The Transition to School project: Results from the classroom
Philippa McTaggart
Parenting and Family Support Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD
Matthew R Sanders
Parenting and Family Support Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD
PP: 144 - 155
Abstract
Conduct problems in children are common, and are associated with significant costs to the family, schools, and society at large. Behavioural Family Intervention (BFI), which targets family interactions, is known to be one of the most effective interventions for the management of child behaviour problems.
The school environment is an important aspect of a child's life, and the degree to which parenting interventions impact on the children's classroom behaviour has not been adequately assessed. The present research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a parenting intervention, namely The Positive Parenting Program - Triple P, in reducing child behaviour problems in the classroom. Year One teachers at 25 state primary schools in Brisbane completed a standardised teacher report measure of child behaviour on all children in their classrooms (n=495 children in control schools, n=490 children at intervention schools).
Compared to control schools, the levels of teacher reported conduct problems were significantly lower in the intervention schools. The results of this study provide evidence that a parent training program such as Triple P can be effective in reducing the impact of child behaviour problems in the classroom.
Keywords
parenting, classroom behaviour, teachers, Behavioural Family Intervention (BFI)
Article Text
The development of child conduct problems has consistently been linked with poor parental supervision and erratic child management strategies. For this reason, training parents to use more effective parenting strategies would seem an effective way to reduce these problems (Farrington 1994; Webster-Stratton & Hammond 1997). Such parent training programs are known as Behavioural Family Interventions (BFI) and are acknowledged as being the most effective, well researched and cost effective method of preventing child behaviour problems (Christensen, Johnson, Phillips & Glasgow 1980; Kazdin 1987; Kazdin 1993; Serketich & Dumas 1996; Taylor & Biglan 1998).
There are several key features of BFI interventions, most significantly their focus on training parents to implement specific behaviours in the home. The aim is to provide parents with instruction in the use of social learning and behavioural principles to enable them to generalise their skills to other settings and children (Kazdin 1996). The underlying model is one of collaboration that sees a non-blaming, supporting and reciprocal relationship between therapist and parent as essential to success (Webster-Stratton & Herbert 1993). The rationale is that a treatment approach that encourages parents to develop solutions to their problems themselves will enhance parents' sense of competency. Parental self-efficacy is seen as a mediating factor between a parent's theoretical knowledge and their behaviour, hence increasing the long-term success of treatment.
As children commence academic learning, new risk factors relating to school performance and peer relationships can increase the likelihood of a child developing conduct problems and compromise the effects of earlier intervention. The well being of children, their families and the school community depends on an effective partnership between home and school.
There are a number of reasons for the development of conduct problems in the school setting. These problems are generally an extension of the conduct problems seen in the home, and the risk factors that contribute to these problems at home also operate in the classroom. Often, for children who have displayed conduct problems at home, the introduction of the classroom setting provides further opportunities to behave in a disruptive manner (Patterson, DeBaryshe & Ramsey, 1989). In most cases, children displaying antisocial behaviours prior to the commencement of school make relatively poor adjustments to the school setting.
Interventions aimed at enhancing family relationships and reducing the chaotic environment in which many at-risk children live is seen by researchers as the best option for assisting these children to achieve at school.
BFI has shown impressive results in terms of improved behaviour at home. In general, BFI evaluation research has shown that parents report high levels of overall satisfaction with the program (McMahon 1999; Webster-Stratton 1993; Williams, Zubrick, Silburn & Sanders 1997). Parents generally report that the intervention has resulted in statistically significant reductions in the non-compliance of their child (eg, Patterson, Cobb & Ray 1973; Webster-Stratton 1981; Wierson & Forehand 1994; Williams et al. 1997). These treatment gains are generally still evident at one-year follow-up (eg. Webster-Stratton 1996).
Despite these impressive results in the home, there is little evidence to suggest that these improvements in children's behaviour generalise to school. There are a small number of studies that have examined the effects of parent training on at-school behaviour, but few have found any improvements in school behaviour following parent training (Breiner & Forehand 1981; Webster-Stratton 1993; Webster-Stratton 1998). It is unlikely that changes will occur in the school setting if the intervention is not powerful enough even to create changes at home (McNeil et al. 1991).
There is, however, one study that has shown evidence of generalisation to school without any intervention taking place within the school environment (McNeil, et al. 1991). This was the first controlled group study to show changes in both parent and teacher reports of child behaviour following a specific parenting intervention. The study provided Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to parents of children who were showing significant conduct problems. The study found that generalisation of treatment effects to school occurred for existing high levels of conduct problem and oppositional behaviour. It did not occur for hyperactivity, inattention and peer relationships.
In summary, although behavioural parent training has been shown to be extremely effective in reducing child behaviour problems in the home, evidence to support the generalisation of this improved child behaviour to the classroom has been limited and has provided conflicting information (Funderburk et al. 1998; Little & Hudson 1998).
The current paper is one in a series of publications that report on the results of the Transition to School Project on reducing the risk factors for the development of child behaviour problems, the overall behaviour of children at home, and the behaviour of children in the classroom. The current paper aims to determine the contribution of family intervention to improving children's behaviour at school. Determining the impact of parenting intervention on school behaviour is an essential step in increasing our knowledge about the generalisation of the effects of parenting intervention to the classroom, and the impact of children's home-life on their school behaviour. The current study tests the hypothesis that parent training (Triple P - The Positive Parenting Program) provided in a universal fashion to all parents at participating schools will have the effect of reducing the degree and intensity of behaviour problems shown by children in the classroom. It is hypothesised that the Triple P will result in generalisation of behaviour change to the classroom, both because of the efficacy of the program, and the general nature of its content. The research will test the statement made by Little and Hudson (1998) that it 'would be of interest to determine whether generalisation to school will also occur with [the] BFI [program of Sanders and Dadds (1993)]' (p.215).
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