The Relative Effectiveness of Parental Positive Reinforcement and Punishment in Reducing Oppositional Behavior in Children and in Increasing the Frequency of Parent-Child Interaction

The purpose of this study was to determine the relative effectiveness of the reinforcement and punishment techniques in the natural environment, and the effect of their use upon the social interaction between parent and child. It was hypothesized that punishment would be more effective than reward in controlling oppositional behavior, but that reinforcement would be more effective in increasing child-initiated interaction with the parents

Evaluating the Validity of Systematic Reviews to Identify Empirically Supported Treatments

The best available evidence is one of the three basic inputs into evidence-based practice. This paper sets out a framework for evaluating the quality of systematic reviews that are intended to identify empirically supported interventions as a way of summarizing the best available evidence. The premise of this paper is that the process of reviewing research literature and deriving practical recommendations is an assessment process similar to the assessment process that we use to understand student performance and derive educational recommendations. Systematic reviews assess the quality and quantity of evidence related to a particular intervention and apply standards to determine whether the evidence is sufficient to justify an endorsement of the intervention as empirically supported . The concepts and methodological tools of measurement validity can be applied to the systematic review process to clarify their strengths and weaknesses. This paper describes ways in which these concepts and tools can be brought to bear on systematic reviews, and explores some of the implications of doing so

Evidence-based Practice: A Framework for Making Effective Decisions

The research to practice gap in education has been a long-standing concern. The enactment of No Child Left Behind brought increased emphasis on the value of using scientifically based instructional practices to improve educational outcomes. It also brought education into the broader evidence-based practice movement that started in medicine and has spread across a number of human service disciplines. Although the term evidence-based practice has become ubiquitous in education, there is no common agreement about what it means. In this paper, we offer a definition of evidence-based practice, provide a rationale for it, and discuss some of the main tenants of evidence-based practice. Additionally, we describe a decision-making model that features the relationships between the critical sources of influence and the chief responsibilities of evidence-based practitioners

Best Available Evidence: Three Complementary Approaches

The best available evidence is one of the three critical features of evidence-based practice. Best available evidence is often considered to be synonymous with extremely high standards for research methodology. However, this notion may limit the scope and impact of evidence-based practice to those educational decisions on which high quality intervention research is plentiful and definitive leaving educators with little guidance on the majority of the decisions they face. If the mandate to use best available evidence is taken to mean that educators should use the best of the evidence that is available, then evidence-based practice can address virtually all educational decisions. This paper discusses three complementary approaches to identifying the best available evidence and deriving recommendations from research. These include (a) conducting systematic reviews to identify empirically supported treatments, (b) using methods other than systematic reviews to summarize evidence, and (c) considering research on treatments that are not multi-component packages. A conscientious combination of these approaches can increase the breadth of research that is relevant to educational decision-making

Curriculum Adoption in U.S. Schools: An Exploratory, Qualitative Analysis

The process of adopting curricula and programs in U.S. schools is an understudied topic. Given the importance of selecting evidence-based and contextually relevant programs that meet the needs of the school, additional research to examine this process is critical. In this exploratory investigation, we conducted semi-structured interviews with ten building-level and ten district-level school administrators to learn (a) how they identify needs for a new program and (b) the perceived factors that influence decisions in selecting a program to adopt. Qualitative data from interview transcripts were analyzed through thematic analysis as outlined by Braun and Clarke (3(2):77, 2006), and saturation was reached at interview 18. Results yield three primary themes in the data and several related subthemes. We discuss these results as they apply to ways to support schools through the adoption process and the ample opportunities for future research

Tacting and manding in correspondence training: effects of child selection of verbalization.

We investigated correspondence between verbal and nonverbal behavior in preschool children in a play setting. Four children (4 years old) participated in a multiple baseline across subjects design. Children were asked what toy(s) they were going to play with during an immediately upcoming play period. When no contingencies were placed on either verbal or nonverbal behavior, children showed high rates of correspondence. When children were required to verbalize about a toy from a restricted range of infrequently used toys, but no contingencies were placed on correspondence, low rates of correspondence were observed. High rates of correspondence were noted when reinforcement was contingent on it. Results are discussed in terms of tacting and manding

Using intermittent reinforcement to program maintenance of verbal/nonverbal correspondence.

We investigated the effects of an intermittent reinforcement procedure on maintenance of verbal/nonverbal correspondence with nutritious snack choices in a day-care setting. Nutritious snack choices were first established using correspondence training procedures in a multiple baseline across three children. Withdrawal of the procedures with one subject led to loss of appropriate responding, suggesting the need for a maintenance strategy. The intermittent reinforcement procedure was implemented in a multiple baseline across subjects. Nutritious snack choices were observed consistently during the intermittent reinforcement condition and the subsequent extinction condition

On the functional role of the verbalization in correspondence training procedures

We investigated the functional role of the child's and experimenter's verbalizations in correspondence training procedures with toy play behaviors in a day-care center setting. Six children participated in a multiple baseline across responses and/or multielement design. Baseline conditions were followed by reinforcement of verbalization. This resulted in little or no change in responding, similar to findings of previous research. Experiment I isolated the child's verbalization as the variable under study. With an experimenter's prompt and postplay reinforcement held constant, the effects of including versus omitting the child's verbalization were examined. A contingency-space analysis revealed that the presence or absence of the child's verbalization exerted no influence on play with the target toy. In Experiment II, a condition in which no experimenter's prompt occurred was added. Results suggested that the complete absence of any antecedent verbalization, by child or experimenter, resulted in much lower rates of play with the target toys. Again, however, when the experimenter's prompt was included, no clear difference was noted between conditions in which the child verbalized and conditions in which the child did not. These results raise doubts about the commonly held view of correspondence training procedures as a method of promoting self-regulation