Timely intervention: before it's too hard : an investigation into the effectiveness of off-site intervention programs for students exhibiting behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools
Students who have difficulty conforming to school rules and expected school behavioural norms are at risk of being excluded from their own schools, and possibly from further education. Failure to complete twelve years of schooling 
places the students at a social and economic disadvantage for the rest of their lives. 
Intervention programs attempt to address students’ behavioural and social issues and assist them to maintain their connection with education. This thesis examines 
an intervention program in Melbourne, Australia which is staffed by special education teachers and located away from the home schools of the students. 
Inappropriate student behaviours were identified from a review of the intervention unit’s historical records. These behaviours were then compared and aligned with earlier analyses of difficult behaviours, in particular the categories from the Achenbach Child Behaviour Check List. 
Quantitative analysis methods were used to validate the Behaviour Rating Scale that was developed to measure pre and post intervention behaviour. The Behaviour Rating Scale outcomes were used in conjunction with a Sessional 
Evaluation Measure (SEM) to assess the effectiveness of the off-site intervention program. 
The thesis concludes with a model identifying key elements of effective intervention programs based on both investigations undertaken and the literature reviewed.