Over on 60-Second Science Blog, the news source of Scientific American, Karen Schrock reported that a task force of the American Psychological Association (APA) released a report recommending that caregivers eschew physical punishment. Ms. Schrock noted that at least one member of the task force disagreed with the recommendations, but that most members endorsed it.
Corporal punishment has long been a hotly debated subject, with conflicting study results and opposing ideologies feeding the fire. Now the results of a five-year effort to review the scientific literature are in: a task force appointed by the American Psychological Association concludes that “parents and caregivers should reduce and potentially eliminate their use of any physical punishment as a disciplinary measure.”
Continue reading ‘Physical punishment repudiated’
I only today learned that Sidney Bijou passed away 11 June 2009. There’s an obituary at Web site of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts.
Update, 21 July: The New York Times published an obituary.
The Scott Center at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne (FL, US) will host its second annual conference on Autism 6 November 2009. The theme for this year is “Power and Potential of Communication,” and the featured speakers includ Mark Sundberg, Jim Carr, and Bridget Taylor.
Link to the conference Website and to the Scott Center.
For those who are interested in preventing school violence, here’s a reminder of a resource that I expect will be generating more and more helpful products in the coming years: the Consortium To Prevent School Violence (CPSV).
The Consortium to Prevent School Violence (CPSV) seeks to promote the effective implementation of school violence prevention practices that are:
- Based in high-quality scientific research
- Proven to prevent and reduce school violence
Following the school shootings of Fall 2006, a group of 20 researchers and practitioners in the field of school violence prevention collaborated on the creation of a position statement on the school shootings. In the process, it became apparent that an alliance of researchers and practitioners in school violence prevention to further the common goal of reducing school violence would be highly valuable
Although some of the recommendations are pretty generic (i.e., do not offer specific directions or procedures for implementation), the project is moving in potentially valuable directions. There is a strong emphasis on research and empirical evidence.
Link to the CSPV site.
The effects of rewards on people’s test scores has been the subject of many studies. Under the headline “Learn-&-Earn Plan Pays Off: Scores Soar At Cash-For-Kids Schools” In The New York Post Kelly Magee and Yoav Gonen reported about the results of a program that rewarded students for obtaining higher scores on tests.
An overwhelming number of schools participating in a controversial program that pays kids for good grades saw huge boosts — up to nearly 40 percentage points higher — in reading and math scores this year, a Post analysis found.
Continue reading ‘Rewarding test scores’
Over on EBD Blog I’ve posted copies of statements by the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders regarding use of seclusion and restraint. Jump to the post.