ABSTRACT
Even though the behaviour problems of some of their students are an everyday concern for many teachers, most of them have received only limited training in how to prevent and to deal with these situations (Royer 2006a). Research-based ‘best practices’ show that some interventions are more effective than others. However, knowledge of this practice has only been partially used in daily life in schools (Royer 2010, 2004) where educators often adopt and maintain punitive approaches which only exacerbate the achievement and adaptation problems of students with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). These educators frequently find themselves stressed and sometimes exhausted (Royer 2009). In such a situation, there is no benefit in subjecting them to ‘cognitive overload’ by requiring them to absorb an excess of information. It would be better to focus the thinking of educators, teachers or policy-makers rapidly on the most important issues (Morgeson et al. 1999). As suggested by Gladwell (2005), the word ‘frugality’ describes this ability to identify the main patterns and most important variables of a complex situation. When making important decisions on the education of children and youth with EBD, it is also proposed that an elegant parsimony may be appropriate regarding our use of relevant research-based knowledge.
