Training parents in consequence delivery and to initiate school communication using an electronic home-based reinforcement program to modify students' classroom behaviors
Existing research has shown that when parents and teachers work together, everyone benefits; students tend to earn higher grades, perform better on tests, attend school more regularly, have better behavior, and show more positive attitudes toward themselves and toward school (Canter, 2004). This study builds upon these findings by examining the effects of parent training and a parent implemented intervention (parent initiated home-school note via email) on students’ maladaptive classroom behavior and teachers’ ratings on Achenbach’s Teacher Report Form and Conner’s Ratings Scales. In addition, the effects of emailing parental performance feedback on parents’ adherence to intervention procedures (parent initiated home-school note via email) and intervention acceptability as rated by parents and teachers were examined. Study participants were 46 parent-child dyads. Findings of the current investigation suggest that both treatment conditions (i.e., Treatment Alone and Treatment plus performance Feedback) were associated with increases in students’ observed on-task classroom behavior. Teacher ratings of the TRF suggest that student internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and total problems decreased in both treatment conditions and increased in the No Treatment Condition. A significant difference between treatment conditions was found in the number of notes emailed and parents’ treatment integrity. Overall, the findings of the current investigation suggest that students’ classroom behavior can be influenced by a parent initiated intervention that utilizes computer technology, but additional research is clearly needed in this area. This investigation extends the literature by incorporating computer technology in a parent initiated treatment program using home-based reinforcement.
parent training, home-school notes, treatment integrity, email
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