Chapter 10: Seeking Outside Assistance

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Chapter 10 Seeking Outside Assistance

• Lesson Delivered By Jade and Warren

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Introduction

• What are we taking about
• The nature of persisting misbehavior and what are
  some influences
• 3 causal influences to misbehavior
• In the classroom
• Rooted within the home
• Just how they are (Primary Behavior)
• The Referral Process knowing the different roles
• Different roles for different needs
• Learning Specialist
• Administrator

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What Else

• Working with Parents
• When should you contact
• Working with parents
• The Importance of Working with Parents
• Understanding Parents
• When parents should be contacted
• Conducting parent conferences
• Case Study
• Symptoms of Serious Problems
• Warning signs for abuse
• Legal Stuff

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The Nature of Persisting Misbehavior

• Teachers should contact parents about students
  misbehavior when
• The misbehavior is has persisted even after
  teacher has used various management strategies
• The teacher is confident that a call to the
  parents is all that is needed to correct the
  misbehavior
• Contacting the parents should only be made after
  a chat with the student about choices and
  consequences misbehaving.

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Few Words are Sometimes Needed

• The teacher at this time should point out that
  its the students responsibility for controlling
  the behavior and not the parents
• This may be all that needs to be said

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Factors of Misbehavior

• Students may misbehave, we have to accept that.
  Observed misbehavior can be attributed to the
  developmental stages every student goes through
  (we went through it as well).
• However, sometimes students may resist attempts
  at modification.

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Conceptual aids to Understanding Misbehavior

• Success-failure ratio
• A ratio of the amount of success a student
  experiences in a day to the amount of failure.
• Students who do NOT achieve a positive ratio of
  success become discouraged and frustrated, thus
  their behavior becomes more maladaptive and
  possibly destructive.
• These negative experiences have left the student
  unresponsive to everyday classroom reinforcements
  that are in place to increase the ratio.

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Causal Influences of Low Success-Failure
Ratio in Students

• Failure in the Classroom Environment
• Student(s) cannot find a way to be successful at
  school be it academic, social or extracurricular.
• Social failure can lead to bullying, or being
  bullied.
• Possibility of undiagnosed behavior disability
  that has come about due to higher behavior
  expectations and academic demands in higher
  grades.

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Causal Influences Continued

• Failure Outside the Classroom Environment
• 50 of children who experience behavioral
  problems at school also experience them at home
  Johnson, Broland, and Lobitz
• Students with ever present interpersonal
  relationship difficulties find normal social
  pressures of the classroom too much to deal with.

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Causal Influences Continued

• Failure as a result of Primary Mode of Conduct
• Student is seen too often as the difficult
  child
• Difficulties emerge in pre-school and
  kindergarten years. Some students demonstrate
  improvement with age. However, for some students
  problems continue to get worse as reactions to
  school home serve to decrease success and
  increase failure ratio.

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Causal Influences Continued

• Failure as a result of Primary Mode of Conduct
• Many of these students are eventually diagnosed
  attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)

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When Outside Assistance is Needed

• The decision to seek outside consolation or
  referral is based on 2 general guidelines
• After all hierarchical behavioral interventions
  have been attempted without success.
• Although signs of improvement are evident in the
  students behavior, problem continue to disrupt
  the teaching process.
• The CALM model is an important approach at this
  point.
• Students who show signs of symptoms of serious
  problems may require attention of professionals
• with specialized training

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The Referral Process

• Principal should usually the first contact
• This helps to ensure that parents are not brought
  in before all possible interventions have been
  attempted, except for serious problems when there
  are no other alternatives.
• Creating a collaborative relationship will serve
  to establish trust between parents and schools.

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The Role of the Learning Specialist

• Is on staff to act as a neutral observer to
  provide a view from outside the classroom who can
  serve the teacher by suggesting modifications in
  strategies.
• May choose to visit the classroom to gain better
  perspective on student and/or teacher
  relationship.
• Can offer support to the teacher and at the same
  time speak with the student about problems that
  arise from classroom misbehavior.

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The ROLE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR

• Certain cases of severe misbehavior require
  authoritative and administrative power of the
  administration.
• An administrator is needed often when referring a
  student to a Learning Specialist.
• Administration may be required to provide
  testimony in the case of expulsion or placement
  recommendation to outsourced special education
  programs.

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The role of the school board psychologist

• Initial role is that of student evaluation and
  diagnostic study.
• Services should be sought if students issues are
  entrenched in more enveloping personality
  disturbances or family problems.
• Results collected by psychologists may lead
  specific recommendations for continued study,
  specialized programs, or referral to outside
  resources.

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The role of the consultative team

• Once administration, learning specialist or
  psychologist are involved a CONSULTATIVE TEAM has
  been formed.
• Purpose of the team is to delineate
  responsibilities and to ensure that lines of
  communication stay open.
• Available to take pressure off the teacher and
  manage severe behavior issues as a last resort.
• Bottom line, these teams are comprised to
  increase student achievement and improve behavior.

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Working with Parents

• It is important to build parental relationships
  before problems arise.
• Parents may have negative reactions.
• Minimize negativity and maximize positive
  support.
• Ways to involve the parents..
• Introduction letter
• Give parents the opportunity to get involved
• Provide contact information
• Give follow up letter and positive messages
  throughout the year

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VIDEO
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The Importance of Working with Parents

• Essential part of the consultation team.
• Help reflect on students attitude towards
  school.
• Teacher allies.
• Important for shaping student behavior.

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ANOTHER VIDEO
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Understanding Parents

• Parents may harbor negative feelings towards the
  teacher or school.
• May feel teachers dont need their support in
  controlling student behavior.
• Make sure relationships do not end in mistrust.
• Some parents feel contact from the teacher only
  reminds them of their inadequate ability to
  parent.
• Negative feedback from teachers can create a
  feeling of humiliation and powerlessness.
• Some parents will withdraw or resist from school
  contact or angrily attack or blame the school for
  the problems.

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When Parents Should Be Contacted

• Under the following conditions, parents should be
  contacted concerning behavioral problems
• When a student displays persistent misbehavior
  after the teach and school have employed all
  interventions.
• When there is a decision on the student needing a
  change in teacher or schedule.
• When a consultative team decides that the student
  should be removed from the class for an extended
  period or even one day.
• When a decision is made to have the student
  tested for learning, emotional, or physical
  difficulties.
• When outside specialists such as psychiatrists,
  physicians, and social workers are required.

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Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997), suggest 3
major factors that influence parents
participation in their childs education

• Parents beliefs about their role as parents and
  providing home support for school endeavors.
• Parents sense of concern on their ability to help
  their child be successful in school.
• Parents perceptions of the general invitation for
  their involvement in the school and classroom.

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Conducting Parent Conferences

• School principal usually makes first contact.
• School and teacher need to decide who will attend
  the meeting.
• Student may be present unless the problem
  includes signs of serious health, emotional, or
  legal problems.
• Demonstrate professional competence with a
  collection of data to show evidence of the
  concerns.
• This information will help diffuse issues of the
  parents blaming the lack appropriate action.
• Should end with a summary, an encouraging
  statement, and show of appreciation

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Case Study Questions

• Considering her home circumstances, how can the
  school help Sharon?
• What actions can the classroom teacher take to
  help Sharon?
• Discuss amongst yourselves

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Symptoms of Serious Problems

• Some students may display serious problems with
  or without disruptive or academic difficulties.
• As a teacher we must be aware and recognize these
  symptoms and the appropriate responses.
• Some of these signs that may be noticeable are
  changes in
• physical appearance
• activity level
• personality
• achievement status
• health or physical abilities
• Socialization

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And Finally

• Appropriate intervention is in the hands of the
  teacher who must make the initial observation and
  referral.
• All provinces have laws that require the teacher
  to REPORT ANY SIGNS OF CHILD ABUSE, with
  penalties on personnel who fail to meet these
  responsibilities.