Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between a staff development program for school personnel and teachers' and students' behaviors in sixteen selected junior and senior high schools from throughout Los Angeles County. The purpose of the study was to determine if student off task behavior and attendance, and teacher positive contacts with students and teacher perception of discipline policies and practices were related to one of two staff development programs; one a social learning approach and the other a psychodynamic approach. School teams involving three teachers, an administrator, and counselor were trained to implement programs. Methodology. The study utilized a pretest-posttest factorial analysis of variance design (treatment x grade level) with sixteen, seventh through twelfth grade, schools randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. For 480 classroom students and eighty teachers ( a schoolwide population of 16,246 students and 650 teachers), scores were analyzed on each of the four dependent variables. "Barometer classrooms" were used to determine if the treatment effects spread to other classrooms. Findings. (1) Target and barometer teachers in the social learning group demonstrated a greater increase in the number of positive contacts with students than teachers in the psychodynamic group with no difference shown in a two-way interaction between junior and senior high. (2) Students' off-task behavior in the target and barometer classrooms in the social learning group decreased more than students in the psychodynamic group with no difference shown in the two-way interaction between the junior high and senior high. (3) There was no difference shown for both student absence rates and discipline policies and practices. Conclusions. In junior high and senior high schools, social learning staff development compared to a psychodynamic approach produced more positive teacher-student interaction and greater student on-task behavior with the results generalizing to other staff members. No differential effect between the junior high and senior high grade levels was demonstrated. There was no difference in reducing student absences and in discipline policies and practices. Recommendations. (1) Junior and senior high schools should consider using a social learning staff development approach. (2) The study should be replicated with a longer treatment period and a larger sample.