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Goal setting and behavior contracting for students with emotional and behavioral difficulties: Analysis of daily, weekly, and total goal attainment

1998; Wiley; Volume: 33; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/(sici)1520-6807(199604)33

1520-6807

William J. Ruth,

Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Goal setting and behavior contracting were combined for students with emotional and behavioral difficulties in a public elementary school. Attainment for daily, weekly, and total contract goals were analyzed over 5 years across 43 special education students. Goal setting involved goal specificity, goal difficulty, goal acceptance, and performance feedback. Behavior contracts involved a main goal, target behavior, recording, feedback, and reward contingency. Contracts focused on low-frequency behaviors to be increased (e.g., cooperation), or high-frequency behaviors to be decreased (e.g., aggression). Mean completion time for contracts was 6.4 weeks. Results indicated high and consistent attainment percentages for daily (75%), weekly (72%), and total (86%) contract goals. Findings suggest that the motivational aspects of behavior contracting and goal setting may combine to produce maximum success for students with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Limitations and implications are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.