta-analytic literature. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 16(3), 131–144.
Crouch, P. L., Gresham, F. M., & Wright, W. R. (1985). Interdependent and independent group contingencies with immediate and delayed reinforcement for controlling classroom behavior. Journal of School Psychology, 23, 177–187.
Davis, A., Solberg, S., de Baca, C., & Grove, T. H. (2014). Use of social emotional learning skills to predict future academic success and progress toward graduation. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 19, 169–182.
Docksai, R. (2010). Teaching social skills. Futurist, 44(3), 12–13.
Dowd, T. & Tierney, J. (1992). Teaching social skills to youth. Nebraska: The Boys Town Press.
Duran, J. B., Zhou, Q., Frew, L. A., Kwok, O., & Benz, M. R. (2013). Disciplinary exclusion and students with disabilities: the mediating role of social skills. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 24, 15–26.
Elliott, S. N., Maelcki, C. K., & Demaray, M. K. (2001). New directions in social skills assessment and intervention for elementary and middle school students. Exceptionality: A Special Education Journal, 9, 19–32.
Flower, A., McKenna, J. W., Bunuan, R. L., Muething, C. S., & Vega, R., Jr. (2014). Effects of the good behavior game on challenging behaviors in school settings. Review of Educational Research, 84, 546–571.
Gettinger, M., & Seibert, J. K., (2002). Best practices in increasing academic learning time. In A. Thomas (Ed.), Best practices in school psychology IV: Volume 1 (4th Ed., pp. 773–787). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Gresham, F. M. (1981). Social skills training with handicapped children: a review. Review of Educational Research, 51, 139–176.
Gresham, F.M., & Elliott, S.N. (2008). Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments.
Gresham, F. M., Cook, C. R., & Crews, S. D. (2004). Social skills training for children and youth with emotional and behavioral disorders: validity considerations and future directions. Behavioral Disorders, 30(1), 32–46.
Gresham, F. M. (2015). Evidence-based social skills interventions for students at risk for EBD. Remedial and Special Education, 36(2), 100–104.
Gresham, F.M. & Elliott, S.N. (2014). Social skills assessment and training in emotional behavioral disorders. In H.M. Walker & F.M. Gresham (Eds.), Handbook of evidence-based practices in emotional and behavioral disorders: Applications in schools (pp. 152–172). New York, NW: Guilford Press.
Gresham, F. M., Lane, K. L., MacMillan, D. L., & Bocian, K. M. (1999). Social and academic profiles for externalizing and internalizing groups: risk factors for emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 24, 231–245.
Harrison, J. R., Vannest, K., Davis, J., & Reynolds, C. (2012). Common problem behaviors of children and adolescents in general education classrooms in the United States. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 20(1), 55–64.
Hicks, T., & Munger, R. (1990). A school day treatment program using an adaptation of the teaching-family model. Education and Treatment of Children, 13(1), 63–83.
Johnson, M. R., Turner, P. F., & Konarski, E. A. (1978). The “good behavior game”: a systematic replication in two unruly transitional classrooms. Education and Treatment of Children, 1(3), 25–33.
Joslyn, P. R., Vollmer, T. R., & Hernandez, V. (2014). Implementation of the good behavior game in classrooms for children with delinquent behavior. Acta de Investigacion Psychologica, 4, 1673–1681.
Kennedy, C. H. (2005). Single case designs for educational research. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc..
Lerner, M. D., & Mikami, A. Y. (2012). A preliminary randomized controlled trial of two social skills interventions for youth with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 27(3), 147–157.
Maggin, D. M., Johnson, A. H., Chafouleas, S. M., Ruberto, L. M., & Berggren, M. (2012). A systematic evidence review of school-based group contingency interventions for students with challenging behavior. Journal of School Psychology, 50, 625–654.
Malecki, C. K., & Elliott, S. N. (2002). Children’s social behaviors as predictors of academic achievement: a longitudinal analysis. School Psychology Quarterly, 17, 1–23.
Manlov, R., Solanas, A., Sierra, V., & Evans, J. J. (2011). Choosing among techniques for quantifying single-case intervention effects. Behavior Therapy, 42, 533–545.
McGinnis, E. (2012a). Skillstreaming in early childhood: a guide for teaching prosocial skills. In Champaign. IL, US: Research Press.
McGinnis, E. (2012b). Skillstreaming the elementary school child: a guide for teaching prosocial skills. In Champaign. IL, US: Research Press.
Parker, R. I., & Vannest, K. (2009). An improved effect size for single-case research: Nonoverlap of all pairs. Behavior Therapy, 40, 357–367.
Pierson, M. R., Carter, E. W., Lane, K. L., & Glaeser, B. C. (2008). Factors influencing the self-determination of transition-age youth with high incidence disabilities. Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 31, 115–125.
Salend, S. J., Reynolds, C. J., & Coyle, E. M. (1989). Individualizing the good behavior game across type and frequency of behavior with emotionally disturbed adolescents. Behavior Modification, 13, 108–126.
Shapiro, E. S. (2011). Academic skills problems workbook (4th ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Sheridan, B. A., MacDonald, D. A., Donlon, M., Kuhn, B., & McGovern, K. (2011). Evaluation of a social skills program based on social learning theory, implemented in a school setting. Psychological Reports, 108(2), 420–436.
Skinner, C. H., Cashwell, C. S., & Dunn, M. S. (1996). Independent and interdependent group contingencies: smoothing the rough waters. Special Services in the Schools, 12, 61–78.
Skinner, C. H., Skinner, C. F., Skinner, A. L., & Cashwell, T. C. (1999). Using interdependent group contingencies with groups of students: why the principal kissed a pig at assembly. Educational Administration Quarterly, 35, 806–820.
Steege, M. W., & Watson, T. S. (2009). Conducting school-based functional behavioral assessments: a practitioner’s guide. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Sullivan, A. L., & Sadeh, S. S. (2014). Is there evidence to support the use of social skills interventions for students with emotional disabilities. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 30, 107–131.
Sy, J. R., Gratz, O., & Donaldson, J. M. (2016). The good behavior game with students in alternative educational environments: Interactions between reinforcement criteria and scoring accuracy. Journal of Behavioral Education, 25, 455–477.
Tingstrom, D. H., Sterling-Turner, H. E., & Wilczynski, S. M. (2006). The good behavior game: 1969 to 2002. Behavior Modification, 30, 225–233.
Wagner, M., & Newman, L. (2012). Longitudinal transition outcomes of youth with emotional disturbances. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 35, 199–208.
Walker, H. M., Irwin, L., Noell, J., & Singer, G. (1992). A construct score approach to the assessment of social competence: rational, technological considerations, and anticipated outcomes. Behavior Modification, 16, 448–474.
Wehby, J. H., Symons, F. J., & Shores, R. E. (1995). A descriptive analysis of aggressive behavior in classrooms for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 20, 87–105.
Wills, H. P., Kamps, D., Hansen, B., Conklin, C., Bellinger, S., Neaderhiser, J., & Nsubuga, B. (2010). The class wide function-based intervention team program. Preventing School Failure, 54(3), 164–171.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Meredith Murphy, J., Hawkins, R.O. & Nabors, L. Combining Social Skills Instruction and the Good Behavior Game to Support Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Contemp School Psychol 24, 228–238 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-019-00226-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-019-00226-3