Examining the influence of teacher behavior and classroom context on the behavioral and academic outcomes for students with emotional or behavioral disorders.(Report)

Many students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) display both learning and behavioral problems that make it difficult for teachers to provide effective instruction. In turn, a lack of exposure to effective instruction contributes to poor academic and behavioral outcomes. In this article, the authors argue that the interaction between the learning and behavior problems of students with EBD is complex and likely characterized by multiple influences, including classroom contextual factors. The authors detail (a) ways that teacher instructional behaviors and classroom contexts may contribute to the relationship between learning and behavior problems of students with EBD and (b) assessment procedures helpful for measuring classroom contextual variables. Implications for future research are discussed, including using data gleaned from applied research to inform future randomized clinical trials examining classroom-based interventions for students with EBD.

Keywords: emotional and behavioral disorders; intervention research; classrooms; behavior problems

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Students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) exhibit learning problems and behavioral deficits (Kauffman, 2005). For example, Greenbaum et al. (1996) found that the percentage of children with EBD who were reading below grade level increased from 54% to 85% across their study's 7-year span. Nelson, Benner, Lane, and Smith (2004) reported that 83% of their study's sample of children with EBD scored below the norm group on a standardized measure of reading skill. Consequently, students with EBD make much less academic progress than either their nondisabled peers or those with learning disabilities (Anderson, Kutash, & Duchnowski, 2001). For example, the meta-analysis by Reid, Gonzalez, Nordness, Trout, and Epstein (2004) of 25 studies, which compared the academic achievement of students with EBD and typically developing same-age peers, found an effect size of .69 favoring typically developing students. This pattern held across all academic subject areas.

The dual deficits of learning and behavior problems may make it difficult for practitioners to provide effective instruction. On one hand, the typical EBD student's academic problems can be so substantial as to require intensive remediation. On the other hand, the student's lack of motivation, frequent disruptions, and aggressive behavior can overwhelm a teacher's attempts to provide such instruction, especially within a classroom context where multiple students present multiple academic and behavioral needs.

Traditionally, both researchers and practitioners have focused their intervention efforts on EBD students' disruptive behaviors and social skills deficits. However, the poor academic progress displayed by students with EBD, as well as the bleak postschool outcomes associated with the resulting school failure--for example, unemployment, mental health issues, high rates of incarceration, and poor social support (Bradley, Henderson, & Monfore, 2004; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999)have led to an increasing focus on academic deficits (e.g., Lane, 2004).

Yet exclusive efforts to bolster EBD students' academic skills may be misplaced and may not lead to long-term gains in either their academic achievement or behavior. That is, an either-or choice may be a false dichotomy. Instead, it may be important for practitioners to focus their intervention efforts on both the academic and behavioral deficits of students with EBD because (a) a multitude of factors influence the social and emotional development and the academic development of students with EBD (Farmer, Quinn, Hussey, & Holohan, 2001) and (b) there is inconsistent evidence about the directionality of effects between learning and behavior problems. Consequently, understanding the impact of various factors (e.g., instructional delivery, classroom contexts, etc.) on academic achievement and behavior remains difficult.