Psychometric properties of the classroom observation of engagement, disruptive, and disrespectful behavior (COEDD) in Greek school children

Abstract

The use of systematic direct observation offers several advantages as a behavioral assessment method including enhanced objectivity of measurement, the ability to account for the environmental context, and the facilitation of local comparisons. The Classroom Observation of Engagement, Disruptive, and Disrespectful Behavior (COEDD) was designed to target those behaviors believed to be most critical to a child’s success in the classroom: engagement, disruption, and disrespectful behavior. Given the limited availability of relevant measures in Greece, the goal of the current study was to examine the psychometric adequacy of this particular observation instrument within a sample of Greek primary school students. Results suggested that a large proportion of the variance in data for engagement and disruptive behavior could be explained by changes in the behavior of individual students across days, suggesting the need for classroom management strategies that might bring student behavior under closer control. In contrast, uniformly low levels of disrespectful behavior were noted, suggesting that this behavior is generally not of a concern in Greek classrooms. © 2020 International School Psychology Association.