Date of Award
2004
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Roberta Schomburg
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
behavior disorders, case studies, discipline procedures, emotional disturbances, medication side effects, pediatric psychopharmacology, pediatrics, pharmacology, psychopharmacology, psychotropic medications, staff development, student behavior, teacher knowledge, teacher training, treatment, youth with emotional and behavioral disorder
Abstract
This applied dissertation was designed to provide staff members with information regarding psychotropic medications, in order to assist them in improving their discipline procedures with students at a school for children and adolescents with emotional/behavioral disorders. Students with emotional/behavioral disorders were being disciplined inappropriately. A suspected cause was that teachers were unable to differentiate between a true behavioral issue and a behavior that was a result of the side effects from the medication that the student was taking. Even though psychopharmacology has been part of the treatment of students with severe emotional/behavioral disorders, it is still not acknowledged as an intricate part of the educational process and teachers are not receiving training in this area.
The writer implemented a staff development training that provided teachers with general information of psychotropic medications, incorporated a basic course in the applications of pediatric psychopharmacology, and required staff members to review case studies and answer questions regarding the relationship between the student’s behavior and medications. Once staff development training was completed, staff members monitored and documented student behavior and the writer analyzed the results.
An analysis of the data revealed that teacher knowledge regarding psychotropic medications did not directly affect the way they disciplined students.