Disruptive Adolescents in the School System - Comparative Effectiveness of Helping Strategies

• NCJ Number: 92665
• Journal: Journal of Adolescence Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: (1983) Pages: 359-371
• Author(s): K J Topping
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: Paper derived from the author's lecture at the 18th A.P.S.A. Conference, July 1983, Cambridge and was based on his book, 'Educational Systems for Disruptive Adolescents' 1983, Croom Helm, UK and St. Martins Press, U.S.A.

Annotation

The most expensive systems for helping or managing disruptive adolescents in the school system are not necessarily the most effective.

Abstract

Large sums of money are often spent on setting up different systems of helping disruptive students without reference to objective data on effectiveness. This paper considers 24 alternative systems and scrutinizes the evaluation research on each. It finds that besides the most expensive systems not necessarily being the most effective, that the task of resolving behavioral difficulties may be either under- or over-resourced in individual cases, building in either failure or waste. A guide is given to developing a sequence of intervention strategies of known cost effectiveness, providing a fail-safe structure for helping disruptive adolescent students. Figures are included. (Author abstract modified)