RESUMEN
Abstract The Elos Program resulted from a Brazilian cultural adaptation of the Good Behavior Game, a preventive strategy for classroom management to reduce aggressive and disruptive behaviors. The goal is to discuss the Elos Program's efficacy during its implementation in 16 elementary Brazilian public schools in two cities in 2016. The design was a non-randomized controlled trial with 80 classes in each group, experimental and control, involving 1,731 students. The study used the Generalized Estimating Equation model to verify the program's effect. Elos seemed to be effective in reducing aggressiveness and disruptive behavior in boys. These results are aligned with others GBG international studies and suggest that, after a randomized trial, the program would be ready to be disseminated in Brazil.
Resumo O Programa Elos é resultante da adaptação cultural brasileira do Good Behavior Game (GBG), uma estratégia preventiva para a gestão de sala de aula, visando diminuir comportamentos agressivos e disruptivos. O objetivo foi discutir a eficácia do Elos em sua implementação, em 16 escolas públicas de ensino fundamental, em duas cidades brasileiras, em 2016. Delineado como ensaio clínico controlado não randomizado, com 1.731 estudantes, em 80 turmas divididas entre experimental e controle, utilizou-se Generalized Estimating Equation para verificar o efeito do programa. Houve indicações da eficácia do Elos na redução da agressividade em meninos. Esses resultados estão alinhados com outros estudos internacionais do GBG e sugerem que, após um estudo randomizado, o programa estaria pronto para sua disseminação no Brasil.
RESUMEN
The good behavior game (GBG) is an interdependent group contingency procedure designed to reduce disruptive behavior in classroom settings. In the GBG, a class is divided into groups, simple rules are made, and contingencies are placed on the students' rule-following behavior. This procedure has been proven effective across various student ages, and its simplicity and long-term effects have contributed to its popularity in school settings. Although it has been systematically evaluated across a wide range of student ages, research on the GBG is lacking in the area of population- and setting-specific assessments. In this evaluation, the GBG was implemented in three classrooms (student ages 7-12) at a school for children with severe problem behavior; in particular, these students had already displayed behavior that might be described as "delinquent" or "predelinquent." Disruptive behavior substantially decreased across all three classrooms as a result of the intervention. This application extends the current literature by systematically replicating the results of the GBG with a different population. Implementation of the GBG, population-specific obstacles, results, and future directions are discussed.
El Juego del Buen Comportamiento (JBC) es un procedimiento de contingencias grupales interdependientes diseñado para reducir conducta disruptiva en el salón de clases. En el JBC se divide al salón en grupos, se instauran reglas simples y se establecen contingencias sobre la conducta de seguimiento de reglas de los estudiantes. Este procedimiento ha probado ser efectivo con estudiantes de diferentes edades y su simplicidad y efectos a largo plazo han contribuido a su popularidad en ambientes escolares. Aunque ha sido evaluado sistemáticamente a través de un amplio rango de edades, hace falta investigación del JBC en el área de evaluación de poblaciones y en situaciones específicas. En este trabajo, se implementó el JBC en tres aulas (estudiantes de 7 a 12 años de edad) de una escuela para niños con problemas severos de conducta; en particular, estos estudiantes habían mostrado previamente conducta que podría describirse como "delincuente o "pre-delincuente". La conducta disruptiva disminuyó sustancialmente en los tres salones como resultado de la intervención. Esta aplicación extiende la literatura actual al replicar sistemáticamente los resultados del JBC en una población diferente. Se discute la implementación del JBC, los obstáculos específicos de la población, los resultados y las futuras direcciones.