Introduction
Maladaptive behaviours that are notable amongst individuals of various ages and genders, ranging from preschool to third grade remains to be a topic of interest across different contexts. This is perhaps the main reason as to why various researches have and continue to lay significant emphasis on the most adequate interventions that could address maladaptive behaviours. The main point of concern regarding maladaptive behaviours amongst preschool up to third grade students align with the implications of such behaviours. Maladaptive behaviours result in a loss of the requisite academic skills that assist students in school and beyond. Maladaptive behaviours primarily connote to behaviours inclusive but not limited to off task behaviours, out of seat behaviours, and talking out. Evidently, a number of interventions that offer possible solutions to maladaptive behaviours have been identified. Amongst these interventions, good behaviour game has proven to be the most effective one.
Discussion: literature review
As aforementioned hereon, maladaptive behaviours hinder the achievement of outstanding performance amongst students of different cadres ranging from preschool up to third grade. As such, education has deviated from focusing only on content and subject-specific learning, which was the case in the past. Education has now merged social and behavioural teachings into the education curriculum. This is valuable because it allows teaching of rules to students, which often focuses on the need to resolve maladaptive behaviours. Worth noting is the fact that maladaptive behaviours are the primary cause of deviant behaviours. According Medland & Stachnik (1972), the components of good behaviour games include rules, and consequences of breaking such rules. In line with this, good behaviour games are effective in addressing maladaptive behaviours because they reinforce on the consequences of breaking rules. For this reason, the use of good behaviour games as a remedy for maladaptive behaviours is effective because it “moulds” preschool up to third grade students to realize the essence of obeying rules, which is feasible through avoidance of maladaptive behaviours.
Medland & Stachnik (1972) further notes the effectiveness of good behaviour games as an intervention for maladaptive behaviours can be accredited to the fact that this intervention is merged with behaviour analysis components. Evidently, good behaviour games offer a comprehensive platform for analysing changes in the maladaptive behaviours amongst preschool up to third grade students. Many at times, good behaviour games “track” on negative behaviours rather than positive behaviours. In the event of a good behaviour game, students are placed in groups and marks awarded based on the number of negative behaviours committed by individual group member. In the end, the group with a few marks emerge the winners, because they are the one who have committed less negative behaviours. Through this, good behaviour games analyse behaviours amongst the children involved. In a nutshell, good behaviour game interventions carry out behaviour analysis, which allows students to develop self-regulatory skills. This offers a viable platform whereby students with maladaptive behaviours can adopt skills to manage their behaviours, which is of mutual benefit to these students.
On another note, a report from an empirical research carried out by Kellam et al., (2011) notes that the effectiveness of good behaviour game interventions is not only limited to children of a tender age. Instead, good behaviour game interventions provide adequate interventions to a wider array of maladaptive behaviours that stretch up to early adulthood stage. This can be accredited to the fact that maladaptive behaviours at an early age increases the occurrence of such problems later in life. With regards to this, use of good behaviour games at a tender nurtures an individual to adopt positive behaviours that limit the occurrence of maladaptive behaviours during adulthood. Deductively, good behaviour game interventions uses a classroom as a representation of a community. As such, it trains young children on the essence of avoiding negative behaviours that are likely to hinder peaceful societal co-existence. Conclusively, good behaviour games offer long term solutions aligned with behaviour change, whose implications spread to adulthood.
In addition, Kellam et al., (2011) reports that the effectiveness of good behaviour games may be accredited to the fact it instils some sense of “common good” amongst students. This is because of the fact that the game is played in groups, therefore, the mistake of an individual group member becomes the mistake of the whole group. In fact, a negative behaviour noted in one group member, becomes a mark for the whole group. Through this, good behaviour games creates the notion that the success of a group is determined by individual contribution. As a result, each individual will always strive to reduce his/her negative behaviours because the success of a group depends on the maladaptive behaviours exhibited by each group member. Deductively, good behaviour games were primarily designed to enable teachers manage classroom by not responding to individual maladaptive behaviours, but treating individual negative behaviours as class problems. (Kellam et al., 2011) carried out a follow up on preschool children who were managed with the use of good behaviour games at early years. The follow up indicated that adults who were managed for maladaptive behaviours with good behaviour game interventions had lower rates of alcohol and drug use disorders. This example shows that indeed good behaviour game interventions have a long-term effectiveness in managing maladaptive behaviours.
Good behaviour game interventions are not only applicable in preschool as often hypothesized. According to Barrish et al., (1969), good behaviour game interventions are applicable within different classroom settings. Precisely, good behaviour games are applicable for different age groups and for students with varying needs and strengths. More importantly, good behaviour game interventions have been proven to be effective in dealing with adolescents who often depict a wider array of emotional and behavioural disorders. Furthermore, good behaviour game interventions can be utilized to address issues that are likely to arise amongst students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The reproducibility of good behaviour game interventions can be attributed to the fact that these methods assesses the behavioural concerns for different groups of students. This gives a platform where the good behaviour games interventions can be streamlined to address such concerns.
Conclusion
References
Barrish, H., Saunders, M., & Wolf, M. (1969). Good Behaviour Game: Effects of Individual Contingencies for Group Consequences on Disruptive Behaviour in a Classroom. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 2, 119-124.
Kellam, S., Mackenzie, A., Brown, C., Poduska, J., Wang, W., Petras, H., & Wilcox, H. (2011). The Good Behaviour Game and the Future of Prevention and Treatment. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 73-84.
Medland, M., & Stachnik, T. (1972). Good-Behaviour Game: A Replication and Systematic Analysis. Journal of Applied Behaviour Analysis, 5, 45-51.
