Relation between curricular activities and problem behaviors of students with mental retardation.

The correlations between students' problem and appropriate behaviors and characteristics of the curricular activities in which they were engaged was examined. Curricular activities were rated to determine whether they were socially functional, peer-referenced, and behaviorally functional. Students' behaviors and curricular activities in 64 classrooms were directly observed during the regular daily routine. Results showed a significant negative correlation between ratings of the characteristics of curricular activities and students' problem behaviors and a significant positive correlation between ratings of curricular activities and students' appropriate behaviors. The pattern of significant correlations was also reflected in individual subscale scores. Implications of these results for classroom practice and the remediation of problem behaviors were discussed.