Tier 2 Reading Fluency Interventions With Middle School Students: A Comparison of the HELPS-SG Program and a Teacher-Directed Evidence-Based Intervention

This randomized study evaluated two evidence-based reading interventions with 121 middle school students who presented with reading fluency deficits. One intervention was teacher-directed and utilized numerous evidence-based strategies; the other intervention, the Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies for Small Groups Program, provided a structured implementation protocol of evidence-based strategies and specific intervention materials. Students in both groups demonstrated statistically significant growth on standardized measures of reading fluency and comprehension, but there were no differences between intervention conditions for any of the dependent measures. Practical implications for using oral reading fluency interventions at the middle school level are discussed.     

Mental Health Collaboration: A Survey of Practicing School Psychologists

Schools have become the primary setting for mental health service among youth. However, school-based providers are sometimes limited by lack of time, training, and other resources. Furthermore, problem-solving models emphasize the importance of developing partnerships with other professionals and agencies. Thus, it is critical to engage in collaborative practice with non–school-based, community mental health providers (CMHPs). The purpose of this study was to survey practicing school psychologists about their experiences in communicating and collaborating with CMHPs. Participants (n = 194) indicated their frequency of communication and collaboration with CMHPs; although communication (i.e., release and receipt of information) was typical, fewer school psychologists reported engaging in ongoing collaboration. Benefits and barriers to collaboration were identified, and implications for practice are discussed.     

Resilience in families in which a child is bullied

The aim of this study was to identify family resilience characteristics in families in which a child has been bullied, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Forty-eight mothers represented their families and completed a biographical questionnaire containing an open-ended question, and seven self-report questionnaires. Results from the qualitative data showed that most of the families coped with the bullying by talking to a teacher, principal or the governing body, or by giving advice to the child who had been bullied. The quantitative results highlighted the quality of family communication, the fortitude and durability of the family unit, and the family's emphasis on being together. These findings can be utilised in interventions to strengthen families finding themselves in a similar crisis.     

Daily Behavior Report Cards with and without Home-Based Consequences: Improving Classroom Behavior in Low Income,African American Children with ADHD

Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRC), which typically require teachers to evaluate students' daily behavior and parents to provide contingent consequences, are an effective and acceptable method for improving children's classroom behavior. The current study evaluated whether parent involvement is an essential treatment component or whether teacher feedback alone would be sufficient to produce children's behavior changes. The effectiveness of DBRC with teacher feedback to students and parent delivered consequences (PC) was compared to teacher feedback to students only (no parent delivered consequences, NPC) for increasing appropriate classroom behavior and academic productivity in African American, low income, elementary school children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Both treatments led to increased on-task behavior, although PC was superior to NPC. Academic productivity outcomes are less clear. Treatment implications and future directions for research on teacher feedback interventions are discussed.     

Comparative Effects and Social Validation of Support Strategies to Promote Mindfulness Practices Among High School Students

Abstract

We compared the effects of support strategies for promoting formal mindfulness practices of 9th grade high school students who participated in a 10-week school-based mindfulness education program. The students also completed social validity ratings of the support strategies they selected and the formal mindfulness practices they learned. All of the support strategies were associated with increased average minutes of formal mindfulness practices. Students who did not select an extra support strategy also had increased minutes of formal mindfulness practices but of less magnitude in contrast to the two most effective strategies. The social validity ratings of the support strategies ranged from equivocal to good approval, and the students gave positive ratings to the majority of formal mindfulness practices. We discuss the implications of these findings for designing mindfulness education programs, implementing practice-promoting support strategies, and conducting mindfulness research with school children and youth.     

Focus,Scope, and Practice of Behavioral Consultation to Public Schools

SUMMARY

Public school districts frequently seek professional consultation to improve educational services. This article is an overview of the focus, scope, and practice of behavioral consultation to public schools. A four-stage process of consultation is described, followed by a discussion on the expanding role of behavior support intervention. Next, the involvement of consultants in the design of individual-student, classroom-wide, and whole-school programs is considered. Contemporary approaches to consultation are presented such as positive behavior support, functional behavioral assessment, and efficacy evaluation that targets natural data sources. A concluding section sets forth recommendations for the successful practice of public school behavioral consultation.     

Psychological Factors Behind Truancy,School Phobia,and School Refusal: A Literature Study

Truancy is a problem that normally leads to treatment interventions within different organizations. Within these organizations different perspectives on the causes and consequences of the above problem can be found. The purpose of this literature study is to map out and describe the current state of research within the fields of school refusal, truancy, and school phobia. The investigation was carried out in the form of a systematic review of the relevant research literature. Research shows that approximately 90% of all young people who refuse to go to school have some form of psychiatric diagnosis.     

Short- and Long-Term Effects of Inpatient Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Adolescents With Anxious-Depressed School Absenteeism: A Within-Subject Comparison of Changes

The effects of inpatient treatment, including manual-guided cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT), were examined for 36 adolescents (12–18 years) with chronic school absenteeism and mental health problems. Using a within-subject control group design, no changes were noted during the untreated waiting period, whereas there was a strong, statistically significant reduction in school absence rates and mental health problems from the start to the end of inpatient treatment. At discharge, 88.9% of adolescents attended school regularly or were employed (86.1 and 63.9% at 2- and 9-months follow-up, respectively). Self- and parent-reported mental health problems were significantly reduced during treatment and remained stable during follow-up.     

Race/Ethnicity and Multicultural Competence Among School Counselors: Multicultural Training,Racial/Ethnic Identity,and Color‐Blind Racial Attitudes

This study tested a model that links race/ethnicity, multicultural training, racial/ethnic identity (REI), color‐blind racial attitudes (CoBRA), and multicultural counseling competence (MCC) among school counselors. The author examined whether multicultural training significantly moderated the association between race/ethnicity and MCC. School counselors’ REI was found to mediate this moderated association. A 3‐way interaction among race/ethnicity, training, and CoBRA revealed that White and racial/ethnic minority school counselors had the lowest MCC scores when they had limited training and higher CoBRA.     

Reciprocal effects of student-teacher and student-peer relatedness: Effects on academic self efficacy

This study investigated the reciprocal effects between teacher-student relationship quality (TSRQ) and two dimensions of classroom peer relatedness, peer liking and peer academic reputation (PAR), across three years in elementary school and the effect of both TSRQ and the peer relatedness dimensions on academic self efficacy. Participants were 695 relatively low achieving, ethnically diverse students recruited into the longitudinal study when they were in the first grade. Measures of TSRQ and peer relatedness were assessed in years/grades 2-4. Peer liking and PAR were moderately correlated with each other at each time period. As expected, peer liking and TSRQ exhibited bidirectional effects across the three years. Year 3 TSRQ had an effect on Year 4 PAR, but PAR did not have an effect on TSRQ at either time interval. In an additional analysis, Year 4 PAR mediated the effect of Year 3 TSRQ on Year 5 academic self efficacy. Implications for teacher professional development are discussed.