Unmanageable Kids? Psychoeducational Interventions Aimed at Improving the Class Environment
Laura Ferla, Erica Gazzola, Giulio Costantini, Gian Marco Marzocchi
In recent years we have been witnessing an increase in the percentage of children with learning and behavioural difficulties. In particular, self-regulation difficulties are increasing. In fact, a particularly sensitive issue among teachers is the management of multi-problematic classes. Based on the psycho-educational intervention developed by Celi and Fontana (2007), the present study aims to demonstrate its effectiveness in different age groups in children with behavioural disorders. The results (collected on 169 children attending 7 experimental classes and 2 control classes in the province of Milan) document a significant change over time for the experimental group, following the start of a token economy. Furthermore, the improvement of the experimental group stands in contrast to the clear worsening of the control group, which did not benefit from the intervention. This action research joins the national literature documenting the positive effects of psycho-educational intervention at school, and the international literature on the usefulness of the token economy in supporting collaborative learning and cognitive restructuring.
Keywords
Self-regulation, ADHD, Attention, Hyperactivity, Behavioural disorders, Token economy.
