EFFECTIVNESS OF A GROUP CONTINGENCY INTERVENTION 1

Chapter 1

Students with diagnosis of Emotional/ Behavioral disorder (EBD) often are placed in an alternative setting. They are taught in self-contained classrooms with peers who also have diagnosis of EBD to allow for individualized education and behavioral plans. These types of settings allow for more instruction time that can be focused on student’s academic and behavioral concerns. Students with these diagnosis have shown difficulties relating to their peers and adults including teachers. (Landrum, Tankersley & Kaufman, 2003) The difficulties with relating and acting appropriately with their peers cause concerns in the classroom. Fighting with their peers has been a concern in these classrooms along with disobedience, destructiveness and disrupting classroom activities. (Cullinan & Sabornie, 2004). These types of inappropriate and aggressive behaviors have been noted to overwhelm teachers and their attempts to provide meaningful instruction. (Southerland, Lewis-Palmer, Stichter & Morgan, 2008) Cullinan and Sabornie (2004), also discussed the concern that boys with EBD had shown less empathy for their peers, less contact with friends and a poor quality of relationships with their peers.

Those concerns had been noted in a Midwestern Junior High self -contained EBD classroom. There were high concerns of peer fighting which involved verbal and physical altercations. Typically these altercations involved peer instigating and threatening peers with in the classroom. Instigating included but was not limited to laughing while peers became upset, calling peers names, repeating peers name over and over until the peer became agitated, refusing to leave peers personal space when asked and taking peers personal items. Threatening included but was not limited to stating intentions of physical aggression towards the peer or their family members. The boys showed a lack of empathy during and after the altercations and they spent more time insulting each other than attempting to engage in more positive interactions. These inappropriate and aggressive behaviors had resulted in numerous suspensions and time away from academic instruction.

The need for intense positive interventions was apparent with in this Midwestern EBD classroom. The class participated in the school wide PBIS program, had a token economy in place and random rewards for appropriate behaviors. Group contingency interventions were researched. During the literature review, it was noted that very few studies had been completed in the area of group contingencies in a self-contained EBD classroom setting. Three different types of group contingency interventions were defined during the research which included independent, dependent and interdependent. (Chafouleas, Hagermoser Sanetti, Jaffery & Fallon, 2012) Group contingencies has been shown to be successful in general education classes to decrease inappropriate and off task behaviors. Cihak, Kirk and Boon (2009), noted in their study that students engaged in positive peer pressure during the group contingency. Encouraging their peers to engage in appropriate behaviors so that the class wide reward would be earned.

This study implemented and examined the effectiveness of a group contingency intervention that focused on positive peer interactions with in a self-contained EBD classroom. The study involved addressing the need for a reward system that encouraged making positive

EFFECTIVNESS OF A GROUP CONTINGENCY INTERVENTION 2

statements to peers in the classroom. The purpose of the study was to address the following research questions.

Will the use of a group contingency decrease student fighting including peer instigating and peer threatening?

Will the use of group contingency that focuses on positive interactions in the classroom effect academic success of the students?

Will the use of group contingency that focuses on increasing positive interactions among the students change the group dynamic with in the classroom?