Addressing Challenging Behaviors in Early Childhood Settings

This book & CD-ROM offer practical strategies for addressing challenging behaviors in early childhood classrooms that direct users to make specific decisions about classroom design and practices, interactions with families and outside professionals, and children's positive behavioral support. Building on both research and the authors' experience in early childhood education, this book is designed to support educators working with young children in group settings to prevent, address, and resolve challenging behavior. The strategies are divided into three categories that together make up the ecological context of the behavior: intrapersonal (those factors that stem from within the child - temperament, skill levels, preferences, home experiences, and prior educational experiences); environmental (all aspects of the child's relationship to peers, family, and the environment); and, transactional (those contexts that change as children interact with peers and adults). Teachers are encouraged to use the information and forms presented to organize the classroom environment, manage daily activities proactively and positively, consistently respond to behavioral challenges, and expand their working knowledge of child development. Each chapter contains many forms that will help the teachers to fully understand the child's behavior from all three contexts and develop strategies that will enhance the child's experience in the early childhood setting as well as at home and in the community.