An evaluation of behavioral self-management implementation and home-to-school generalization effects

Self-management interventions have been identified as having both high prevention and utilization potential in increasing appropriate classroom behavior and preventing undesirable behavior within school settings. Research findings have indicated that self-management procedures are relatively more effective and have greater generalization potential than traditional teacher-managed procedures. Using a multiple baseline design across settings, the current study investigated the effectiveness of a behavioral self-management intervention designed to increase three students' appropriate behavior across home and two classroom environments. All three students' appropriate behavior increased as a result of the training and matching conditions in the home setting. Despite not conducting training in the classroom settings, students' behavior increased substantially in each classroom, suggesting that home-school collaborations can decrease the effort required by teachers to implement self-management interventions. However, significant changes in behavior were not observed in each setting until implementation of the matching condition, in which students were rewarded for appropriate behavior. Substantial changes in student behavior were not observed when students were required to self-evaluate their behavior in the absence of changes in contingencies. Implications of the current findings to practice as well as research regarding self-management interventions and generalization will be discussed.