“Shush, I'm studying!”: Increasing academic engagement of students with persistent behavior problems through increasingly demanding versions of functionbased behavior intervention plans

Abstract

This article reports findings from a study on the effects of increasingly demanding versions of functionbased behavior intervention plans (BIPs) on the academic engagement of students with a long history of behavior problems. Previously, findings from the same study on the effects of functionbased BIPs on problem behaviors have been reported (Guðrún Björg Ragnarsdóttir and AnnaLind Pétursdóttir, 2012). Participants were four male students from two schools in Iceland’s capital, where schoolwide positive behavior support was being implemented. The participants were 7 to 8 years old and had reportedly exhibited behavior problems for 5 to 7 years. In addition, they all showed lack of academic engagement in their second or third grade general education classrooms. Three participants were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, two with oppositional defiant disorder, one with autism spectrum disorder and one with generalized anxiety disorder and Tourette syndrome. Various kinds of support from their teachers, including assistance from a special education teacher, had proved unsuccessful. Thus, functional assessments were conducted through interviews and direct observations to detect variables influencing participants’ problem behaviors and lack of academic engagement. Based on the results of the functional assessments, BIPs were created for each participant through a teambased approach involving their general education teachers, a special education teacher and a behavioral consultant. Each BIP comprised four components: setting event modifications; antecedent interventions; training in alternative skills; and differential reinforcement of academic engagement. Differential reinforcement was conducted with an individualized token system involving frequent praise for appropriate behavior and withholding of reinforcement in the case of disruptive behaviors despite warnings. Four to seven versions of token systems were implemented for each participant to increase academic engagement through gradually more challenging demands over 6 to 13 weeks. Direct observations were used to assess participants’ academic engagement in those general education settings rated most challenging by their teachers. Single subject reversal designs with multiple baselines over participants showed that participants’ academic engagement increased when functionbased BIPs were implemented. On average, the duration of academic engagement increased from 55.9% of 20minute observation periods during baseline to 85.8% during intervention phases, which is an increase of 53.4%. Also, variability of academic engagement decreased. Adjusted effect sizes were calculated from means of the last three measures of baseline and intervention phases using Rosenthal´s (1994) formula, taking into account the autocorrelation between repeated measures, making it comparable to Cohen’s d (RileyTillman & Burns, 2009). Adjusted effect sizes of the functionbased BIPs on participants’ academic engagement ranged from d=0.89 to d=2.35, which are considered large effects (Cohen, 1988). Two to four weeks after the token systems had been faded out, participants’ academic engagement ranged from 50% to 89.4% and averaged 75% in previously challenging general education settings. Findings indicate that functionbased BIPs can help students with persistent behavior problems increase their academic engagement in general education settings. The findings are in agreement with previous research showing positive effects of functionbased BIPs but extend the current literature base to show positive effects of increasingly demanding versions of BIPs and that students continue to show high levels of academic engagement after token systems have been systematically faded.