Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

The purpose of Behavior Modification's special issue on academics is to feature a collection of studies involving behavioral interventions designed to improve academic outcomes. Studies published in this special issue address a variety of academic subjects (e.g., reading, science, social studies) for students with learning, emotional, behavioral, and developmental disabilities. A total of three rigorous literature reviews and six well-designed intervention studies are presented. The studies included in the special issue clearly illustrate the potential benefit of behavioral interventions designed to improve academic performance and related behaviors (e.g., task engagement, school readiness).

The Special Issue on the Education of Behavior Analysts: Common Themes

“…The field of behavior analysis has long taken a strong interest in the general topic of education, including associated processes, procedures, and methods for evaluating its effects (e.g., Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968;Skinner, 1984;Twyman, 2014). This interest has included a wide variety of topics including (but not limited to) academic outcomes in children and adolescents (e.g., Lang & Rispoli, 2015;Martens, Daly, & Ardoin, 2015); skill acquisition in early childhood education contexts (Conard, Johnson, Morrison, & Ditzian, 2016), in individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities (Lovaas, 1987), and in professionals from a variety of fields and industries (e.g., Gravina et al, 2018); academic outcomes of postsecondary students (Fienup, Hamelin, Reyes-Giordano, & Falcomata, 2011); and teaching approaches to train individuals to implement behavioral interventions (e.g., Heitzman-Powell, Buzhardt, Rusinko, & Miller, 2014;Shapiro & Kazemi, 2017) and other clinic and educational-based skills (e.g., Gravina et al, 2018). In addition, educational practices and considerations specifically aimed at the teaching of behavior analysts has been, and continues to be, of primary interest to the field (e.g., Albright, Schnell, Reeve, & Sidener, 2016;Blydenburg & Diller, 2016;Carr, Nosik, & Luke, 2016;Critchfield, 2015a, b;Dixon, Reed, Smith, Belisle, & Jackson, 2015;Fisher et al, 2014;Granpeesheh et al, 2010).…”