Project SELF: Teaching High School Students With Disabilities to Self-Regulate Their Behavior

Research activities will address the following three aims: (1) develop the SELF intervention, (2) determine its usability and feasibility, and (3) pilot test the intervention to determine its promise for improving student outcomes. During year 1, the PI will develop the first iteration of the intervention using results from a literature review and meta-analysis of intervention research conducted with high school students with challenging behavior, focus groups with high school students and practitioners (general and special education teachers and an administrator), and feedback from an expert panel of researchers. During year 2, the PI will conduct a single-case research design study to assess the intervention's implementation and potential effects on student behavior. The sample will include high school students receiving special education services and demonstrating frequent, persistent challenging behavior in an academic class. The intervention will be implemented by the students' general or special education teachers. After the study, teachers and students will participate in interviews and focus groups to provide feedback on feasibility, usability, and social validity. Findings from this study will inform the second iteration of the intervention to be implemented during the pilot test. Across years 3 and 4, the PI will conduct a pilot randomized controlled trial of the SELF intervention with two cohorts of student-teacher dyads to test its promise for improving students' self-regulation, academic engagement and achievement, and disruptive behavior and to examine the cost of the intervention.