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Article with Devereux Pennsylvania CBHS doctoral intern as lead author selected as SPR ‘Article of the Year’

An article examining teachers’ classroom management practices authored by Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Pennsylvania Children’s Behavioral Health Services doctoral intern Colleen Eddy and colleagues, was recently selected as the “2020 Article of the Year” by the National Association of School Psychologists’ flagship journal, School Psychology Review (SPR).

The article – “Does teacher emotional exhaustion and efficacy predict student discipline sanctions?” – analyzed the association between teacher emotional exhaustion and efficacy, which is a teacher’s confidence in his or her classroom management capabilities, and student office discipline referrals, in-school suspensions and out-of-school suspensions.

“This is quite an honor – SPR is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing articles related to advances in research, training and practices in the field of school psychology,” said Devereux Center for Effective Schools Director and Health Service Psychology Internship Director of Training Barry McCurdy, Ph.D., NCSP, BCBA-D. “We want to congratulate Colleen on receiving this recognition, and wish her the best as she continues to study effective classroom management practices.”

Eddy also noted, “I was thrilled and honored that this article was recognized by SPR. I began this paper early in my graduate studies, collaborating with wonderful advisors and colleagues from the Missouri Prevention Science Institute where I was a graduate research assistant. I am grateful to have been part of that team!”

Examining teacher burnout

Eddy’s article, which was part of a larger study examining classroom management practices with the Incredible Years program, analyzed the effect of teacher emotional exhaustion and efficacy on the classroom climate and student outcomes.

Eddy found that the greater a teacher’s emotional exhaustion, the higher the risk of that teacher sending a student to the office or handing out an in-school suspension.

“Teaching is such an important profession, yet it can be very challenging. Educators are often asked to do so much with limited resources and supports,” Eddy shared. “A teacher who is stressed may have a lower threshold for disruptive behaviors, and may be motivated to have a student removed from the classroom. However, this short-term solution to relieve immediate classroom stress can make problems worse for the student and the teacher over time. In addition, we found that teacher efficacy, or a teacher’s confidence in their capabilities to effectively handle the classroom, was associated with a lower risk of out-of-school suspensions. This suggests that by increasing a teacher’s confidence and skills in using effective management practices, teachers can feel capable of handling problems before they escalate.”

What’s next?

Eddy says she plans to continue working with her colleagues from the Missouri Prevention Science Institute to research classroom management and stress management practices, noting, “Our goal is to prevent and reduce exclusionary discipline practices like in-school and out-of-school suspensions. These practices can worsen problem behaviors in youth. Instead, we want to create a positive working and learning environment where teachers and students can succeed.”

Learn more about Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health’s doctoral internships in health service psychology.

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