Moderators of a Teacher Classroom Management Preventive Intervention

Introduction:  Teachers’ classroom management skills predict student engagement and social competence and have been shown to reduce disruptive behaviors (Cameron, Connor, & Morrison, 2005; Pianta, LaParo, Payne, Cox, & Bradley, 2002).  Teacher training interventions for young children such as the Incredible Years Teacher Program (IY-teacher) improve classroom functioning of students in high-risk samples such as Head Start (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Hammond, 2001) and in high-poverty schools (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Stoolmiller, 2008).  However, little data exist regarding the impact of grade level or student risk factors on intervention outcomes in early elementary school.  Such information could inform the design and evaluation of this and similar school-wide prevention programs.

Methods:  Data were collected as part of an ongoing Institute for Educational Sciences (IES)-funded RCT evaluating IY-teacher in three rural NC school districts (with teachers randomized by grade level within school).  Participants were 97 K-2 teachers and 1231 students across 11 schools.  The student sample was diverse (21% Hispanic, 19% African American, 6% multiracial) with a substantial number of students having some risk factors (49% receiving free/reduced lunch, 6.5% with an IEP).   Teachers were predominantly female (95%) and Caucasian (83%), with an average of 11 years of teaching experience.

Outcomes included teacher ratings of students’ social and academic competence and inattention on the Revised Teacher Social Competence scale (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 1995) and the Conners’ DSM-IV Inattention scale (Conners, 2001).  Hypothesized moderators of the intervention effect included student grade level, free/reduced lunch status, and level of risk as assessed by baseline social competence and inattention levels and receipt of special education services.  All models controlled for student sex.  Multilevel modeling in SAS was conducted to account for repeated measures and the nesting of students within teacher, grade level, school, and district.

Results:  Two interesting moderator effects were observed.  1) Grade level moderated the impact of intervention on social competence, F(2, 1934) = 3.88, p = .02,  with larger gains in social competence for IY-teacher than control for K and 1^st graders, but not for 2^nd graders, for whom there was no difference between groups.  2) The effect of IY-teacher on students’ attentional functioning was moderated by initial level of inattention, F(1, 1934) = 7.41, p = .007, such that IY-teacher significantly benefited students who demonstrated elevated inattention at baseline (T score > 60), but not low-risk students.   

Conclusion:  Effects of classroom management interventions on young students’ social-emotional competence and inattention may vary based upon grade and attention risk level.  Some adaptation of IY-teacher for older students with different social-emotional needs may be indicated.  Given the well-established link between inattention and negative academic outcomes, findings suggest that the intervention may promote better achievement for this at-risk subgroup, a question that will be examined in further analyses.