This article provides a conceptual commentary on the special series on potential burnout of teachers of students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD). The issue of teacher burnout is considered through a dynamic, ecological systems theory framework to summarize the complexities of working with students with EBD and to highlight the importance of addressing their needs from a whole child

This article presents initial psychometric data for scores on the Child Responsiveness Scale (CRS), an observational measure to assess child responsiveness to teacher delivery of practices designed to promote social-emotional competencies. In Study 1, 633 live observations conducted with 54 teachers and 91 children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders in early childhood classrooms were rated

This study examined the relationships among teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, interpersonal mindfulness, emotion regulation, and burnout, with the intention of exploring the mediating roles of interpersonal mindfulness and emotion regulation. A total of 224 elementary school teachers from 36 elementary schools in a high-poverty, inner city setting in the Northeastern United States participated voluntarily

We used structure equation models to examine the career intent of special education teachers serving students with emotional and behavior disorders (EBD). Known factors of special educator attrition, including race and characteristic of students served, were considered in analyzing career intent. A total of 841 special education teachers across the United States completed the survey. Results showed

During a school day, children make several transitions between activities, which can take away from instructional time and result in challenging behaviors. This study investigates the impact positive engagement and behavioral supports have on children’s behavior while transitioning. Participants ( N = 40; 77.5% Male; 92.5% Hispanic) were enrolled in the Summer Treatment Program for Pre-Kindergarteners

There is an urgent need to aid in what will be an ongoing educational recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. One avenue for supporting students with and at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (e.g., internalizing and externalizing behaviors) is implementation of tiered systems, which emphasize evidence-based practices to prevent and respond to academic, behavioral, and social and emotional

Students identified with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) often have difficulty with social adjustment and academic achievement, engaging in problem behaviors such as defiance, rule-breaking, and truancy, yet one particularly challenging behavior is aggression. Researchers assert that verbal aggression (VA) is the most frequent form of aggression in schools; however, little is known about

Teaching is one of the most stressful occupations in America. This is especially true for teachers who are responsible for meeting the complex needs of students with disabilities, particularly those with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). In fact, EBD teachers have a higher risk of experiencing burnout than their special education and general education colleagues. This burnout leads EBD teachers

Teachers’ social ties to colleagues are a key conduit of instructional and classroom management resources, and social and emotional support to meet teaching challenges. We argue that special education teachers’ formal and informal collegial ties are malleable contributors to factors that undergird their burnout. Using middle schools as an example, we use social network constructs and longitudinal analyses

The role of a special educator is one of many different hats, including teacher, interventionist, comforter, parent, counselor, therapist, and administrator. These varying roles, particularly when working with students with emotional behavioral disorders, create one of the most emotionally taxing and challenging jobs in public education, which in turn leads to increased educator burnout and attrition

Stress management programs have been developed to improve teacher coping and prevent burnout. While many of these programs have promise, few have included special educators in intervention studies. Intervention programs may be beneficial for teachers in special education to increase their awareness of stress and use of coping skills, which in turn can be modeled for students in their classrooms. Encouraging

More than a buzzword, teacher burnout captures the zeitgeist of the last few years as schools grapple with the challenges of education in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world. Garwood sounds an alarm and issues a call to action to address teacher burnout given its implications on students in general and, more specifically, on its implications for the fidelity of service delivery interventions for those students

To address instructional challenges and poor academic outcomes of youth in juvenile correctional facilities (JCFs), we must understand how and why some teachers are effective and why students are responsive to instruction in these settings. We observed and coded teacher–student instructional interactions from 733 fifteen-minute classroom reading sessions for seven teachers and 40 students in a secure

This study examined whether the links between children’s ADHD symptom severity and academic and social functioning varied based on their aerobic fitness levels. Hierarchical regression models were used to examine the main and interactive effects of inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive (HI) symptom severity and aerobic fitness levels on academic and social functioning in 198 children ( Mage = 6.83;

This study examined the relationships of sociocultural body ideal internalization, difficulties in emotion regulation, and their interaction with body image concerns in a group of 423 Canadian adolescent boys. Participants were 12 to 17 years old and completed multiple self-reported questionnaires. Regression analyses and latent moderation structural equations were performed. Both variables were positively

School-based day treatment is an intensive mental health service for children with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties. Research on day treatment is scarce and descriptions of program mo...

Special educators working with students with emotional and behavioral disorders often report experiencing collegial isolation, exclusion from school communities, and high levels of burnout and stre...

Negative cognitions play a key role in the development and maintenance of depression. To reduce depressive symptoms, most interventions either encourage adolescents to change negative cognitions, t...

Children and adolescents (henceforth “children”) with both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety experience greater difficulties than children with either alone, though qualit...

Rural schools experience difficulty in filling teaching positions at higher rates than non-rural schools. Recruiting and retaining teachers are critical in these districts; however, because the ter...

There has been little attention to personality in research on school refusal (SR). This study examined personality traits among 41 adolescents receiving cognitive–behavioral therapy (CBT) during pa...

Anxiety and externalizing concerns create notable challenges for families. One factor that has been widely studied in relation to anxiety concerns, which may also be influenced by externalizing sym...

This article will provide a brief reflection on Garwood’s summary of research on special education teacher burnout and fidelity of implementation in delivery of evidence-based behavioral interventi...

Much recent literature has highlighted the stressful nature of teaching and its relations with teacher and student well-being. The present study extended this literature to focus on special educati...

School administrators make decisions that directly affect the educational context in which teachers work and students learn. In this commentary, we argue that addressing the burnout of individual s...

Children’s ego-resilience (within-person capacities that facilitate psychological resistance) and irritability (increased proneness to experience negative affective states following environmental s...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a number line intervention with supported self-explanation on student understanding of fraction magnitude and quality of explanation. Partici...

This article is in direct response to Garwood’s call to action about burnout and the special education teacher workforce. While Garwood’s call to action is critically needed, we contend that the ca...

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Family Check-Up initiated during kindergarten on teacher-report of children’s emotional and behavior concerns in fourth grade. Participa...

Disproportionality persists with regard to the labeling of students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A blending of critical race theory and disability studies, or DisCrit, provides a ...

Internalizing and externalizing problems are common targets for school mental health screening. Prior research supports the interpretation of scores from the Youth Internalizing Problems Screener (...

Home–school partnerships between teachers and caregivers of students with or at risk of emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) are critical to support positive student outcomes. Yet, effective home–s...

Teachers should possess adequate knowledge of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) to effectively meet the unique needs of students with EBDs. This study explored the implementation and outcom...

Treatment foster care (TFC) provides critical mental health supports for youth with emotional, behavioral, and social difficulties who are at risk for adverse long-term outcomes. Existing evidence-...

This pilot study integrated quantitative and qualitative data to examine the feasibility of implementing a modified version of a multiple family group behavioral parent training intervention (The 4...

This study examines the cost effectiveness of two interventions for disruptive behavior problems: First Step Next (FSN), a school-based intervention, and a multicomponent intervention that combined...

This longitudinal study examined bidirectional associations between special education pupils’ teacher–child relationship characteristics (quality, satisfaction, and conflict), classroom structure, ...

Multi-informant report of student emotional and behavioral problems determines eligibility for school-based services; however, multiple informants often yield inconsistent reports of child concerns...

In this study, we examine friendship centrality and reciprocity between kindergarteners who exhibit externalizing classroom behaviors and their classroom peers. Teachers nominated children who disp...

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the longitudinal, bidirectional relations between receptive and expressive Spanish and English language and internalizing and externalizing beha...

Often the characteristics of students with emotional and behavioral disturbances (EBDs) are described in terms of how they compare to students with and without other disabilities. However, such a conceptualization or categorization may overshadow differences that exist among these youth, and few studies examine unique subpopulations within this group. To explore meaningful differences and similarities

The term level of care is utilized in mental health care to refer to the different ways in which treatment can be delivered, including qualitative (e.g., modality, approach, setting) and quantitati...

Research suggests that a modular approach to treatment and training may be a promising method for promoting evidence-based practice (EBP) approaches. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that the...

Special education teachers have one of the most challenging and stressful jobs in public education, which often leads to increased burnout. High levels of burnout have, in turn, been related to low...

Strength-based assessment has achieved acceptance from educational, mental health, and social service professionals as a means to measuring emotional and behavioral strengths of children. Several s...

This study aims to examine the (a) prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among children in kinship care; (b) relationships between the number and type of ACEs and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems; and (c) moderating role of kinship caregivers’ mental health on the relationships between ACEs and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. A sample of children

Evidence-based programs (EBPs) delivered in elementary schools show great promise in reducing risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs). However, efforts to sustain EBPs in school face barriers. Improving EBP sustainment thus represents a priority, but little research exists to inform the development of sustainment strategies. To address this gap, the Sustaining Evidenced-Based Innovations

Mounting evidence demonstrates that exclusionary discipline practices like suspensions and expulsions have long-term negative socio-emotional, behavioral, and academic consequences for the students who experience them, with evidence of spill-over effects for nonexcluded students. Restorative practice has emerged as a promising alternative to punitive discipline approaches, yet evidence is mixed on

Special education researchers have a huge responsibility and opportunity to develop research designs that help practitioners in schools—particularly school teachers, leaders, counselors, social workers, and interventionalists—develop research-based policies and practices that address and meet the increasingly complex needs of young people. In this article, we synthesize insights from the articles published

This article critically discusses the ecology of public schools in the United States: systemic barriers and associated biases that permeate these learning contexts and derail efforts to close opportunity gaps for African American adolescents with emotional and behavioral challenges. Using results from a mixed-methods study, we illustrate the ubiquity of an a-developmental perspective that guides perceptions

The author sets the context for the need to advance equity research in the emotional/behavioral disorders (E/BD) field, particularly in regard to the education of studens of color. Next, the special issue articles are discussed in terms of their contributions and future directions in E/BD research.

Consistent evidence indicates the importance of teachers of color for experiences and outcomes of students of color. Fortunately, extant studies consistently indicate special education teachers (SETs) teaching students with EBD are more likely to be people of color than other SETs. These SETs require supportive working conditions, but, to our knowledge, no studies have examined the experiences of SETs

Researchers have found that verbal aggression (VA) is the most frequent form of aggression reported in schools across all grade levels. There are numerous harmful outcomes for VA perpetrators, victims, and witnesses including depression, anxiety, decreased academic performance, and low sense of school belonging. Moreover, VA is known to occasion physically aggressive responses making VA especially

In this article, we highlight Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological approach to explore identity formation and the impact of dynamic interactions between the student and their environment in the development of self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. We examine the complex interactions between student-identity and the systems of support that are meant to help them achieve academic success; looking specifically

The purpose of this study was to examine whether school discipline sanctions issued to female students are attributed to their racial background and developmental status and if this relation differs by teacher’s racial/ethnic background and discipline philosophy. Drawing from a sample of 515 practicing educators from the United States, an experimental design was employed to examine if teacher’s discipline

The use of standardized assessment in evidence-based practice (EBP) is critical in identifying empirically supported interventions (ESIs); however, the subject has received minimal attention in the literature. In a sample of child welfare involved youth, this study sought to determine whether there was a relationship between dimensions of trauma exposure, emotional/behavioral problems, and substance

Despite research on peer dynamics in mainstream classrooms and in mental health interventions, investigations of peer dynamics in self-contained classrooms for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) are limited. This study examined the influence of classroom behavior norms on individual behavior in a school for students with behavior challenges. Ratings of respectful behavior and rule-following

Research predominantly focuses on problematic behaviors in children with symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to explain why they are disliked by their classroom peers. By contrast, the current study explores characteristics of peers that are associated with them disliking classmates with ADHD symptoms. To do so, we undertook a novel methodological approach using hierarchical

In this introduction to the special series, we examine the emotional and behavioral difficulties of youth of color from a dynamic developmental ecological systems perspective. Building on the concepts of the child-in-context, correlated constraints, systemic oppression, and the malleability of maladaptive patterns, we argue that current research approaches and intervention frameworks (e.g., Multitiered