EVALUATION OF THE PRESCHOOL LIFE SKILLS PROGRAM IN HEAD
START CLASSROOMS: A SYSTEMATIC REPLICATION
G
REGORY P. H ANLEY
WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY
TARA A. FAHMIE
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
AND
NICOLE A. HEAL
MELMARK NEW ENGLAND
In an attempt to address risk factors associated with extensive nonfamilial child care, we
implemented the preschool life skills (PLS) program (Hanley, Heal, Tiger, & Ingvarsson, 2007) in
two community-based Head Start classrooms. A multiple baseline design across classrooms,
repeated across skills, showed that the program resulted in a 5-fold increase in PLS and an
accompanying reduction in problem behavior, replicating the effects observed by Hanley et al.
(2007).
Key words: classwide teaching, delay tolerance, functional communication, preschool life skills
The National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development (NICHD) study of early
child care (NICHD, 2003) reported that the
overall amount of time that school-aged children
spent in nonfamilial child care during their initial
4.5 years was positively correlated with reports of
problem behaviors (e.g., aggression, noncompli-
ance) by caregivers and teachers. The relation
held despite differences in quality, type, and
stability of child care. A large-scale follow-up
study showed that the effects did not dissipate
over time; that is, problem behaviors were
positively correlated with time spent in center-
based child care through sixth grade (Belsky
et al., 2007). To address these risks, Hanley, Heal,
Tiger, and Ingvarsson (2007) described an
effective classwide program for teaching particu-
larly relevant social skills in a single classroom of
16 children. The skills taught by Hanley et al.
included those that were (a) considered to be
functionally equivalent to problem behavior in
that they were evoked by the same situations and
were maintained by the same reinforcers that
often maintain problem behavior (e.g., Carr &
Durand, 1985) and (b) reported by early
elementary teachers to be important for early
school success (Lin, Lawrence, & Gorrell, 2003).
Thirteen skills related to instruction following,
functional communication, delay tolerance, and
friendship were identified from these distinct
literatures. Behavioral skills training was used to
teach the preschool life skills (PLS) to the
children; however, teaching occurred throughout
all regularly scheduled activities with all children.
Direct observational data showed over a four-fold
increase in the probability of PLS and a 74%
decrease in problem behavior across the class of
children. The classroom teachers also indicated
high satisfaction with the selected skills, the
teaching program, and the magnitude of the
results.
Although the outcomes reported by Hanley
et al. (2007) were mostly favorable, several
features of the study limited the generality of
Address correspondence to Gregory P. Hanley (e-mail:
doi: 10.1002/jaba.132
JOURNAL OF APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS 2014, 47, 443–448 NUMBER 2(SUMMER)
443
the results. First, the teachers who implemented
the program all had bachelor’s level coursework
on child development and evidence-based class-
room-management techniques. Second, there
was a relatively rich teacher-to-child ratio (1:5);
preschool teacher-to-child ratios typically range
from 1:6 to 1:10. Third, the program was
implemented with evidence-based practices for
addressing problem behavior and promoting
desirable behavior (e.g., Porterfield, Herbert-
Jackson, & Risley, 1976). Additional evaluations
are therefore needed in classrooms that include
teachers with varied backgrounds, more typical
teacher-to-child ratios, and different approaches
for promoting desirable behavior in the class-
room. The current study was designed to address
these limitations and possibly establish the
generality of the PLS program via replication
under different conditions.
METHOD
Participants
Participating children were members of two
20-student classrooms at an inclusive communi-
ty-based Head Start program that served children
aged 3 through 5 years. Fourteen children (six
boys and eight girls), who ranged in age from 3.4
to 4.9 years (M ¼ 4.0), participated in the
evaluation. Nine children were from Classroom
A; five children were from Classroom B. One
child (Alex) had been diagnosed with develop-
mental delays; two (Van and Nell) were English
language learners; and the other children were
typically developing. Consent was obtained from
the parents of all children to participate in the
program; however, children were excluded from
the analysis if they did not have intact English
speaker and listener skills (seven children) or if
they were not in attendance for the pretests,
posttests, the majority of teaching days, or any
combination of those attendance issues (19
children).
A lead teacher, an assistant teacher, and a
paraprofessional supervised children in each
classroom from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (the
teacher-to-child ratio in each classroom ranged
from 1:7 to 1:10). The teachers’ prior teaching
experience ranged from 0 to 13.5 years
(M ¼ 3.1), and all had either an associate’sor
bachelor’s degree. With the exception of one
paraprofessional in Classroom B, all teachers
participated in the program.
Dependent Measures and Interobserver Agreement
Consultants and additional trained research
assistants directly observed and then recorded
(using paper and pencil) children’s behavior
during specified evocative situations. Evocative
situations occurred or were arranged by teachers
during daily activities (free play, mealtime, etc.).
Three categories of behavior were recorded
during each observation: a PLS (e.g., complying
with a multistep instruction, asking for help,
complimenting a peer), a problem of commission
(i.e., problem behavior), or a problem of omission
(i.e., no response or an approximation of the
PLS). Targeted responses for each skill were
defined in a manner identical to that described by
Hanley et al. (2007). Observers collected data
during only those trials that were implemented
with perfect integrity (i.e., accurate presentation
of the evocative situation). A second observer
simultaneously and independently recorded
responding during 44% of observations. An
agreement was defined as scoring the same
response (from the three options) during each
evocative situation. Mean agreement was 95%
(range across skills, 80% to 100%).
Consultative Model
A consultative model was used to assist
teachers in implementation of the PLS curricu-
lum. The first author presented a 90-min preview
of the teaching program to all staff before the
beginning of the school year. The second and
third authors conducted the classwide teaching
(CWT) preassessments for all skills and subse-
quently met with the classroom lead teachers for
10 to 30 min each week. During these weekly
444 GREGORY P. HANLEY et al.
meetings, the next PLS to be taught was
described, strategies for arranging and capital-
izing on naturally occurring evocative situations
were discussed, and feedback on teacher imple-
mentation of the CWT, implementation goals,
and student performance was provided. Finally,
the consultants provided daily on-site assistance
in arranging a mean of 19% of evocative
situations across the teaching program.
Pre- and Post-CWT Assessments
The pre-CWT assessment was used to deter-
mine baseline levels of target behaviors before any
experience with the PLS program; the post-CWT
assessment determined the maintenance of these
skills after program implementation. The pre-
CWT assessment occurred during the first 8
school days, and the post-CWT assessment
occurred 4 school days after completion of the
CWT. During pre-CWT and post-CWT tests,
the consultants arranged all evocative situations
throughout the day. If the child emitted a PLS,
the consultant provided descriptive praise. If the
child did not emit the target skill, the consultant
continued her typical interactions with the child.
Evocative situations were set up twice with each
child per skill during each assessment.
Classwide Teaching Evaluation
Before each PLS was taught, baseline probes
were conducted. Immediately after CWT of each
skill, an evaluation probe was conducted to assess
whether each child acquired that particular skill.
All probes were identical to pre-CWT and post-
CWT tests with one exception; the teachers,
rather than the consultants, arranged or identified
the evocative situations and delivered consequen-
ces for correct responding. On each probe day,
each child was observed twice in the relevant
evocative situation.
The CWT program co nsisted of four compo-
nents: instructions, modeling, role-play, and
feedback. The impor tance of the target skill s was
described to the children, and the particular skills
were demonstrate d by the teachers or consultants
each day during circle times or meals. Oppor-
tunities to practice the skill were provided
throughout daily activities. Feedback was pro-
vided as above (i.e., descriptive praise was
provided when a child engaged in the target
PLS) , except that during teac hing days, the
situation-specific behavior was des cribed to the
chil d following problems of commission or
omis sion and the evocative situation was
repeatedly arranged until the child emitted the
skill or the teac her was required to a ttend to
another child (for elaboration, see Hanley et al.,
2007). The CWT of each skill was implemented
for 2 to 5 days. With only a few exceptions,
teac hing ended when each chi ld was observed in
the relevant evocative situations at least 10 times
and each child independently engaged in the PLS
on at least five occasions.
Booster teaching occurred immediately after
all 13 PLS had been taught, during the 2 weeks
before the post-CWT test. As was done in Hanley
et al. (2007), booster teaching was included to
assist children in acquiring skills that had not
been learned previously and to strengthen the
skills that had been acquired through deliberate
practice. Evocative situations were arranged for all
skills in a manner identical to CWT. Teachers and
consultants also created individual PLS pages for
each child. These pages contained the child’s
name and a list of the skills. Engagement in the
target skill on the first trial of that day resulted in a
sticker being placed next to the skill. If a child
received a sticker for each skill in a unit, he or she
was given a congratulatory certificate.
Design
A multiple baseline design across classrooms,
repeated for each of the 13 skills, was used to
determine the impact of the CWT program on
PLS and problem behavior. The classrooms
alternated between having 1 and 2 days of
baseline probes before CWT. Examination of
trial-by-trial data occurred at the end of each
baseline phase to detect any potential classwide
trends before introduction of CWT.
PRESCHOOL LIFE SKILLS 445
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The implementation goals of at least 10
teaching opportunities and five correct responses
per child per skill were met on 87% and 79% of
occasions, respectively. Thus, the program was
implemented at a similar level as the original
study (Hanley et al., 2007), but required more
calendar time (7 months compared to 4 months
in the original study).
The relative probabilities of PLS before and
after CWT of each skill are shown in Figure 1.
Near-zero levels of most PLS were observed in
each classroom during pre-CWT measures, with
the exception of Skills 2 and 3. In Classroom A,
Skills 7 and 9 also occurred at relatively high
baseline levels, perhaps due to the acquisition of
the same skills directed towards adults (Skills 6
and 8) immediately before those baseline probes.
Trial-by-trial data showed no baseline trends for
any skills and low levels of the targeted PLS. Large
improvements in the probability of the targeted
PLS occurred only when CWTwas implemented.
Thus, CW T likely was responsible for the
observed improvements. Two important features
limit the strength of this conclusion: (a)
Improvements in classwide behavior were con-
sistently larger for Classroom A than for
Classroom B, perhaps due to nearly double the
attrition rate and one fewer participating teacher
in Classroom B, and (b) Skills 2, 3, 11, and 12
showed little or no improvement following
CWT, consistent with the results of Hanley
et al. (2007).
Figure 2 depicts the percentage of evocative
situations in which a PLS was observed during the
pre-CWT and post-CWT assessments for each
child. These data show that the overall probabili-
ty of PLS improved for all children after CWT,
but that all 13 skills were not observed on all
opportunities for a single child, and that the
0
20
40
60
80
100
Probe Days
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112 131415 161718 192021 222324 252627 282930 313233 343536 373839
Percentage of Trials in
which a PLS was Observed
0
20
40
60
80
100
Classroom A
Evaluation
Baseline
Classroom B
Skill 1: Responding appropriately
to one's name
Skill 2: Complying with
simple instructions
Skill 3: Complying with
multistep instructions
Skill 4: Reques
ting
assistance
Skill 5: Requesting
attention
Skill 6: Framed requesting
to adults
Skill 7: Framed requesting
to peers
Skill 8: Tolerating delays
imposed by adults
Skill 9: Tolerating delays
imposed by peers
Skill 10: Saying "Thank you"
Skill 11: Acknowledging or
complimenting o
t
hers
Skill 12: Offering or sharing
Skill 13:
C
omforting others
in distress
Figure 1. Percentage of trials in which a correct preschool life skill (PLS) was observed during baseline and evaluation
probe days for each skill in Classroom A (top) and Classroom B (bottom).
446 GREGORY P. HANLEY et al.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Evocative Situations
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
0 50 100
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
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13
1
2
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5
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13
1
2
3
4
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7
8
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11
12
13
050100
Percentage of Trials in which a PLS was Observed
050100050100
Moe
Dee
Sofi
Alex
Jan
Sky
Nell
Cade Van
Mean
Ada
Ace
Jago
Shae
Bess
Before CWT
After CWT
Before CWT
After CWT
d=3.3
d=2.9
d=2.2
d=1.5
d=2.1
d=1.4
d=1.2
d=1.1
d=.5
d=2.4
d=1.7
d=1.7
d=1.1
d=.5
d=4.2
Figure 2. Percentage of trials in which a correct preschool life skill (PLS) was observed during pre-CWT and post-CWT
assessments for each child across evocative situations. Student data are ordered by effect sizes (Cohen, 1994), with Classroom
A students followed by Classroom B students. The bottom right panel shows the overall mean.
PRESCHOOL LIFE SKILLS 447
performance of the 13 skills following CWT
varied considerably across children (e.g., compare
Sofi’s and Alex’s data). A 57% reduction in overall
problem behavior was also observed across
students. Problems of commission were low
throughout the study; nevertheless, after CWT,
problems of commission remained unchanged
for two children, worsened for two children, and
decreased for nine children.
Despite the challenges occasioned by a different
setting, different teacher-training histories, and
different behavior-management strategies in the
classrooms, a functional relation between the
CWT program and probabilities of PLS was
demonstrated as the program was sequentially
introduced. By incorporating the same skills and
implementation goals for CWT, the current study
systematically replicated the procedures of Hanley
et al. (2007) in a community-based Head Start
program, a preschool that requires low-income
family status for attendance and is associated with
risk factors for social skills and language deficien-
cies (Qi & Kaiser, 2003).
Other questions regarding assessment integrity
and feasibility still remain unanswered. For
instance, the current evaluation involved daily
interactions between consultants and teachers,
and the necessity of these interactions on
observed gains remains an important area of
future research. Furthermore, the variability
observed across children with respect to all
targeted measures highlights the importance of
supplemental small-group (Luczynski & Hanley,
2013) or individual (Francisco & Hanley, 2012)
instruction.
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Received July 13, 2013
Final acceptance July 25, 2013
Action Editor, Rob Horner
448 GREGORY P. HANLEY et al.
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