Gross, D., Fogg, L., Webster-Stratton, C., Garvey, C., Julion, W., & Grady, J. (2003). Parent training of toddlers in day care in low-income urban communities. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(2), 261–278. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.71.2.261

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 285 (208 parents, 77 teachers)

Population:

• Age — Children: 2–3 years (Mean=4.2 years); Parents: Mean=27.9 years; Teachers: Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Children: Not specified; Parents: 119 African American, 67 Other, 61 Latino, 9 Multiethnic, and 7 White; Teachers: 50% African American, 28% White, and 22% Latino
• Gender — Children: Not specified; Parents: 90% Female and 5% Male; Teachers: Not specified
• Status — Participants were parents and teachers of 2–3-year-olds in day care centers serving low-income families of color.

Location/Institution: Chicago

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to test a 12-week parent training program, the Incredible Years BASIC Program with parents and teachers of 2–3-year-olds in day care centers serving low-income families of color in Chicago. Eleven centers were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) parent and teacher training (PT + TT), (b) parent training (PT), (c) teacher training (TT) [now called The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program], and (d) waiting list control (C). Measures utilized include the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, the Toddler Care Questionnaire (TCQ), the Parenting Scale, the Dyadic Parent–Child Interaction Coding System-Revised (DPICS-R), the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Everyday Stressor Index (ESI), the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI), and the Kohn’s Problem Checklist (KPC). Results indicate that after controlling for parent stress, PT and PT + TT parents reported higher self-efficacy and less coercive discipline and were observed to have more positive behaviors than C and TT parents. Among toddlers in high-risk behavior problem groups, toddlers in the experimental conditions showed greater improvement than controls. Most effects were retained 1 year later. Benefits were greatest when parents directly received training. Limitations include it is possible that intervention teachers rated children more favorably, that improvements in child behavior in the classroom may have been the result of teacher reactivity because classroom behavior was rated by teachers who had attended the intervention, and children in the combined PT + TT condition did not show enhanced improvements over those in the PT and TT conditions.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 1 year.

Baker-Henningham, H., Scott, S., Jones, K., & Walker, S. (2012). Reducing child conduct problems and promoting social skills in a middle-income country: Cluster randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 201(2), 101–108. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.111.096834

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 225 children

Population:

• Age — Children: 3–6 years (Mean=4.2 years); Teachers: Mean=38.2–42.8 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — Children: 138 Male; Teachers: 69 Female
• Status — Participants were enrolled in Head Start centers.

Location/Institution: 24 community pre-schools in inner-city areas of Kingston, Jamaica

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of a universal preschool-based intervention on child conduct problems and social skills at school and at home. Community pre-schools were randomly assigned to receive the Incredible Years Teacher Training [now called The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program] intervention or to a control group. Measures utilized include the Dyadic Parent–Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS), the Multi-Option Observation System for Experimental Studies (MOOSES), the Sutter–Eyberg Student Behavior Inventory (SESBI), the Connor’s Global Index, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS): Social Skills Scale, and the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI-2). Results indicate that children in intervention schools (Incredible Years Teacher Training) showed significantly reduced conduct problems and increased friendship skills through observation, significant reductions to teacher-reported and parent-reported behavior difficulties and increases in teacher-reported social skills and child attendance. Benefits to parents’ attitude to school were not significant. Limitations include the possibility that intervention teachers (Incredible Years Teacher Training) rated children more favorably post-intervention, control schools did not receive an alternate intervention and hence the benefits may be a result of the additional attention received by intervention schools, exclusions to participation at the level of the school and the child that may limit the generalizability of the results, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Hutchings, J., Martin-Forbes, P., Daley, D., & Williams, M. E. (2013). A randomized controlled trial of the impact of a teacher classroom management program on the classroom behavior of children with and without behavior problems. Journal of School Psychology, 51(5), 571–585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2013.08.001

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 119 (107 students and 12 teachers)

Population:

• Age — Students: 3–7 years (Mean=57.51 years); Teachers: 21–53 years (Mean=34 years)
• Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
• Gender — Students: 58 Male and 49 Female; Teachers: 100% Female
• Status — Participants were teachers from 12 classes from 11 primary schools.

Location/Institution: Rural and urban areas in the County of Gwynedd in northwest Wales

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY-TCM) Program to assess whether training teachers in IY-TCM principles improve teacher behavior, whether any observed improvements impact pupil behavior classroom-wide, and whether these effects can be demonstrated with children at risk of developing conduct problems. Schools were randomly allocated to the intervention or control condition. Measures utilized include the Teacher version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (TSDQ) and the Teacher–Pupil Observation Tool (TPOT). Results indicate that there was a significant reduction in classroom off-task behavior, teacher negatives to target children, target child negatives towards the teacher, and target child off-task behavior. Limitations include small sample size; the child age range was narrow; parents of some of the highest scoring children in the study did not consent to their children being individually observed; there was no objective measure of treatment integrity, as fidelity to the program was only investigated through leader and teacher-completed checklists, which do not have psychometric support and reliability statistics for the individual composite categories on the TPOT were not available; and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Reinke, W. M., Stormont, M., Herman, K. C., Wang, Z., Newcomer, L., & King, K. (2014). Use of coaching and behavior support planning for students with disruptive behavior within a universal classroom management program. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 22(2), 74–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426613519820

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1,148 (1,080 students and 68 teachers)

Population:

• Age — Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Students: 76% African American, 13% White, and 11% Not Specified; Teachers: 76% White and 24% African American
• Gender — Students: 32 Male; Teachers: 91% Female
• Status —  Participants were teachers and their students identified to receive behavior support planning.

Location/Institution: Not specified

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the behavior support plans and the types of coaching activities Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Training Program (IY TCM) [now called The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program] used to support plans for students with disruptive behavior. Teachers were randomly allocated to an intervention group (IY TCM), or a waiting-list control group. Measures utilized include the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation–Checklist (TOCA-C), the Multi-Option Observation System for Experimental Studies (MOOSES), and the Student Teacher–Classroom Interaction Observation Code (ST-CIO). Results indicate that during meetings with teachers, coaches spent time action planning and providing performance feedback to teachers on their implementation of the behavior support plans. In addition, teachers reduced their rate of reprimands with the targeted at-risk students. Students receiving behavioral supports demonstrated decreased rates of disruptive behavior, increased prosocial behavior, and a trend toward improved on-task behavior. In comparison, a matched sample of students with disruptive behaviors did not demonstrate improved outcomes. Limitations include small sample size, findings may not generalize to other settings, the at-risk students were not randomly assigned to receive behavior support plans, small sample size, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Hickey, G., McGilloway, S., Hyland, L., Leckey, Y., Kelly, P., Bywater, T., Comiskey, C., Lodge, A., Donnelly, M. & O’Neill, D. (2015). Exploring the effects of a universal classroom management training programme on teacher and child behaviour: A group randomised controlled trial and cost analysis. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 15(2), 174–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X15579747

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 217 students and 22 teachers

Population:

• Age — Students: Mean=5.3 years; Teachers: 25–54 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Students: Not specified; Teachers: 75% Caucasian American, 22% African American, and 3% Other
• Gender — Students: 102 Male and 115 Female; Teachers: 21 Female and 1 Male
• Status — Participants were teachers who taught either a Junior or Senior infant class and their students.

Location/Institution: 11 primary schools including 8 urban schools, 2 semi-urban schools, and 1 rural school in the South-West of Ireland

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Training Program (IY TCM) [now called The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program], for improving teacher competencies and child adjustment. Teachers were randomly allocated to an intervention group (IY TCM), or a waiting-list control group. Measures utilized include the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Teacher Strategies Questionnaire (TSQ), and the Teacher–Pupil Observational Tool (T-POT). Results indicate that there were positive changes in teachers’ self-reported use of positive classroom management strategies as well as negative classroom management strategies. Teacher reports also highlighted improvements in the classroom behavior of the high-risk group of children, while the estimated cost of delivering the IY TCM was modest. However, analyses of teacher and child observations were largely non-significant. Limitations include small sample size, teachers were not blind to intervention, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Thompson, A. M., Herman, K. C., Stormont, M. A., Reinke, W. M., & Webster-Stratton, C. (2017). Impact of Incredible Years® on teacher perceptions of parental involvement: A latent transition analysis. Journal of School Psychology, 62, 51–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2017.03.003

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 805 families and 42 teachers

Population:

• Age — Teachers: Not specified; Children: Average=5.6 years; Parents: Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Teachers: 75% Caucasian American, 22% African American, and 3% Other; Children: Not specified; Parents: 39% Caucasian American, 20% Asian American, 17% Hispanic, and 13% African American
• Gender — Teachers: 97% Female; Children: 51% Male; Parents: Not specified
• Status —  Participants were 120 Head Start classrooms and teachers from 14 elementary schools in low economic and multiethnic areas.

Location/Institution: Northwest United States

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management Program (IY TCM) on teacher perceptions of parental involvement. Teachers were assigned to either an IY TCM training or a control condition. Measures utilized include the Teacher–Parental Involvement Questionnaire (INVOLVE-T), the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE) and the Child and Adolescent Disruptive Behavior Inventory (CADBI). Results indicate that analyses of teacher profiles at baseline revealed teachers who felt parental involvement and bonding was low were also likely to rate students as having more externalizing behaviors, fewer social competencies, more attention deficit symptoms, and disruptive behaviors towards adults and peers compared to teachers with more adaptive profiles. Further analysis revealed that parents of teachers randomly assigned to IY TCM were more likely to transition to a more adaptive view of parental involvement at follow-up compared to those of teachers in the control condition. Limitations include reliance solely on teacher perceptions of parental involvement; and the intervention condition also received social skills training, so it is unclear how the training may have added improvements in parental involvement.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Murray, D. W., Rabiner, D. L., Kuhn, L., Pan, Y., & Sabet, R. F. (2018). Investigating teacher and student effects of the Incredible Years Classroom Management Program in early elementary school. Journal of School Psychology, 67, 119–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2017.10.004

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1192 students and 91 teachers

Population:

• Age — 3–6 years (Mean=4.22 years)
• Race/Ethnicity — Students: 55% Non-Hispanic White, 21% Hispanic, and 20% African American; Teachers: 81% White, 14% African American, and 4% Other
• Gender — Students: 52% Male; Teachers: 95% Male
• Status — Participants were teachers in kindergarten, first grade, or second grade from 11 schools.

Location/Institution: Three rural and semi-rural school districts within a Southeastern state

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to report on the results of a cluster randomized trial of The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management Program (IY-TCM) and its effects on early elementary teachers' management strategies, classroom climate, and students' emotion regulation, attention, and academic competence. Measures utilized include the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), the Teacher Coder Impressions Inventory (TCI), the Teacher Satisfaction Questionnaire (TSQ), the Revised Teacher Social Competence Scale (R-TSCS), and the Conners' Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS-R:L). Results indicate that a high level of teacher satisfaction was found, and specific aspects of the training considered most valuable for early elementary teachers were identified. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated a statistically significant intervention effect on Positive Climate in the classroom that did not sustain into the next school year. No main effects on student outcomes were observed, although a priori moderator analyses indicated that students with elevated social-behavioral difficulties benefitted with regard to prosocial behavior and inattention. Limitations include the baseline non-equivalence in students between groups; the randomization at the grade level was not ideal; and measures did not include discrete, behavioral observation of teacher skills or observational measures of individual high-risk students who teachers targeted with behavior plans.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6 months

Reinke, W. M., Herman, K. C., & Dong, N. (2018). The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program: Outcomes from a group randomized trial. Prevention Science, 19(8), 1043–1054.

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1,922 (1817 students and 105 teachers)

Population:

• Age — Students: Mean=7.06–7.15 years; Teachers: Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Students: 76% African American, 22% White, and 2% Other; Teachers: 75% White, 22% African American, and 3% Other
• Gender — Students: 52% Male; Teachers: 97% Female
• Status — Participants were teachers and students in kindergarten to third grade.

Location/Institution: Nine urban schools in a school district in the Midwestern part of the USA

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program (IY TCM) on student social, behavioral, and academic outcomes among a large diverse sample of students within an urban context. Teachers were randomly assigned at the classroom level to receive IY TCM or to a business-as-usual wait list control group. Measures utilized include the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation–Checklist (TOCA-C) and the Woodcock-Johnson III Normative Update Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH). Results indicate that IY TCM reduced student emotional dysregulation and increased prosocial behavior and social competence. In addition, students initially lower on measures of social and academic competence demonstrated significant improvements on the same measure at outcome in comparison to similar peers in control classrooms. Limitations include it is possible that this school-wide universal intervention to support student positive behavior reduced the effect that could be detected with the addition of a classroom level intervention, particularly on student disruptive behavior; the findings from the study were predominantly on measures of teacher report; lack of long-term follow-up; and does not report the indirect impacts of teacher behavior on student outcomes.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Ford, T., Hayes, R., Byford, S., Edwards, V., Fletcher, M., Logan, S., Norwich, B., Pritchard, W., Allen, K., Allwood, M., Ganguli, P., Grimes, K., Hansford, L., Longdon, B., Norman, S., Price, A., & Ukoumunne, O. C. (2019) The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management programme in primary school children: Results of the STARS cluster randomised controlled trial. Psychological Medicine, 49(5), 828–842. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291718001484

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: Eighty schools (2075 children)

Population:

• Age — Teachers: Mean=31.4–34.5 years (mean); Students: 4–9 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Teachers: Not specified; Students: 1352 White, 38 Mixed, 16 Asian, 8 Black, and 8 Other
• Gender — Teachers: 65 Female; Students: 974 Female
• Status — Participants were recruited from schools in England.

Location/Institution: Schools across the Southwest of England

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management Program (TCM) as a universal intervention, given schools’ important influence on child mental health. Three cohorts of schools (clusters) were randomized to the intervention (TCM) or Teaching-As-Usual (TAU-control). Measures utilized include the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Pupil Behaviour Questionnaire (PBQ), the Child and Adolescent Service Use Schedule (CA-SUS), and the How I Feel About My School measure (HIFAMS). Results indicate that TCM reduced the SDQ-Total Difficulties score at 9 months, but this did not persist at 18 or 30 months. Cost-effectiveness analysis suggested that TCM may be cost-effective compared with TAU at 30-months, but this result was associated with uncertainty so no firm conclusions can be drawn. A priori subgroup analyses suggested TCM is more effective for children with poor mental health. Limitations include the study may have introduced contamination between arms since every school had at least one class allocated to the intervention, and missing data.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: Approximately 3, 12, and 24 months.

Sebastian, J., Herman, K. C., & Reinke, W. M. (2019). Do organizational conditions influence teacher implementation of effective classroom management practices: Findings from a randomized trial. Journal of School Psychology, 72, 134–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2018.12.008

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1,922 (1817 students and 105 teachers)

Population:

• Age — Students: Mean=7.06–7.15 years; Teachers: Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Students: 76% African American, 22% White, and 2% Other; Teachers: 75% White, 22% African American, and 3% Other
• Gender — Students: 52% Male; Teachers: 97% Female
• Status —  Participants were teachers and students in kindergarten to third grade.

Location/Institution: Nine urban schools in a school district in the Midwestern part of the USA

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Reinke et al. (2018). The purpose of the study was to examine teacher perceptions of their school environment moderated intervention effects for previously established treatment outcomes – implementation of effective classroom methods, students' social behaviors, emotional regulation, and social competence. Teachers were randomly assigned to the intervention [The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program (IY TCM)] or to a business-as-usual waitlist control group. Measures utilized include the Organizational Health Inventory (OHI-E), the Brief Classroom Interaction Observation Revised (BCIO-R), the Revised Social Competence Scale-Teacher version (T-COMP), and the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Checklist (TOCA-C). Results indicate that treatment effects on teacher implementation and student outcomes were moderated by teachers' sense of affiliation to their school. Specifically, main effects on implementation of effective classroom management strategies were only observed among teachers whose perceptions of initial teacher affiliation was low or average, whereas main effects on student outcomes were only found for teachers with initial high levels of affiliation. Limitations include data for this study came from an urban setting and therefore the results are not generalizable to other contexts, the study relied on teacher reports of their perceptions of the organizational conditions, and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Hayes, R., Titheradge, D., Allen, K., Allwood, M., Byford, S., Edwards, V., Hansford, L., Longdon, B., Norman, S., Norwich, B., Russell, A. E., Price, A., Ukoumunne, O. C., & Ford, T. (2020). The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management programme and its impact on teachers’ professional self‐efficacy, work‐related stress, and general well‐being: Results from the STARS randomized controlled trial. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 330–348. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12284

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: Eighty schools (80 teachers)

Population:

• Age — Teachers: Mean=31.4–34.5 years; Students: 4–9 years
• Race/Ethnicity — Teachers: Not specified; Students: 1352 White, 38 Mixed, 16 Asian, 8 Black, and 8 Other
• Gender — Teachers: 65 Female; Students: Not specified
• Status — Participants were recruited from schools in England.

Location/Institution: Schools across the southwest of England

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used a subset of the same sample as Ford et al. (2019). The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management Program (TCM) may lead to changes in teachers’ well-being, namely a reduction in burnout and an improvement in self-efficacy and mental health. Eighty teachers were randomized to either attend a TCM course (intervention) or not (control). Measures utilized include the Everyday Feelings Questionnaire (EFQ), the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale-Short (TSES-Short) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). Results indicate that there was little evidence of differences at follow-up between the intervention and control teachers on the outcomes. Limitations include small sample size and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Chuang, C.-c., Reinke, W. M., & Herman, K. C. (2020. Effects of a universal classroom management teacher training program on elementary children with aggressive behaviors. School Psychology, 35(2), 128–136. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000351

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1,817 students and 105 teachers

Population:

• Age — Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Students: 76% Black; Teachers: 75% White
• Gender — Students: 52% Male; Teachers: 97% Female
• Status —  Participants were students (Grade K to 3) and teachers.

Location/Institution: Nine elementary schools in a large urban Midwestern school district

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Reinke et al. (2018). The purpose of the study was to examine the treatment effects of The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management Program (IY TCM), a universal classroom management intervention, on the outcomes of children with aggressive behavior in elementary schools. Teachers were randomly assigned to receive IY TCM or to a wait-list comparison group. Measures utilized include the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Checklist (TOCA-C), the Student Teacher Classroom Interaction Observation code, and the Woodcock Johnson Achievement Battery, 3rd ed. (WJ-III ACH). Results indicate that the hypothesized moderation effect on several outcome variables; specifically, children with baseline aggression problems who were in IY TCM classrooms had significantly improved math achievement, emotional regulation, prosocial behaviors, and observed aggression in comparison to similar peers in the control classrooms. Limitations include a subscale containing six items on the TOCA-C was created to define children’s level of aggression, future studies are needed to fully evaluate the psychometric properties of this new subscale; all teachers and students were from the same school district, therefore the generalizability of the findings is likely to be limited; some demographic information about the sample may present another barrier to generalize the results; and lack of follow-up.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.