The role of teacher behavior management for children's disruptive behavior development (hyperactive and oppositional behavior) was investigated using a universal classroom preventive intervention study. Fivehundred seventy children were followed from second to third grade of elementary school. Observations of teacher behavior management and children's on-task and off-task classroom behavior and peer reports of hyperactive and oppositional behavior were available. Results showed that the reduced use of negative remarks of intervention teachers predicted children's increase in on-task behavior and decrease in talking-out behavior. These improved children's classroom behaviors in turn mediated the impact of the intervention on the development of hyperactive and oppositional behavior over the studied period. These results were similar for girls and boys. The results underscore the role of teachers' classroom management strategies in improving children's classroom behavior, which, in turn is an important component in the reduction of disruptive behavior development.Keywords Disruptive behavior . Classroom behavior . Teacher behavior management . Intervention .
Good Behavior GameWithin elementary school, teachers have an important role in managing children's behavior, including the management of children's disruptive behaviors (Rydell and Henricsson 2004;Sutherland and Oswald 2005). It is therefore not surprising that research has been directed at the link between teacher behavior management and children's classroom behavior. Studies have shown that adequate behavior management techniques (e.g., providing clear expectations and routines, stating clear rules and consequences, and consistently using praise and other rewards) can reinforce children's appropriate classroom behavior and may reduce disruptive classroom behaviors (e.g., Ferguson and Houghton 1992;Sutherland et al. 2008;Sutherland et al. 2000;Van Acker et al. 1996), while other behavior management techniques such as reprimands, corrections, and commands may elicit more child disruptions (e.g., Nelson and Roberts 2000;Wehby et al. 1995). Despite the existing empirical evidence on the links between teacher behavior management and children's behavior in the classroom, little is known about the consequences of teacher behavior management for children's further disruptive behavior development and about how teacher behavior management may affect this further development. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of teacher behavior management in the development of disruptive behavior in early elementary school, using a design with a universal classroom preventive intervention.In this study we focus on the development of hyperactive and oppositional behavior. Children with hyperactive and oppositional behavior have been shown to be at increased risk for other concurrent problems, such as