Check in–check out intervention for supporting pupils’ behaviour: effectiveness and feasibility in Finnish schools

Check In–Check Out (CICO) is a support programme for students with externalising problem behaviours. This study implemented in Finland is one of the first reports on the application of CICO in the European context. An experimental, multiple-baseline, single-case design is used to examine the effects of the CICO intervention on the problem behaviour and appropriate behaviour of three general education primary school pupils. The similarity of the observation data and the information provided in daily report card (DRC) are investigated to gauge the validity of the DRC assessments. The fidelity and social validity of the intervention are also analysed. CICO reduced problem behaviour in all pupi…

Inclusion of pupils with ADHD symptoms in mainstream classes with PBS

Inclusion is never only a practical issue of placement. School-wide systemic change, together with well-functioning, multi-tiered support, can promote the inclusion of all pupils. This paper draws on research conducted in two mainstream primary schools in Finland. The primary focus was to gain insight into practical solutions to facilitate the inclusion of pupils with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in mainstream teaching. Using an experimental, multiple-baseline, single-case design, we examined the effects of Check-in Check-out (CICO) support on changes in the behaviour of two pupils who displayed ADHD-type behaviours. The key features of CICO are brief morning and afternoo…

Individual behavior support in positive behavior support schools in Finland

One objective in Finnish basic education is for pupils with disabilities or behavioral problems to be able to participate in mainstream education and ordinary classrooms. Positive behavior support (PBS) is an approach that offers multi-tiered behavior support for pupils. In addition to providing support at a universal level, educators need to have the necessary skills to provide more intensive individual support for pupils who need it. Check-in/Check-out (CICO) is a research-based individual support system that is widely used in PBS schools. The Finnish application of CICO includes an individual behavior assessment process for pupils with persistent challenging behaviors. In this article, w…

Implementation of the inclusive CICO Plus intervention for pupils at risk of severe behaviour problems in SWPBS schools

Check in–check out (CICO) is a widely used and studied behavioural intervention. Although CICO is an effective way to support pupils’ behaviour in a school context, not all pupils benefit from basic CICO. A single-case experimental study was designed to evaluate the effects of CICO Plus support (CICO Plus) for participants whose behaviour was determined to be non-responsive to basic CICO. CICO Plus was planned and implemented with four pupils identified by school CICO teams as needing additional behavioural support. Individual CICO Plus support was planned by multiprofessional teams working on each pupil’s case. The CICO Plus support was based on teaching social skills and behaviour at leas…

ProKoulu-malli näkyy työrauhan kehittymisenä ja hyvinvointina Varkauden kouluissa

Varkauden kaupungin sivistystoimen ja Itä-Suomen yliopiston yhteistyö alkoi kolmiportaisen tuen verkostohankkeessa (ISKE). Hankkeen loputtua Varkaudessa oltiin halukkaita jatkamaan tutkimukseen perustuvan toimintamallin kehittämistä, aluksi kolmen koulun pilottikokeilulla. Tavoitteena oli löytää pysyvä ratkaisu oppilaiden kasvaviin käyttäytymisen ongelmiin ja samalla tukea opettajien työssäjaksamista. Jyväskylän yliopiston, Itä-Suomen yliopiston ja Niilo Mäki Instituutin ProKoulu-tutkimushankkeen tuella luotiin toimintamalli, jonka toteuttamisvaiheita vuosien 2012–2017 aikana esitellään tässä artikkelissa. Tutkimus- ja kehittämistyötä ovat rahoittaneet opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö sekä Eu…

Check in Check Out Plus (CICOplus) : erityisen tuen toimintamalli käyttäytymisen tuen moniammatilliseen järjestämiseen

Kohti sosioemotionaalisia taitoja ja lasten osallisuutta tukevaa toimintakulttuuria – ProVaka-toimintamallin pilottivaiheen analyysi

Kaikkien lasten osallisuuden tukeminen edellyttää tarvittavan kehityksen ja oppimisen tuen järjestämistä varhaiskasvatukseen. Osallistavan varhaiskasvatuksen toimintakulttuurin kehittämisellä tuetaan koko lapsiryhmän kanssa toteutettavia toimintatapoja tukemaan kaikkien lasten käyttäytymistä ja sosioemotionaalisia taitoja. Käyttäytymispsykologinen Positiivisesti ryhmässä oppiva varhaiskasvatus (ProVaka) -toimintamalli edistää tutkimusnäyttöön pohjautuvien menetelmien käyttöönottoa sosiaalisen käyttäytymisen tukemisessa. ProVaka-toiminnassa korostuvat yhteisesti sovitut ja selkeät käyttäytymisodotukset, toivotun käyttäytymisen systemaattinen opettaminen ja käyttäytymiseen kohdennetulla posit…

Implementing positive behaviour intervention and support in Finnish early childhood education and care : leadership team’s perspective

The effective implementation of positive behaviour intervention and support (PBIS) requires both organisational and professional change. This means that the whole community including all educators and children commit to shared principles, practices, and structures to create a safe and supportive social climate. In this article, we investigate the initial implementation of the Finnish PBIS ProVaka in eighteen early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres. Our inductive qualitative analysis of longitudinal progress diary data focuses on roles, responsibilities and communication among the ECEC communities. The results show that successful ProVaka development is a matter of successfully exp…

Check in, check out! : käyttäytymisen tehostettua tukea lähikoulussa

Finnish schools struggle with problem behaviour and need new interventions which are effective, acceptable, and can be implemented with high fidelity in general classrooms. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of Check in check out (CICO) support in decreasing the disruptive behaviours of general education primary school pupils. CICO can be regarded as an intensified level of support in Finnish schools, and its key features are brief morning and afternoon meetings with a CICO coach, the use of a Daily Report Card (DRC), regular positive feedback during the day by the classroom teacher, and parental involvement. The specific aims of the study were threefold: first, to pilot the i…