Aggression in the classroom is a major concern for Head Start teachers and is a primary problematic behavior reported by all preschool teachers. Up until about four years of age, physically aggressive behaviors, such as hitting and pushing may be evident. In the course of development, they usually give way to verbal aggression as children make gains in language, empathy, perspective taking, and the ability to delay gratification. But some children continue to exhibit high rates of physical aggression as they enter elementary school. They are at increased risk for a range of negative developmental outcomes, including peer rejection, serious conduct problems, delinquency, and eventual criminality (Coie & Dodge 1997; Loeber, 1997).

Head Start centers in the rural eastern Maine counties of Penobscot and Piscataquis are working to find the best ways to manage aggressive behavior in the classroom. For the past twenty years, the Psychological Services Center (PSC) at the University of Maine has held a contract with Penquis Community Action Program (Penquis CAP) Head Start to provide mental health consultation services.

The PSC is a training clinic affiliated with the doctoral training program in clinical psychology at the University of Maine. Penquis CAP, a private, nonprofit, community health and social service agency, coordinates the efforts of more than 26 local Head Start classrooms in eastern Maine.

The PSC provides biannual visits to each center to assess the overall center environment (e.g., safety, daily activities, facilitation of developmental skills, staff/children interaction). At the request of center staff, observations of specific children exhibiting difficulties (e.g., noncompliance, separation anxiety, aggression, etc.) are conducted. Treatment recommendations are provided, including staff-initiated procedures (e.g., teaching peer interaction skills to students, changing discipline strategies) and/or referral for further services.

Over the years, we have been frustrated and concerned by the steady stream of referrals involving aggression and poor peer interaction skills. Of the 177 children referred between fall 1991 and spring 1999, 40% exhibited difficulties involving aggression. Rather than address each case individually, we decided that a systemic form of intervention might be more beneficial.

Intervention in Curriculum
We began developing the Curriculum on the Management and Promotion of Appropriate Social Skills (Compass) program, a social-cognitive skills training curriculum. First, we piloted some of the Compass procedures by training a Head Start teacher to provide brief verbal instructions to the most aggressive children in one classroom. In a quiet, isolated location, the teacher engaged the child in conversation aimed at teaching three concepts based on the work of Zahavi and Asher (1978)–(1) aggression hurts other people and makes them unhappy; (2) aggression does not solve problems and only brings about the resentment of the other child; and (3) positive ways to solve conflicts are sharing, taking turns, and playing. The effects of this intervention were measured through behavioral observations and teacher ratings of behavior (completed by the assistant teacher who did not know which children received the training).

After treatment, the children were observed to display significantly higher levels of positive behavior (e.g., complying with teacher directives and playing appropriately with other children) and significantly lower levels of negative behavior (e.g., noncompliance and temper tantrums). Aggression decreased to levels comparable to that of their non-aggressive peers. These changes in behavior were maintained at a 1-month follow-up observation period. Teacher ratings revealed that social behavior also improved and persisted one month later.

Program Components
Encouraged by the success of the pilot study, the 12-session Compass program was fully developed and is currently being evaluated in four classrooms. Researchers at the University of Maine worked closely with Head Start program staff to ensure that the curriculum was manageable and appropriate for use in their classrooms.

Compass consists of four major components–instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and evaluation/feedback. During "circle time," the children are instructed on one of eight individual social skills by puppets, who model the skill for the children. During "free play," all of the children rotate through a rehearsal station, where they re-enact the scene with the puppets and then practice the newly learned skill in a related activity planned by the teacher. A teacher is at the rehearsal station to provide feedback to the children and to ensure that the skill is rehearsed correctly. For example, for the skill "sharing," the puppets engage in a tug-of-war over a puzzle piece that is resolved by sharing. The puppets model how to share the puzzle pieces. At the rehearsal station, two to three children reenact the scene of the puppets sharing the puzzle pieces. The teacher provides cues to the children, if necessary. Finally, the children put a puzzle together with the teacher coaching and praising them in the art of sharing. We plan to revise the Compass program curriculum based on the results of our evaluation and teacher feedback.

Next Steps
A parent component is being developed to teach parents about the social skills being taught in the classroom and the best methods for reinforcing these skills in the home environment. The parent component is a critical addition to Compass because children are best served by consistency across the school and home environments.
It is our hope that Compass will function as an intervention and a prevention: intervention for those children exhibiting aggressive behavior and prevention for others. Research shows that half of all aggressive children in middle childhood were aggressive preschoolers, whereas the other half first displayed aggressive behavior in elementary school.

Moreover, the social skills taught by Compass will aid children who are behaviorally withdrawn or neglected by their peers. The Compass program was designed as a general social skills curriculum to teach all Head Start children how to navigate effectively their social worlds. 

References

Coie, J.D. & K.A. Dodge. 1997. Aggression and antisocial behavior. In Handbook of child psychology, vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development, ed. N. Eisenberg, series ed. W. Damon. New York: Wiley.

Loeber, R. 1990. Development and risk factors of juvenile antisocial behavior and delinquency. Clinical Psychology Review 10: 1-41.

Zahavi, S. & S.R. Asher. 1978. The effect of verbal instructions on preschool children's aggressive behavior. Journal of School Psychology 16: 146-153.

Erika M. Carpenter is a doctoral candidate at the University of Maine. E: Erika_Carpenter@umit.maine.edu. Douglas W. Nangle is a faculty member at the University of Maine. E: Douglas_Nangle@umit.maine.edu.