Classroom-based research in the field of emotional and behavioral disorders: methodological issues and future research directions.(Report)

Classrooms serving students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are complex environments that include multiple interactions such as those between (a) students and teachers, (b) students and peers, and (c) temporally distant or concurrent classroom-setting factors and subsequent behavioral episodes. As a result, the scientific processes and methods used to investigate the nature of these interactions are often as varied and complex. The purpose of this article is to review and discuss the extent to which research methods and practices evident in current classroom-based studies measure and predict these relationships accurately. To this end, the authors present an overview of common research methodology and related measurement strategies and some considerations for conducting research using these methods in classrooms serving students with or at risk for EBD.

Keywords: emotional and behavioral disorders; measurement; research; student-teacher interactions

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Classrooms are complex environments that include a host of dynamic, intersecting variables, such as classroom-setting factors (e.g., classroom arrangement), instructional strategies (e.g., use of scaffolding), and individual student factors (e.g., ability, skill level), with the overall goal of producing positive student outcomes. Needless to say, capturing how these variables interconnect and the relative influence they have on student outcomes is difficult. Current research in the field of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) has addressed some of these factors, but much of the methodology has failed to deal adequately with the complexity of these relationships while maintaining sufficient scientific rigor (Conroy & Stichter, 2005). The national emphasis on scientifically based practices, in combination with a critical need for interventions that are socially valid, necessitates increasingly multifaceted, rigorous methods, both in our current work and as we consider future research directions.

In this article, we discuss methodological issues related to classroom-based research in the field of EBD. Specifically, the purpose of this article is twofold: (a) to provide an overview of the current methods used in classroom-based research about students with or at risk for EBD, including a discussion of the limitations and strategies that expand the potential and increase the rigor of that methodology and (b) to suggest future research directions, with the goal of contributing to a discussion of experimental methodology that will ultimately advance the field of EBD. For the purpose of this article, classroom-based research was defined as investigations of environmental variables (e.g., specific teacher behaviors, instructional components including planned interventions, physical arrangements) in relation to student behaviors (e.g., problem behaviors, time on task, academic achievement; cf. Brophy & Good, 1986; Gunter, Hummel, & Conroy, 1998; Stichter, Lewis, Johnson, & Trussell, 2004). Our discussion encompasses students at risk for or identified as EBD who are served in either general or special education classrooms; thus, it includes research aimed at the primary, secondary, and/or tertiary prevention of EBD. The unit of analysis in a given study could be at the individual student, classroom, or school level, depending on the study design, but the common factor across studies is that the components of interest occur within the context of the classroom; that is, they are based in the classroom rather than in clinical or other settings.

Current Methods in Classroom-Based Research

The application of experimental research methods in EBD within educational settings has evolved over the past 40 years (for a discussion, see Van Acker, Yell, Bradley, & Drasgow, 2004). When one considers the early research efforts and work of the "founding fathers" (e.g., Haring & Phillips, 1962; 1972; Hobbs, 1965; Morse, Cutler, & Fink, 1964; Whelan, 1974), our research designs and measures have expanded considerably as we have addressed more complex instructional questions. For example, Hating and Phillips (1962) conducted one of the earliest quasi-experimental classroom-based studies, comparing the influence of structured and unstructured classrooms on student behaviors. Their findings supported the notion that structured classrooms that included consistent organization and presentation of materials increased the success and learning of students with EBD. In addition, Hobbs (1965) conducted some of the initial investigations of a comprehensive intervention program. Specifically, he developed and experimentally examined the success of a program for students with EBD called REED, which integrated a number of global and specific approaches including classroom instructional strategies, family and community interventions, and cognitive and behavioral interventions. Study outcomes indicated an increase in behavioral and academic gains for the students served under this model.