This randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the efficacy of the Incredible Years (IY) Teacher Classroom Management (TCM; Webster-Stratton & Reid, 2002) program to assess whether training teachers in IY-TCM principles improved teacher behavior, whether any observed improvements impacted pupil behavior classroom-wide, and whether these effects could be demonstrated with children at risk of developing conduct problems.
Six intervention and six control classrooms with 12 teachers and 107 children (aged 3 to 7years) were recruited. Children were screened for high or low behavioral problems using the cut-off points of the teacher-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997). The primary outcome measure was independent classroom observations using the Teacher-Pupil Observation Tool (Martin et al., 2010). Multilevel modeling analyses were conducted to examine the effect of the intervention on teacher, classroom, and child behavior. Results showed a significant reduction in classroom off-task behavior (d=0.53), teacher negatives to target children (d=0.36), target child negatives towards the teacher (d=0.42), and target child off-task behavior (d=0.48). These preliminary results demonstrate the potential positive impact of IY-TCM on both teacher and child behavior. (publisher abstract modified)