Addressing disruptive behaviors in an After School Program classroom: The effects of the Daily Behavior Report Card

Abstract

There is a need to address behavior discipline problems in special and general education setting classrooms. Disruptive behaviors are a major concern as they create excessive stress and demands for classroom teachers and school administrators to address them. Effective interventions are needed to properly address them. Moreover, classroom disruptions affect the instructional process and learning outcomes. Disruptive behaviors do not just occur in regular school classroom settings, but in After School Program (ASP) classrooms as well. After school program classrooms that operate on regular school sites are important to students, school staff, and parents. Educational researchers found that there is a lack of evidence based interventions for ASP staff to address the behavior issues that impact the quality of the service that they provide students. The purpose of this study was to assess an evidence base intervention (EBI) called the Daily Behavior Report Card (DBRC) in an ASP classroom to address disruptive behaviors and academic disengagement. A single-subject multiple baseline methodology design was used to conduct a four week intervention study of the DBRC. Three students in a third grade after school program class were observed at different times during the intervention and the ASP instructor provided behavior ratings on a report card of the student's behavior. Analysis of the study consisted of a visual inspection of direct behavior observations and DBRC rating graphs to determine if the DBRC intervention changed behavior. Study results revealed that the DBRC intervention had some impact on the participants' behavior overall but did not result in decreasing disruptive behaviors of students in the third grade after school classroom. Interviews were also conducted after the study with the participants and the ASP teacher. However, results of the qualitative data showed positive attitudes towards the DBRC as a tool for communication and collaboration among parents and school staff in the ASP setting in the future.