The dissertation journey on “Early Childhood Practitioners
Strategies for Working with Aggressive
Children” series comes to an end with educational knowledge
Inference towards application with the
discussion and conclusion sections of the informative mixed
method (qualitative and quantitative)
study. As you are facilitating learning with children of
preschool age share techniques and/or strategies
embedded toward the reduction and/or elimination of
suspending or expelling them from inclusive
educational settings building upon cultural strength-based
model for them to have productive successful
lives into adulthood.
Discussion
The
results of this investigation advance the knowledge associations between early
childhood practitioners perception of aggression, classroom management skills,
and implementation of early intervention plan to reduce or eliminate aggressive
acts. The study extended limited studies
by focusing on children who are “at-risk” for school failure without an early
intervention program.
Previous
studies defining teacher’s definition and perception of aggressive acts have
documented the behavior as some types of physical act done by the child on
someone else or on himself or herself (Kostelnik, Whiren, Stoderman, Stein,
& Gregory, 2000). The teacher’s
definition and perceptions of aggressive acts were from personal observations
and other experiences with children.
Teachers cited children’s lack of social skills, the proliferation of
violent television programs that children view and children residing in violent
communities is why they see high levels of aggression acts in their classrooms
other possibilities for increased aggression may be related to teacher’s
unrealistic expectations of children’s domain skills (social, cognitive, language)
levels, too structured learning environment, and so forth.
A
second issue addressed is the relationship between the teacher’s perceptions of
their classroom management skills in implementing strategies written on the
A-B-C behavior plan. The Teacher
Control of Behavior Scale (Hammarberg & Hagekull, 2002), Signs of
Aggressive Behavior Questionnaire, observations throughout the study and
personal communications were used. A
study conducted by Parkay and Stanford (2004) revealed that teachers who lack
appropriate classroom management skills have children with high levels of
aggression. On the Teacher Control of
Child Behavior Scale 4 of the 5 teachers high positive self-perceptions of
their abilities to manage classroom behavior.
The teacher who scored the lowest had the highest number of participants
(8) in the study. However, a study
conducted by Mavropoulous and Padeliado (2002) found teachers with high
perceptions of classroom management skills have children who exhibit low levels
of aggressive behaviors. The two
teachers who scored the highest of The Teacher Control Behavior Scale
had 2 and 3 children that behavior plans were written to modify current
behaviors. However, it should be noted
that the one teacher who rated herself high on the scale behaviors did not
correlate to classroom observations conducted by the researcher. It was later revealed through conversation
that the teacher know, the appropriate actions but the director would not let
her implement needed changes for aggressive acts. This reply was taken under consideration that
not only does the classroom teacher wants change, but the administrative staff
must be supportive of changes not to convey to the child that the teacher is
powerless and disrespected for the job s/he does on a day-to-day basis. Also, co-workers and administrators conversed
with teachers on specific techniques used to reduce study children’s behavior
to be implemented with other children at different settings. The teachers willingness to accept feedback
and implementation of strategies showed their dedication to the profession and
supports the role of teacher satisfaction in successful classroom management
(Caprara, Barbaranelli, Borgoni, & Stecca, 2003).
This
study also examined the strategies written on the A-B-C behavior plan and
teacher implementation in a consistent basis for changes or if modifications
were needed to reduce or eliminate aggressive acts. A comparison of the study was conducted of
pre- and post-scores of the PBP 12-Aggression Scale (Kupersmidst, 1997)
observations, and personal communications to document changes, if any. Twenty children (16 boys and 4 girls) were
identified to participate in the study.
Studies conducted by Crick, Casas, and Ku (1999) and Fields and Boessen
(2002) that found boys exhibit physical aggression; whereas, girl tend to
exhibit expressive (verbal) aggression.
From the pre- to post scores, each of the 20 children showed a decrease
in the number of specific aggressive acts during the study. The findings are consistent with Bandura
(1976), Binder, Dixon and Ghezzi (2000), Boyajian et al., (2001), Burke,
Hagan-Burke, and Sugai (2003), Frey (2000), Huff, Ervin, and Friman (2005),
Kolis and Dunlap (2004), Slaby et al., (1995), and Wardle (2003) reported that
an early intervention plan that is followed through and implementation will
reduce the number of aggressive acts presented by the child. Teachers shared
that the following resources would be helpful in implementing A-B-C behavior
plan would be to have an on-site behavioral specialist/consultant once a week
or twice a month. Studies conducted by
Adams and Baronberg (2003), Bell et al., (2004), Frey (2000), Richardson
(2000), Slaby et al., (1995) and Stormont (2000) revealed that having on-site
consultants help reduce aggressive acts by the children.
Practical Implications and Suggestions for Future Research
The findings of this study are limited to the number of
participants researching perception of aggression, classroom management skills,
and implementation of A-B-C behavior early intervention plan. Early intervention for children who exhibit
mid to high levels of aggressive acts, such as hitting may help stem the
development of aggressive acts that makes it difficult for children to have
academic success in school.
In future research it is suggested a longitudinal study
is recommended with a larger sample size that follows the ECPs the entire
school year to include directors and parents. Including more
ethnically/culturally diverse participants is also recommended to allow the
results to be generalized beyond the county served by this study. Different
measurement tools to assess new predictor variables, such as parental
involvement in implementing an A-B-C behavior plan at home, parental workshops
on positive ways to discipline children, behavioral specialists for children
who are identified with mid to high levels of aggression (on a weekly basis),
teacher assistants, and other center staff, may add to the body of knowledge on
the relationship between A-B-C behavior plans and its effectiveness in reducing
or eliminating aggression in preschool-age children. In addition, to research
directors involvement with degreed teachers to meet employment requirements but
teachers lack of classroom management skills and strategies/techniques to
reduce aggressive behaviors.
Limitations of this study and some caveats must be
noted. First, five teachers’ perceptions
of aggressive behavior and on-site observations provided information or
insight, which may not be representative of the population of the study. Second, the results are limited by the instruments’ reliability and
early childhood practitioners’ verbal comments.
Third, the sample centers and teachers were generated by a random
procedure; therefore, it cannot be generalized to a larger population. The
sample, however, was described in as much detail as possible so that
generalizations may be appropriate for other groups resembling the sample
group. Fourth, the subjective nature of
the interviewing procedure with early childhood practitioners’ limited the
study, but this data collection procedure allowed the researcher to probe for
greater meaning and understanding of perceptions of aggressive behaviors. Fifth, the time of year that the study was
conducted could have an adverse effect on the number of children
participants. Sixth, the researcher
works with this population and may therefore be biased. The researcher is an
instructor in the Early Childhood Education departments at the 2- year and 4-
year institutions of higher learning and has instructed the sample population.
This will be managed as carefully as possible by delegating the delivery of the
A-B-C behavior plan to the early childhood practitioners and double-checking
the information gathered. Using member checking research will present more
valid data for interpretation (Hatch, 2002). Seven, the size of the sample and the
fact that this case study was be done in a county in the southeastern part of
the United States
limits generalizing results. Eight, this
study did not focus on the parent’s view of their child’s aggressive acts at
home and implementation of strategies to reduce the number and intensity of
unacceptable behaviors. Nine, early childhood practitioners were asked to
recall attitudes or events from the past.
The self-reported data might be difficult to verify. Ten, the data
interpretation was subjective. The researcher attempted to consistently
identify themes in the raw data. Triangulation of interpreted results helped
verify the meanings of participants’ responses (Hatch, 2002). Eleven, the instruments used to assess the
dependent and independent variables limited the study. It is possible that
instruments may not have measured all relevant aspects of aggressive behaviors.
It may also be valid to have rephrased some questions on the SABQ to reduce
redundancy among questions, change the order of question, or add additional
questions that may be relevant to measurements. It is also possible that other
instruments may have provided a more accurate measure of aggressive behavior
modification following implementation of the A-B-C behavior plan. Twelve, the center that was the locale for
this case study was populated by children with mid- to high levels of aggressive
behaviors. Therefore, specific strategies on the A-B-C behavior plan varied
from child to child in the center under study. The early childhood practitioner
applied the findings, considered these variations, and applied the
modifications consistent with the specific setting. Thirteen, the number of
participants was limited to 20. Restricting the study to only 20 participants
was a significant limitation; the decision to include quantitative as well as
qualitative measurements placed restrictions on the number of case study
subjects a single investigator could consider.
Finally, the results were limited by the reliability of the study
instruments used. Nevertheless, the
present results indicate that future research is needed on teachers perception
of aggression and implementation of early intervention plans to outline
specific strategies for acts.
Conclusion
The main contribution of this study to the body of
knowledge in early childhood education is the unique perspective of early
childhood practitioners regarding aggressive behaviors and the implementation
of the early intervention (A-B-C behavioral plan) to reduce or eliminate
aggressive acts. While existing literature addresses certain perceptions and
early intervention programs, clearly more research is needed from the point of
view of early childhood practitioners and preschool-age children.
The findings provide insight into the points of view and
perceptions of early childhood practitioners and the implementation of an A-B-C
behavior plan for children enrolled in programs serving “at-risk” preschoolers.
This study’s findings may encourage early childhood policy and decision makers
to build programs that offer consultations with behavioral specialists and more
courses for educators on behavior management. At the same time, it is hoped that
the study’s findings underlined the importance of advocating for early
intervention in the lives of young children, given the positive contributions
of early intervention. Further, despite the level of training and education
participants had, major difficulties in both identifying and utilizing
age-appropriate strategies for assisting children with modifying aggression
were found. Even among what today would
be termed as “highly qualified” early childhood teachers, there is evidence
that much more needs to be done to help them to develop specific behaviors to
respond to the increasing challenging behaviors young children exhibit. Although all of the participants in this
study had recent course work on behavior or classroom management, they were
unsure specify strategies to implement for reduction of aggressive behavior.
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