PREVENTING SED THROUGH PARENT-TEACHER ACTION RESEARCH AND SOCIAL SKILLS INSTRUCTION - FIRST-YEAR OUTCOMES

First-year outcomes are reported for first-grade children at risk for SED assigned to Parent-Teacher Action Research (PTAR) teams and a matc hed control group in the same classrooms. Children in both groups, alo ng with their classmates, received social skills instruction from thei r first-grade teachers. Cohort 1 included 18 pairs of first graders (n = 36) identified at risk for SED by kindergarten teachers. Children w ere matched on age, gender, kindergarten teachers' nominations as inte rnalizers versus externalizers, and Total Problems scores on the Teach er's Report Form. In their first-grade year, both groups showed decrea ses in problems and increases in social skills from fall to spring ass essments, based on standardized teacher and parent rating scales. Comp ared to their matched counterparts, children who had PTAR teams showed greater reductions in teacher-rated externalizing aggressive and deli nquent behavior and social problems, and independently observed proble ms in the classroom and at recess. The PTAR children also showed great er improvements in on-task behavior than those in the control group. R esults demonstrate beneficial effects of PTAR, combined with whole-cla ss social skills instruction, for children at risk for SED.