Kelli Beard-Jordan

Associate Professor
California State University, Dominguez Hills


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Decreasing Problem Behavior in the Classroom with Children of Color

The study will involve at least six CLD kindergarten or first grade students in the Los Angeles Unified School District who have been identified as displaying early indicators of antisocial behaviors at school, and who are at risk for developing chronic antisocial behavior patterns and being labeled SED. All subjects will receive a modified version of the First Step to Success package (Walker et al, 1988). Problem behaviors in the classroom will be recorded by trained observers. Problem behaviors to be recorded include: (a) talking-out, (b) out-of-seat, (c) touching others, (d) off-task actions, and (e) non-compliance. All five behaviors are collapsed into a single class of behavior measures because the intervention is designed to affect all behaviors equally and some behaviors are observed with low frequency. A multiple baseline across subjects will be used to examine the effects of teacher/ parent directed and teacher alone directed early proactive interventions on antisocial behavior of CLD children at-risk for being labeled SED. Subjects will be divided equally into two separate studies: (1) CLASS + HOMEBASE, the teacher and parent directed intervention, and (2) CLASS, the teacher alone directed intervention. Although statements about the relative strength of each intervention are not possible, a relative comparison can be made. Data will be analyzed visually. The results of the two treatment conditions will be compared descriptively because statistical comparisons are difficult with individuals and small group sizes. Furthermore, student's academic records and office referral records will be examined prior to intervention and at the end of intervention. Research suggests academic achievement and behavior are closely related. In other words, it is hypothesized that as student behavior improves, it is expected that academic achievement will improve and office referrals will decrease.