We conducted a sequence of two studies on the use of discrete-trial functional analysis and functional communication training. First, we used discrete-trial functional analysis (DTFA) to identify the function of problem behavior in three adults with intellectual disabilities and problem behavior. Results indicated clear patterns of problem…

Interest in procedural fidelity has grown rapidly since 1981 as evidenced by the growing numbers of research publications across disciplines on this topic. As a result, the past 30 years of research has yielded a variety of procedures to guide research and practice, which we hope translates into better educational practices and services. Despite…

The articles presented in this special issue both advance what is currently known about treatment implementation in research and practice and illuminate what remains unknown. This article provides a commentary selectively linking current findings to prior research to make arguments regarding those facts that are well established and the gaps in…

Evaluation of evidence-based treatments is important for adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) given the increasing number of interventions available and the prevalence of ASD. In this study, we sought to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioral interventions for this population by conducting a meta-analysis of published…

There has been a paucity of guidance on the methodological details needed for measuring and sampling the independent variable or actual intervention occurrences in research and practice. Furthermore, the planning and support necessary to document the independent variable in both circumstances may be considerable. The current study extends prior…

Despite the growing evidence base for the efficacy of preventive interventions, the level of implementation of these interventions in schools is often less than optimal. One promising approach to supporting teachers in implementation of interventions is the use of coaching. In this study, teachers were trained in a universal classroom management…

The use of single-case research methods for validating academic and behavioral interventions has gained considerable attention in recent years. As such, there has been a proliferation of methods for evaluating whether, and to what extent, primary research reports provide evidence of intervention effectiveness. Despite the recent interest in…

Although it is widely accepted that procedural fidelity data are important for making valid decisions about intervention effectiveness, there is little empirical guidance for researchers and practitioners regarding how to assess procedural fidelity. A first step in moving procedural fidelity assessment research forward is to develop a…

Twenty-nine peer-reviewed journal articles that analyzed intervention implementation in schools using single-case experimental designs were meta-analyzed. These studies reported 171 separate data paths and provided 3,991 data points. The meta-analysis was accomplished by fitting data extracted from graphs in mixed linear growth models. This…

Using individual-level longitudinal state administrative data, this analysis examines whether English language learner (ELL) status increases the likelihood of being designated as needing college remediation. We track a cohort of ELL and non-ELL students from first grade to college entry and investigate whether there are differences in…

This study utilizes theory from situated cognition to investigate faculty beliefs about student learning and their influence on teaching decisions. Results of interviews with and observations of 56 science and math faculty found that the two most common beliefs are: (a) students learn best through repeated practice, and (b) students have different…

Relatively few students in selective colleges come from disadvantaged backgrounds, so the rewards of attending such schools go mainly to those already advantaged from birth. There is substantial variation in those colleges' socioeconomic composition, however. Some selective private institutions proportionately enroll five times as many…

Institutional striving can be seen in colleges or universities that seek to gain prestige in the academic hierarchy. This goal includes the desire for faculty to produce more research in order to gain more prestige or increase the institution's reputation. This study examined the promotion and tenure criteria of 30 academic units at one…

Some higher education leaders have suggested that colleges and universities could generate state support if they were more productively engaged in addressing societal needs. This multi-case study examines how community engagement is expressed and understood at institutions that vary in their expected levels of state appropriations. The findings…

Observation of trends in physical education plays an integral role in motor-development diagnostics and in encouraging physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. This study aims to elucidate the current state of and trends in pupils' assessments of physical education lessons (PELs) in different education systems in the context of…