Belief in a just world, teacher justice, and bullying behavior

The relation between school students' belief in a just world (BJW) and their bullying behavior was investigated in a questionnaire study. The mediating role of teacher justice was also examined. Data were obtained from a total of N = 458 German and Indian high school students. Regression analyses revealed that the more strongly students believed in a personal just world and the more they evaluated their teachers' behavior toward them personally to be just, the less bullying behavior they reported. Moreover, students with a strong BJW tended to evaluate their teachers' behavior toward them personally to be more just, and the experience of teacher justice mediated the relation between BJW and less bullying perpetration. This pattern of results was as expected and consistent across different cultural contexts. It persisted when neuroticism, sex, and country were controlled. The adaptive functions of BJW and implications for future school research are discussed.     

FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT,CURRICULAR REVISION,AND SEVERE BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

An adolescent female with multiple handicaps and a long history of severely disruptive behavior participated in a functional assessment linked directly to specific revisions in her school curriculum. During Phase 1, reversal designs were used to test hypotheses pertaining to antecedent and auricular influences on problem behavior. During Phase 2, a multiple baseline across afternoon and morning time periods demonstrated that the auricular revisions were effective in eliminating severely disruptive behavior and increasing on-task responding. Data also showed that inappropriate “psychotic” speech was reduced and appropriate social interactions were increased. Follow-up results showed that the changes were maintained throughout the school year. Questionnaire data provided social validation of the procedures and outcomes. The findings are discussed in relation to their implications for functional assessment, individualized curricula, and positive programming for students with disabilities and serious behavior problems.     

School social climate and teachers’ perceptions of classroom behavior problems: a 10 year longitudinal and multilevel study

Using longitudinal and cross-sectional data, the present research sought to identify school social climate predictors of teachers’ perceptions of classroom behavior problems. The social climate and classroom behavior in 107 public and private French speaking Canadian high schools was evaluated by 1399 teachers. The present analysis is unique in its ability to control for school differences in the enrollment of students with a history of problem behavior. As hypothesized, between-school variation in the proportion of students with histories of disruptive problems predicted high school classroom behavior problems. Moreover, when controlling for these between-school differences, concurrently measured school-level variables (type of school, location of school, and academic emphasis) are found to be significant predictors of classroom behavior problems. The theoretical and practical implications of the present findings are examined and recommendations are made for future research.     

Norms,definitions, and deviance: Comment on Meier

This study explored the effects of heavy television viewing on the purging behavior of Asian-Pacific adolescents in Guam. We argue that Westernized television in Guam presents thin, tall, and athletic bodies as the only acceptable images for adolescents. Using logistic regression, we tested the television-purging connection using a probability sample of Asian-Pacific Islander high school students. The results of the analysis support the hypothesis that heavy television viewing is associated with male purging behavior, which is a form of self-directed deviance. Being overweight is also associated with purging for male and female adolescents. We discuss the implications of the findings for theory and future research.     

Effects of marital discord on the school behavior of children of schizophrenic,affectively disordered,and normal parents

An association between children's school behavior and two family variables, marital discord and parental psychopathology, has been consistently reported in the literature. However, the joint effects of each of these two familial factors has not been closely examined. The present report provides a further examination of the interrelationships among these three variables with particular emphasis on the effects of marital discord on children's school behavior in families with behaviorally disturbed parents. Marital discord was found to account for much of the association between having a parent with bipolar disorder or unipolar depression and problematic school behavior, but the same variable did not explain the relationship between having a schizophrenic parent and problems in school. The implications of these findings for interventions with the children of disturbed parents and for high-risk research are discussed.This research was supported by Grant MH21145 from the National Institute of Mental Health.     

Effects of a Classwide Interdependent Group Contingency Designed to Improve the Behavior of an At-Risk Student

When students display disruptive behaviors, it interferes with their own, and other students’ learning and with the teacher’s ability to instruct during academic activities. This study investigated the effects of a classwide interdependent group contingency on the on/off-task behaviors of an at-risk student in a first-grade classroom in a private Midwestern school. The student was referred for intervention due to his high rates of off-task behavior and low levels of academic engagement. An ABAB withdrawal design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention to improve the target student’s behavior as well as that of his classroom peers. Results suggested that the intervention decreased the individual student’s off-task behavior and increased academic engagement while also having positive effects on overall behavior in the classroom.     

The role of delay of gratification,substance abuse,and violent behavior on academic achievement of disciplinary alternative middle school students

Disciplinary alternative education programs are academic environments where students are detained for 45 days by the county or court for delinquent and/or deviant behavior in their traditional schools. This study examined individual differences in academic performance, violence, willingness to delay gratification, and substance abuse of 391 students enrolled in a disciplinary alternative middle school program. Results revealed that students who reported a high propensity to delay gratification and low tendencies towards violent behavior and substance abuse obtained high math scores on the state standardized test. In addition, the negative association between violent behavior on math scores was attenuated by race/ethnicity status. Socio-economic status was not significantly associated with math test scores. Implications for further studies and educational implications are discussed.     

School Climates and Student Behavior: Implications for Counselor Role

The current research on the study of school climates is described, and implications of this research for counselor role are indicated. This research has examined the nature of educational climates and environments, as well as the relationship of various environments to student achievement, attitudes, and behaviors. The research provides information about the nature of school environments as they are affected by staff characteristics and behaviors and student peer group characteristics. This research indicates that schools do have quite different climates which are supportive of diverse types of student and staff behavior. It appears that the adjustment and success of an individual student may well be a function of (a) the type of climate of the school he attends, and (b) the extent to which the school climate is supportive of his individual needs. After an extensive review of nine methodologies for studying school climate, possible applications of these research findings by the counselor are described.     

Aggression and school social dynamics: The good, the bad, and the ordinary

A social dynamics perspective of aggression in school is presented. This framework focuses on the role of natural social processes in the establishment and maintenance of aggressive behavior in the school context. The five articles in this special issue are briefly reviewed and a synthesis of their contributions for understanding the social dynamics of aggression in school is underscored. Future research and intervention implications are also discussed. The need for examining the role of school social dynamics in conducting social skills interventions, functional behavioral assessments, and the development of positive behavioral support plans is emphasized.     

Relationship of High School Seniors' Religious Perceptions and Behavior to Educational,Career, and Leisure Variables

This study used data from a national sample of U.S. high school seniors to investigate the relationship of religious perceptions and behavior to several school, career, and leisure variables. Seniors positive perceptions of religion and frequent attendance at religious services were related to positive parental involvement, positive school attitudes and behaviors, and infrequent problem behaviors. Parental involvement mediated the effects of religious perceptions and behavior on adolescents' academic attitudes and drug use. However, a large portion of the effects of religious perceptions and behavior was independent of parental involvement. Implications for counselors and educators are provided.     

The Relationship of School Climate Factors to Counselor Self-Efficacy

A survey of school counselors was conducted to measure the relationship of Bandura's (1977b) concept of self-efficacy with school climate, counselor roles, and a variety of demographic variables. Results indicated that supportive staff and administrators were the strongest predictors of high counselor efficacy expectancy. In addition, outcome expectancy for school counselor behavior was predicted by both a similarly high degree of support from staff and administrators and fewer nonrelated counseling activities performed by school counselors. Discussion of results and implications for research and practice are presented.     

Health protection: attitudes and behaviors of LPNs, teachers, and college students

Three groups of subjects, college students, high school teachers, and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), were asked to rate 30 health-protective activities in terms of (a) importance (attitude) and (b) the frequency with which they performed them (behavior). Correlational analyses revealed reasonably high consistency between attitudes and behaviors in all three groups. Multidimensional scaling procedures identified two basic dimensions of Health-Protective Behaviors (HPBs) accounting for 57% of the variance. The two dimensions were (a) degree of effectiveness and (b) amount of effort. Although students emphasized effectiveness in rating HPBs and teachers used both dimensions equally, the LPNs tended to consider only amount of effort. Additional analyses indicated that group differences were not related to age or gender but rather to health orientation. In sum, individuals' attitudes and behaviors related to health protection are stable, simply organized, and relatively consistent, but samples of health care providers (LPNs) and lay people (students and teachers) differentially weight the importance of effort and effectiveness when considering HPBs. The implications of these results for patient-provider communication, treatment adherence, as well as an understanding of health behavior are discussed.     

The Effects of a Learning Station on the Completion and Accuracy of Math Homework for Middle School Students

We studied the effects of a Learning Station on the completion and accuracy of math homework of middle school students who had chronic homework problems. The Learning Station was a three sided free-standing panel with theoretically and empirically-based components involving (a) stimulation (color, music, activity breaks, and choice) and (b) self-attention (mirror and self-monitoring). Two students who used the Station tripled their accuracy and the amount of homework completed as assessed in a multiple baseline across participants design. One student with high academic abilities elected not to use the intervention, because he worked quickly (albeit carelessly) at school to complete his homework during baseline and during intervention. The practical and research implications of the findings are discussed.     

The impact of school connectedness on violent behavior, transport risk-taking behavior, and associated injuries in adolescence

Adolescents engage in many risk-taking behaviors that have the potential to lead to injury. The school environment has a significant role in shaping adolescent behavior, and this study aimed to provide additional information about the benefits associated with connectedness to school. Early adolescents aged 13 to 15 years (N = 509, 49% boys) were surveyed about school connectedness, engagement in transport and violence risk-taking, and injury experiences. Significant relations were found between school connectedness and reduced engagement in both transport and violence risk-taking, as well as fewer associated injuries. This study has implications for the area of risk-taking and injury prevention, as it suggests the potential for reducing adolescents' injury through school based interventions targeting school connectedness.     

A Review of Existing Relational Aggression Programs: Strengths, Limitations, and Future Directions

Research suggests that involvement in relational aggression is associated with serious adjustment problems, including concurrent and future social maladjustment (e.g., problematic friendships; rejection), internalizing problems (e.g., depressive symptoms), and school avoidance. Despite the burgeoning literature focusing on the harmful and damaging nature of relationally aggressive behavior, this research has only recently begun to be used to inform school-based prevention and intervention programming. This article reviews the developmental research related to relational aggression and presents a systematic examination of nine published school-based prevention and intervention programs to prevent relational aggression. Programs reviewed target preschool through eighth-grade students. Strengths and limitations of each program are discussed. Recommendations are offered for future research to develop and validate school-based programming for relational aggression, and implications for school psychologists are discussed.     

Test Anxiety,Coping Strategies,and Perceived Health in a Group of High School Students: A Turkish Sample

A group of high school juniors and a group of high school seniors in Izmir, Turkey completed measures of test anxiety, coping skills, and perceived health status both before and after a major exam period. Students with high test anxiety used less effective coping mechanisms and tended to have poorer perceptions of their health. Prior to the exams, juniors displayed higher test anxiety and used less effective coping mechanisms than seniors. After the exam periods, improvements were seen for both age groups on perceived health, but scores of younger students remained significantly higher than scores of seniors on one of the key measures of test anxiety. Results of the study lend support to those of previous studies done in other cultural contexts, and findings have implications for the development of interventions designed to help students cope with stress.     

Rationality,power, disruption: Framing Foucault's geneological agenda

This paper situates and examines the project of genealogy as articulated by the philosopher, Michel Foucault, and draws out from that examination educative implications both in terms of research and school practice. Following Foucault, the genealogist's primary challenge, it would seem, is both to acknowledge and to respond to the entwinement of rationality and power. This paper also considers critiques which have clustered around Foucault's work, and, more specifically, his genealogical work, which argue that Foucault leaves us with no hope for a better, more humane future and no positive agenda for change. Despite this “lack” in Foucault's work, I argue, here, that his genealogical agenda is philosophically, politically, and educatively significant.     

Test anxiety, coping strategies, and perceived health in a group of high school students: a Turkish sample

A group of high school juniors and a group of high school seniors in Izmir, Turkey completed measures of test anxiety, coping skills, and perceived health status both before and after a major exam period. Students with high test anxiety used less effective coping mechanisms and tended to have poorer perceptions of their health. Prior to the exams, juniors displayed higher test anxiety and used less effective coping mechanisms than seniors. After the exam periods, improvements were seen for both age groups on perceived health, but scores of younger students remained significantly higher than scores of seniors on one of the key measures of test anxiety. Results of the study lend support to those of previous studies done in other cultural contexts, and findings have implications for the development of interventions designed to help students cope with stress.     

Bullying,defending, and outsider behaviors: The moderating role of social status and gender in their relationship with empathy

The aim of the present study was to examine whether the effect of empathy on the role children play in bullying situations, as either bullies, defenders or outsiders, was moderated by children's social status within their classroom, and whether this moderation was gender dependent. For this purpose, we used a representative sample of 2,050 Spanish primary school children (50.80% girls) from grades 3–6 (M _age = 9.80 years; SD = 1.24), recruited from 27 primary schools. Results showed that the effect of empathy on bullying behavior was moderated by the sociometric rating only in girls. Both empathy and social rating had an effect on defending behavior. However, neither the children's sociometric rating nor their gender moderated the relationship between empathy and defending and outsider behaviors. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for interventions designed to prevent bullying in school settings.