Behavior problems, even in preschool

wow - take a look at this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/17/education/17expel.html

and watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eCfnrGu5xo&feature=PlayList&p=C194894CD10FFB71&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=19

We are curious:

What are some possible explanations for the drop in expulsion rates when the children enter kindergarten?

What are some potential problems that modern preschools face? Specifically what resources should they have access to that they currently do not?

What are some explanations for the different rates of expulsion among various ethnic and cultural groups?

What is changing in our culture that creates increasing amounts of "challenging behaviors"?

References:

Lewin, T. (2005, May 17). Research Finds High Rate of Expulsion in Preschool. The New York Times.

"Challenging Behavior in Young Children." Youttube Video. Online video clip. youtube.com Accessed on 01 November 2009.

In Response to New York Times Article, thoughts connected to other texts we have read

Doesn't it make you wonder about the availability and the IMPORTANCE of high quality preschool education? Here are some thoughts we put together after reading In Plain Sight, by Gordon MacInnes. The book focuses on New Jersey and their steps to promote high quality preschool programs, but the lessons can be applied across state lines. We thought about this book in conjunction with the article: Estimating the Prevalence of Early Childhood Serious Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: Challenged and Recommendations by Cheryl Boydell Brauner, MPHa and Cheryll Bowers Stephens, MD, MBA. The article was published by the Association of Schools of Public Health in 2006. Some thoughts...

There is a danger in presuming a safe preschool is an acceptable preschool, because as Gordon MacInnes notes in his book In Plain Sight, “Preschool without quality if just high class daycare”(MacInnes, 2009).It is not classroom management alone that will prepare children for the academic challenges they will face in the coming years. It is essential that preschool educators become more than just a coordinator who makes sure the kids are safe and take nap at the appropriate time. If the children are managed but not instructed, they will walk into the kindergarten classroom substantially behind some of the counterparts and therefore more prone to behavior issues (MacInnes, 2008). The goal of providing high quality preschool is to close the kindergarten gap and increase the chances of having successful students over the following years, closing testing gaps between various socioeconomic and racial groups. As Jennifer Hochschild realized “for the majority of poor children, high quality preschool is unaffordable or unavailable, so they arrive in kindergarten…less ready to learn.” (Hochschild, 2003)

There is an increasing amount of data being collected about behavior and emotional issues amongst young children. 'Before there is thought and language, there is emotion, and it is this early affect within the context of the earliest relationships that forms the basis for all future development' (Winnicott, 1965). Therefore there is increasing emphasis on emotional and behavioral development, since healthy behavioral and emotional development is imperative before teachers can begin to expect academic and cognative success from children. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS') 1999 report, Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, estimates that at least one in five (20%) children and adolescents has a mental health disorder at some point in their life from childhood to adolescence. Acording to the article "The term “serious emotional disturbance” refers to a diagnosed mental health problem that substantially disrupts a child's ability to function socially, academically, and emotionally. It is not a formal DSM-IV diagnosis, but rather an administrative term used by state and federal agencies to identify a population of children who have significant emotional and behavioral problems and who have a high need for services". (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1525276/#B6).

Although it is imperative for parents and educators to be aware or emotional and behavioral disorders, it is incredibly difficult to find accurate statistics about their prevalence. Also, the study of infant mental health is relatively new. Pediatricians are often unable to diagnosis and treat behavioral and mental problems in young children. A recent study indicates that a lot of “psychosocial problems raised during pediatric appointments are not addressed”. (Sharp, Pantell, Murphy, 1992)

Obviously this is a huge issue with new research being conducted. We think the more research the better!

References:

Brauner, Cheryl Boydell and Stephens, Cheryll Bowers(2006 ). Estimating the Prevalence of Early Childhood Serious Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: Challenges and Recommendations.

Public Health Rep. 2006 May–Jun; 121(3): 303–310. Department of Health and Human Services (US); Rockville (MD): Department of Health and Human Services. Mental health: a report of the Surgeon General. 1999 MacInnes, Gordon (2009). In Plain Sight. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press. Sharp L, Pantell RH, Murphy LO, Lewis CC. Psychosocial problems during child health supervision visits: eliciting, then what?Pediatrics. 1992;89:619–623. Winnicott DW. The maturational process and the facilitating environment. New York: International Universities Press; 1965

tips for dealing with behavior issues

The prevalence of behavioral problems among children and young adults is substantial. Many surveys indicate that behavioral disorders vary among young adults, ranging from 2 and 6% in K-12 students. This percentage translates into 1.3 to 3.8 million cases of behavioral disorders among the school and pre-college population.

Some concrete tips to help teachers help children with behavior issues can be found here:

http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/behavior.html

References:

Strategies for teaching students with behavioral disorders, http://www.as.wvu.edu/~scidis/behavior.html, retrieved on November 23rd, 2009

creating a safe learning environment

This is a response to:

Martin, G., & MacNeil, A. (2007, September 7).

A Learning Approach to School Discipline: Problem Solving Instead of Punishing.

Retrieved from the ConnexionsWeb site: http://cnx.org/content/col10443/1.5/

"The Phi Delta Kappan/Gallup public opinion poll has consistently rated discipline as the number one or two problem in response to the question what is the biggest problem facing public schools."(Martin & MacNeil, 2007) Teachers and administration can be held responsible for this issue for many reasons. One being, teachers have not been "holding students accountable for their actions,"(Martin & MacNeil, 2007) which can sometimes end in a situation where parents sue the school when disciple actually does occur. Bullying is another major issue that teachers may be at fault for. "Authors and researchers suggest that the reason for bullying in our schools is that it is modeled by school faculties and school leaders."(Martin & MacNeil, 2007) Children are very perceptive and may take cues from adults in their lives including teachers. It is important for teachers and principals to have positive relationships that are displayed in the classroom. There should be an open door policy so students know there is constant communication and no one is working in isolation. This will foster the feeling of community that Martin and MacNeil find so important.

Disciple plays such a huge role in schools because if it is not dealt with in the proper manner, it may lead to school violence, and school failure. "Student discipline patterns are predictors of future failure in high school, delinquency, special education referral, alternative school placements, and incidents of school violence."(Martin & MacNeil, 2007) Discipline needs to be taken seriously be teachers and schools so children can be successful. "Clearly, improving student discipline is not only a safety issue, but also an academic and social imperative."(Martin & MacNeil, 2007) Furthermore, children are given less tools to handle social and academic struggles, but are asked to preform at a much higher level. As Martin and MacNeil state "At the same time that more is expected from schools in terms of academic outcomes, many students come into the schoolhouse without having acquired the social and behavioral skills they need to succeed."

In the 1990s disciple in schools was "largely based on methods of coercion, punishment, and rewards." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) The largest problem with this system is it "tends to view children as inherently bad or as a problem to be fixed. In order to be made to behave, adults must use power (coercion), discomfort (punishment), or some type of enticement (rewards)." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) Children have no desire be on their best behavior if they do not internalize the desire, and without adults present children's behavior was chaotic. In the same regards, children's response to rewards for positive behavior are not authentic assessments of internalizing behavior. "All the rewards and all the punishments in the world are not going to get an inefficient way of learning or thinking to change. Students are making decisions every time they make an action. Their decisions are based on their experience, beliefs, wants, and needs." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) Essentially, students need to be prepared to face the real world and a system of rewards and punishments does not always provide the best preparation.

For this reason, the culture of schools needed to change, where children have the desire to be their best. Most recently, school discipline has been a topic of much discussion, whether portrayed negatively from the media or from educators conducting research. "The school’s culture is reflected in how faculty, parents, and students treat one another. In particular, the principal has a vital role in shapingschool culture, with the moral climate of the school reflecting the principal’s modeling of ethical values, along with the faculty’s character and commitment (Heath, 1999). The relationship between the principal and the teacher becomes the model of what all other relationships in the school will be like." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) In regards to discipline strategies, principals are putting most of the blame on the classroom teacher for causing as many issues as some students (Martin & MacNeil, 2007). If the appropriate behavior is modeled by adults, children will begin to strive create healthy relationships between children and adults.

However, "the creation of a discipline policy must have as its central purpose student self-discipline. It must be flexible and most of all focused to correct the behavior of the student. Schools need to stop offering rewards and threatening students with punishments." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) If the school community is strong, and children will respond to to positive relationships with adults, and not be focused on behavior driven by rewards. "If you are going to build a positive relationship with the student, you must better understand each other." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) Children can have these types of relationships if there is a strong community and culture in the school. "Relationships are based on belonging, identifying with place, providing members with security, sense and meaning." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007)" If a child feels like he/she has these types of relationship with people in school, they will be able to problem solve, instead of creating negative behaviors.

"Problem solving forces students to look at their choice of actions and the results of those actions. They cannot deny the facts or shove the blame to anyone else. They know what they did and they know what happened as a result. Although these are usually the negative behaviors and negative results, they soon begin to see how new choices are producing positive results." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) Children feel good about themselves when they are receiving positive feedback, and building a strong relationships with teachers. "The students soon learn the power they have to make things better or worse. Your job is to reinforce it and guide the students in using it in positive manners." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) This empowerment of students allows children to succeed, not by discipling them, but by teaching them. (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) As mentioned earlier, relationships are the key to positive behaviors in schools. "The importance of informal interpersonal relationships is the most dynamic source of power in organizations today (Kanter, 1996). Schools need to use this power to develop commitment, equality and justice. Building Community through school culture requires leaders that have a strong sense of purpose and encourage reflection and dialogue." (Martin & MacNeil, 2007) These methods focus on the environment rather than the individual child and promote a style of teaching that will encourage all students to reflect on what they are learning and how they are behaving. This is very similar to school wide positive interventions and behavior plans. They are both focused on less reactive and more preventative measures. However, we feel that PBIS is more data driven, and the continuum of school-wide instructional and positive behavior supports allows for more precise application of a whole school support plan. (http://www.pbis.org/school/what_is_swpbs.aspx)

References:

Martin, G., & MacNeil, A. A Learning Approach to School Discipline: Problem Solving Instead of Punishing. 2007, September 7. Retrieved from the ConnexionsWebsite on November 1, 2009: http://cnx.org/content/col10443/1.5/

How have teachers responded to behavior problems in the past?

In the past, schools have used many methods of discipline but the most common remains using detention, suspension and expulsion for problem behaviors. “Historically, a common response to problem behaviors in school has been some type of punishment-for example detention, suspension or expulsion from school. These reactive approaches serve primarily as short term solutions that remove a child from a setting.” (Crone, 2004 p.3) In fact, studies show that the rate of suspension as a disciplinary action has doubled over the last thirty years for children in grades k-12. “1.5 million American students missed at least 1 day of school because of out of school suspension or in the 1970s; over the past decade that number has doubled and reached an estimated 3.1 million of approximately 7% of the student population. Studies of school discipline have consistently found that suspension is among the most widely used disciplinary technique, and at the office level, perhaps the most frequently used response to office referrals (Evertson & Weinstein, p.1066)

In many situations, a teacher becomes overwhelmed by a problem behavior. “Our research illustrates consistent findings; that is, problem behaviors classified as disruption, disrespect, and aggression/fighting are among the recurrent reasons for disciplinary referral in elementary school. While not typically included among reasons for office disciplinary actions in school codes of conduct, these behaviors are among those most “disturbing” to teachers” (Algozzine, 2008 p.101) Many of these problem behaviors lead to office referrals which many result in school removal. “Out of school suspension and expulsion are often viewed as a relatively linear response progressing from student disruption to office referral to school removal. Disciplinary actions are multiplied determined by student behavior, teacher tolerance, school and classroom characteristics and local and state policy.” (Evertson & Weinstein, p.1066)

References: Algozzine, Christian, Marr, McClanahan, White, Richard (2008). Demography of Problem Behavior in Elementary Schools. Exceptionality, 16, 2, 93-104.

Evertson, C. M., & Weinstein, C. S. (Eds.). (2006).Handbook of classroom management:Research, practice, and contemporary issues. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Fuentes, A. (2009, April 17). Discipline and Punish. USA Today, pp. 17-20.

The general public is worried about our schools

A recent gallop poll shows that many americans are concerned about lack of discipline in the school systems. In fact, it is their number two concern, trailing only slightly behind worries about lack of financial support

read more about their worries here:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/7327/americans-list-biggest-challenges-us-schools.aspx

Reference:

Gallup, America List Biggest Challenges of U.S. Schools. December 3, 2002. Retrieved on November 17, 2009:http://www.gallup.com/poll/7327/americans-list-biggest-challenges-us-schools.aspx

prevalence of anxiety disorders

We discovered that anxiety disorders were some of the most common among children.

Here are some stats we found:

The combined prevalence of the group of disorders known as anxiety disorders is higher than that of virtually all other mental disorders of childhood and adolescence (Costello et al., 1996). The 1-year prevalence in children ages 9 to 17 is 13 percent. (surgeon general) Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental, emotional, and behavioral problems to occur during childhood and adolescence. About 13 of every 100 children and adolescents ages 9 to 17 experience some kind of anxiety disorder; girls are affected more than boys.About half of children and adolescents with anxiety disorders have a second anxiety disorder or other mental or behavioral disorder, such as depression. In addition, anxiety disorders may coexist with physical health conditions requiring treatment. Researchers also suggest watching for signs of anxiety disorders when children are between the ages of 6 and 8. Studies suggest that children or adolescents are more likely to have an anxiety disorder if they have a parent with anxiety disorders. However, the studies do not prove whether the disorders are caused by biology, environment, or both. The number of young people and their families who are affected by mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders is significant. It is estimated that as many as one in five children and adolescents may have a mental health disorder that can be identified and require treatment.

Burns B, Angold A, Magruder-Habib K, Costello E, Patrick M. The child and adolescent services assessment (CASA) [unpublished instrument]. Durham, NC: Duke University School of Medicine; 1996.

National Mental Health Information Center. "Children's Mental Health Facts Children and Adolescents with Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders" . ND, Retrieved on November 14th 2009 from: http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/CA-0006/default.asp

Surgeon General. Other Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents. ND Retrieved on November 14, 2009 from: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter3/sec6.html