Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-m9pkr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T21:35:16.891Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Reported Strategies for Responding to the Aggressive and Extremely Disruptive Behaviour of Students Who Have Special Needs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2016

Joe Murik*
Affiliation:
Educational Support and Inclusion Program, University of Canberra, ACT, Australia
Anthony Shaddock
Affiliation:
Educational Support and Inclusion Program, University of Canberra, ACT, Australia
Anthony Spinks
Affiliation:
Educational Support and Inclusion Program, University of Canberra, ACT, Australia
David Zilber
Affiliation:
Job Solve ACT (Inc), Canberra, ACT, Australia
Craig Curry
Affiliation:
School Education, ACT Education, Youth & Family Services, Australia
*
Dr Joe Murik, Educational Support and Inclusion Program, University of Canberra, ACT 2601. E-mail: Joe.Murik@canberra.edu.au

Abstract

This research examines the strategies reported by teachers who have managed aggressive and extremely disruptive behaviour of students who have special needs. A sample of 52 teachers from mainstream and special settings listed the strategies that they have used to respond to this behaviour, the reasons for their choice and their estimate of the effectiveness of the strategies. The results indicate that teachers of students with special needs encounter a significant amount of challenging behaviour directed towards themselves and others. The study found that although teachers’ years of experience and level of training were unrelated to their choice of strategies and their perceived success, the majority of teachers relied heavily on their own and their colleagues’ experiences rather than on evidence‐based/empirical research. The study also found a low reported incidence of negative or coercive interventions and that approximately half of the teachers adopted strategies that involved some form of functional assessment of aggressive and/or extremely disruptive behaviours. The implications for further research, policy development, in‐service training and professional development were explored.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Australian Association of Special Education 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alberto, P.A., & Troutman, A. C., (2003). Applied behaviour analysis for teachers (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Arthur, M., Gordon, C., & Butterfield, N. (2003). Classroom management: Creating positive classroom environments. Melbourne: Thomson.Google Scholar
Axelrod, S., Moyer, L., & Berry, B. (1990). The effects of punishment on human behaviour. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Beaman, R., & Wheldhall, K. (2000). Teachers’ use of approval and disapproval in the classroom. Educational Psychology, 20(4), 431446.Google Scholar
Bru, E., Stephens, P., & Torsheim, T. (2002). Students’ perception of class management and reports of their own misbehaviour. Journal of School Psychology 40(4), 287307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dempsey, I., & Foreman, P. (1997). Trends in the educational placement of students with disabilities in Australia. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education 44(3), 207216.Google Scholar
Didden, R., Duker, P.C., & Korzilius, H. (1997). Meta-analytic study on treatment effectiveness for problem behaviours with individuals who have mental retardation. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 101, 387399.Google Scholar
Dwyer, K.P., Osher, D., & Hoffman, C. C. (2000). Creating responsive schools: Contextualising early warning, timely response. Exceptional Children, 66(3), 347372.Google Scholar
Du Paul, G. J., & Hoff, K. E. (1998). Reducing disruptive behaviour in general education classrooms: The use of self-management strategies. School Psychology Review, 27(2), 290303.Google Scholar
Edwards, C. H. (2000). The moral disciplines of teaching and classroom discipline. American Secondary Education, 28(3), 2025.Google Scholar
Fantuzzo, J., & Atkins, M. (1992). Applied behaviour analysis for educators: Teacher centered and classroom based. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 25, 3742.Google Scholar
Gersten, R., Keating, T., Yovanoff, P., & Harniss, M. K. (2001). Working in special education: Factors that enhance special educators’ intent to stay. Exceptional Children. 67, 549567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hastings, R.P., & Brown, T. (2002). Coping strategies and the impact of challenging behaviours on special educators’ burnout. Mental Retardation, 40, 148156.Google Scholar
Jackson, L., Ryndak, K. L., & Billingsley, F. (2000). Useful practices in inclusive education: A preliminary view of what experts in moderate to severe disabilities are saying. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 25, 129141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kauffman, J. K. (1999). How we prevent the prevention of emotional and behavioural disorders. Exceptional Children, 65, 448468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kehle, T. J., Bray, M. A., & Theodore, L. A. (2000). A multi-component intervention designed to reduce disruptive classroom behaviour. Psychology in the Schools, 37(5), 475481.3.0.CO;2-P>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, K., Bambára, L., & Fogt, J. (2002). Class-wide curricular modification to improve the behaviour of students with emotional and behavioural disorders. Behavioural Disorders, 27(4), 317326.Google Scholar
Lewis, C.T.J. (2000). Effective behaviour support: A proactive alternative to school discipline. The Australasian Journal of Special Education 24(2), 6073.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, R. (2001). Classroom discipline and student responsibility: The students’ view. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(3), 307319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindauer, P., Petrie, G., Garth, L., & Vickers, L. (1998) Five keys to successful non-graded primary schools in Hardin County, Kentucky. Reading Improvement, 35(1), 3844.Google Scholar
Long, N.J., & Fecser, F. A. (2000). Managing troubled and troubling students in crisis. Hagerstown, Maryland: LSCI Institute.Google Scholar
Maag, J. W. (2001). Rewarded by punishment: Reflection on the disuse of positive reinforcement in schools. Exceptional Children. 67, 173186.Google Scholar
Marr, M. B., Audette, B., White, R., Ellis, E., & Algozzine, B. (2002). School-wide discipline and classroom ecology. Special Services in Schools, 78(1-2), 5573.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mastropieri, M.A. (2001). Is the glass half full or half empty? Challenges encountered by first-year special education teachers. The Journal of Special Education, 35, 6674.Google Scholar
Meichenbaum, D. (1977). Cognitive behaviour modification: An integrative approach. New York: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Morrill, R. (2003). Denmark: Lessons for American principals and teachers? Phi Delta Kappan 84(6), 460463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nichols, P. (2000). Role of cognition and affect in a functional behavioural analysis. Exceptional Children, 66(3), 393402.Google Scholar
Noguera, P.A. (1995). Preventing and producing violence: A critical analysis of responses to school violence. Harvard Educational Review, 65, 189212.Google Scholar
Nunno, M. A. (1993). Therapeutic Crisis Intervention. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
O’Reilly, M.F., Peck, S. M., Webster, J., Baird, S.J., Plowman, K., Lancioni, G.E., et al. (1999). Using functional analysis techniques to develop educational support plans for students with high support needs. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 23(1), 514.Google Scholar
Perkins, J., & Leadbetter, D. (2002). An evaluation of aggression management training in a special educational setting. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 7, 1934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, S.L., & Wilczynski, P. (2001). Functional assessment of distracting and disruptive behaviours in the school setting. School Psychology Review, 1(2), 211226 Google Scholar
Rudland, N. & Kemp, C. (2004). The professional reading habits of teachers: Implications for student learning. Australasian Journal of Special Education 28(1), 417.Google Scholar
Skiba, R. J., & Peterson, R. L. (2000). School discipline at a crossroads: From zero tolerance to early response. The Council for Exceptional Children, 66(3), 335347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skiba, R. J., Peterson, R. L., & Williams, T. (1997). Office referrals and suspension: Disciplinary intervention in middle schools. Education and Treatment of Children, 20(3), 121.Google Scholar
Stephenson, J., Linfoot, K., & Martin, A. (2000). How teachers of young children respond to problem behaviour in the classroom. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 24, 2131.Google Scholar
Westwood, P., & Palmer, C. (1993). Knowledge and skills for special educators in the 1990’s: Perceptions from the field. Australasian Journal of Special education, 17(1), 3141.Google Scholar
Wisniewski, L., & Gargiulo, R. M. (1997). Occupational stress and burnout among special educators: A review of the literature. Journal of Special Education. 31, 325346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar