Using behavioural contracting to reduce behaviours that challenge in a school setting: case studies

Purpose Behaviours that challenge in a school setting can lead to responses from teachers that are restrictive. It can impact learning and can limit opportunities for the future. These types of behaviours can also lead to exclusion from school. The purpose of this paper was to review the effectiveness of a non-restrictive strategy, behavioural contracting, in reducing behaviours that challenge. Design/methodology/approach Three case studies are included in this paper, showing how behavioural contracting can be used flexibly and individually to reduce behaviours that challenge. The specific behaviours focused on include pinching, hitting, grabbing, hair-pulling, disrobing, kicking, spitting and biting. Findings In all three case studies, the behaviours that challenge reduced significantly. This positively impacted the quality of life for these three individuals and has led to more opportunities for learning in the school setting. Originality/value Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of behavioural contracting to reduce a number of different behaviours that challenge. This paper showed how behavioural contracting can be simplified to make it more applicable to individuals with complex needs. It is important that non-restrictive strategies are used to address behaviours that challenge, and behavioural contracting can be a simple strategy that can be used across many different settings.