Social Contracting

Social contracting is an early, efficient and effective group intervention designed for students who do not respond to the schoolwide system of behavioral supports. The intervention provides for systematic and frequent reinforcement and encouragement for positive behaviors by the classroom teacher(s) so that the student receives high rates of immediate feedback.

In social contracting, the student is greeted each day in a friendly, positive way by the teacher. In a very brief conversation (1-2 minutes), the teacher reviews the pre-determined expectations that the student will focus on, expresses confidence in the student's ability to do well, asks if there is anything they can do during the class/activity to help the student succeed, and keeps the student's social contracting card. At the end of each period/class/activity, the teacher scores the student's level of success for each identified expectation with a 1, 2 or 3.

At the end of the day, the teacher reviews the card with the student, providing feedback and encouragement relative to the expectations. The student then takes the card home, reviews it with his/her parents who sign the card, and returns it the next day to school. The data is entered into a prepared spreadsheet which automatically calculates and graphs results.

Social contracting provides a mechanism for positive student-teacher contact before the relationship is damaged by repetitious conflict or a vicious cycle of misbehavior-punishment-misbehavior. The system provides increased positive reinforcement for students, closer and more frequent comunication between the school and home about successes as well as challenges, early intervention before problem behavior becomes ingrained and efficient collection of data to measure progress.

Social Contracting Resources