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Academic and Curriculum Interventions With Aggressive Youths (From School Violence Intervention: A Practical Handbook, P 217-235, 1997, Arnold P. Goldstein and Jane Close Conoley, eds. - See NCJ-169051)

NCJ Number
169062
Author(s)
W A Gagnon; J C Conoley
Date Published
1997
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper describes academic interventions that appear to enhance the academic scores and improve the behavior of students who display aggression and other problem behavior.
Abstract
Many aggressive children and adolescents exhibit significant deficiencies in academic performance, particularly reading, in addition to their difficulties in social and emotional skills. Thus, these youths experience little success during their school days due to their deviance from both behavioral and academic norms. Clearly, interventions that promote the academic performance of behaviorally disordered youths are essential. The academic interventions that appear to hold the greatest promise for increasing the academic performance of aggressive youths include peer tutoring, other tutoring, time-delay procedures that give the student more time to respond to a teacher's, mnemonic instruction, and self-monitoring. Courses and curricular approaches that have improved behavior among aggressive youths include art and music courses, law courses, courses dealing with practical aspects of adult life, work study programs, schools within schools, and others. One approach at only one level is unlikely to be effective with all students. Teacher, parents, and community flexibility and openness to innovation are crucial to helping all young people benefit from their school experience. 40 references