Check, Connect, and Expect in a Self-Contained Setting for Elementary Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

CHECK, CONNECT, AND EXPECT IN A SELF-CONTAINED SETTING FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS by Sara McDaniel Check, Connect, Expect (CCE) is a secondary tier behavioral intervention for at-risk students who require targeted behavioral support in addition to schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports. A full-time coach in the CCE intervention provided behavioral supports including daily check-in and check-out procedures, as well as targeted social skills instruction. This study extended CCE to a self-contained elementary school for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Twenty-two students participated in the 17-week study that involved a four week baseline phase, followed by a 13-week intervention phase. The following research questions were addressed: (a) How did CCE affect student behavior?; (b) How did CCE affect student weekly academic engagement?; (c) How did CCE affect student weekly math calculation and oral reading fluency growth?; (d) How did severity of behavior predict student response to CCE?; (e) How did function maintaining the behavior predict student response to CCE?; (f) How did relationship strength with the coach predict student response to CCE?; and (g) How socially valid was CCE for teachers, paraprofessionals, and students? Two growth curve models were used to analyze the academic and behavioral data. Overall, students displayed significant behavioral growth during the intervention phase and positive growth in the areas of academic engagement and achievement. Severity of behavior, function, and relationship strength were not significant predictors of student response to the CCE intervention. Future directions, limitations, and implications for practice are discussed. CHECK, CONNECT, AND EXPECT IN A SELF-CONTAINED SETTING FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS WITH EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS by Sara C. McDaniel A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Special Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education in the College of Education at Georgia State University