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The development of social and emotional competence for children and adolescents occurs in the context of relationships they have with adults and peers. For students with disabilities and those who experience significant behavioral risk, building and sustaining positive relationships with teachers is vital to the development of social competence. In this chapter, we focus on relationships between teachers and students within a developmental framework, examining characteristics of these relationships for children and youth with and without disabilities, and showing how the quality of those relationships can be assessed and improved to foster student engagement in school. The chapter is comprised of three main sections. First, we provide a developmental framework for the development of positive, sustaining relationships with teachers for youth with and without disabilities. Second, we review methods for assessing the quality of those relationships; and third, we describe effective interventions to support sustaining relationships among students with disabilities and their teachers and peers.

Integrative reviews are an important method for understanding research in the field of special education. Reviews can help practitioners decide what methods to use in the classroom, researchers clarify directions for new research, and policymakers guide education improvement programs. We discuss the steps for conducting an integrative review, illustrating the process with a case study of an integrative review of large-scale testing accommodations for students with disabilities.

Parents and offspring experience strong feelings for one another throughout the life span. Indeed, as other chapters in this volume suggest, this relationship is fraught with complexity. Yet, it is not clear whether ambivalence is specific to the parent-child relationship or whether it is characteristic of close relationships in general. Further, we do not know whether parents and children experience ambivalence in their tie throughout life or only at specific periods of life. In this chapter, we address two questions about ambivalence in the parent-child relationship: (1) Do individuals experience more ambivalence in their relationships with parents and offspring than they do in other social relationships? (2) Do individuals experience varying degrees of ambivalence in this relationship at different points in the life span?

Mood and anxiety disorders affect 20–30 percent of school-age children, contributing to academic failure, substance abuse, and adult psychopathology, with immense social and economic impact. These disorders are treatable, but only a fraction of students in need have access to evidence-based treatment practices (EBPs). Access could be substantially increased if school professionals were trained to identify students at risk and deliver EBPs in the context of school-based support services. However, current training for school professionals is largely ineffective because it lacks follow-up supported practice, an essential element for producing lasting behavioral change. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

In this pilot feasibility study, the authors explored whether a coaching-based implementation strategy could be used to integrate common elements of evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) into schools. The strategy incorporated didactic training in CBT for school professionals followed by coaching from an expert during co-facilitation of CBT groups offered to students.

In total, 17 school professionals in nine high schools with significant cultural and socioe-conomic diversity participated, serving 105 students. School professionals were assessed for changes in confidence in CBT delivery, frequency of generalized use of CBT skills and attitudes about the utility of CBT for the school setting. Students were assessed for symptom improvement. The school professionals showed increased confidence in, utilization of, and attitudes toward CBT. Student participants showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms pre- to post-group.

These findings support the feasibility and potential impact of a coaching-based implementation strategy for school settings, as well as student symptom improvement associated with receipt of school-delivered CBT.