The amount of services delivered by school psychologists through consultation is increasing as is the number of students with challenging behaviors in the classroom. In this type of delivery model, the school psychologist works as a consultant to the teacher who will actually deliver the intervention to the student. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between participation in a tertiary level behavior intervention program and teacher efficacy, confidence in dealing with challenging behavior, and implementation of behavior interventions. Two studies were conducted to examine a series of research questions. Study 1 used archival data to examine the influence of teacher efficacy before participation in a tertiary level behavior intervention on the amount of coaching necessary for a teacher to implement an intervention with an acceptable level of integrity. To explore sustainability, Study 2 used a survey of teachers who had participated in a tertiary behavior intervention as well as teachers who had not, to determine if they differed on teacher efficacy, confidence in dealing with challenging behaviors, and use of recommended behavioral strategies. Teacher efficacy was not found to be a statistically significant predictor of the amount of coaching time necessary for the teacher to implement the intervention with integrity. It is hypothesized that other factors such as readiness to change may be contributing to the model. PTR participants did not significantly differ from non-participants in any of the proposed areas. It is possible that non-participants over-estimated their knowledge and abilities. Future research should continue to explore the effects of consultation and its sustainability and while considering these additional factors.

<p>Sammanfattning</p><p>Ungdomar med antisocial problematik är en svårbehandlad grupp där ingen specifik metod har visat sig råda bot på hela problematiken kring ungdomen. Bäst utgång att behandla ungdomar med beteendeproblem återfinns inom institutioner som har en enighet i personalgruppen kring de teorier som är gällande inom verksamheten, så kallad behandlingsintegritet. Syftet med studien var att granska om personalgruppen på en behandlingsverksamhet för ungdomar har ett gemensamt förhållningssätt utifrån de miljöterapeutiska behandlingsprinciper som vägleder verksamheten. Syftet konkretiserades utifrån följande frågeställningar: 1. Vilka behandlingsprinciper är vägledande inom verksamheten? 2. På vilket sätt kommer dessa principer till uttryck i det praktiska arbetet med ungdomarna? 3. I vilka avseenden är personalen samstämmiga respektive skiljaktiga i sitt utförande av behandlingsprinciperna? 4. Vilka framträdande hinder och möjligheter framkommer när det gäller att arbeta enhetligt och i linje med de terapeutiska målen? 5. Framkommer faktorer som genom att förändra centrala organisationsstrukturer skulle utveckla verksamheten? Uppsatsen har en kvalitativ metodansats. Observationer gjordes på verksamheten vid fem tillfällen och tre intervjuer genomfördes, två med personal i behandlingsgruppen och en med enhetens föreståndare. Det framgår att verksamheten till stor del arbetar enhetligt efter de essentiella behandlingsprinciper som är vägledande för miljöterapi, men att det finns aspekter som skulle kunna förbättras. Det framkommer även såväl möjliggörande som hindrande faktorer för upprätthållande av behandlingsintegritet. I diskussionen förs resonemang kring centrala begrepp såsom ledningens betydelse för en välfungerande organisation, behandlingsintegritet, personalens kompetens och tillgänglighet samt ungdomarnas möjlighet att påverka verksamhetens innehåll.</p> / <p>Abstract</p><p>Young people with antisocial problems are a difficult group to treat where no specific method has proven effectively for solving all the problems surrounding the youth. The best chance to treat youths with behavioral problems is found in institutions where staff members agree on the theories used, so called treatment integrity. The purpose of the Study was to find out whether staff members on a treatment institution for youths have a unanimous way of practicing the milieu therapeutic treatment principles guiding the institution, within the following questions: 1. Which essential principles of treatment guides the institution? 2. In what way do the personell practice these principles in treating the youths? 3. In what area/areas appears unanimous or differences in the way staff members practice the principles? 4. Which prominent problems and possibilities appear in working homogeneous and according to the therapeutic goals? 5. Do factors appear which by chancing prominent structures of the organisation would develop the institution? The Study includes a qualitative approach. Data were collected from five observations at the institution and three semistructured interviews with staff members and the manager. The result shows that the staff members overall are unanimous concerning the practice of the treatment principles, but also indicate that some aspects could be improved. Enabling as well as preventing factors for maintaining treatment integrity emerges. Central aspects of the discussion are the management’s importance for a functioning organization, treatment integrity, competence and availability among staff members and the youth’s ability to influence the content of treatment.</p>

Sammanfattning Ungdomar med antisocial problematik är en svårbehandlad grupp där ingen specifik metod har visat sig råda bot på hela problematiken kring ungdomen. Bäst utgång att behandla ungdomar med beteendeproblem återfinns inom institutioner som har en enighet i personalgruppen kring de teorier som är gällande inom verksamheten, så kallad behandlingsintegritet. Syftet med studien var att granska om personalgruppen på en behandlingsverksamhet för ungdomar har ett gemensamt förhållningssätt utifrån de miljöterapeutiska behandlingsprinciper som vägleder verksamheten. Syftet konkretiserades utifrån följande frågeställningar: 1. Vilka behandlingsprinciper är vägledande inom verksamheten? 2. På vilket sätt kommer dessa principer till uttryck i det praktiska arbetet med ungdomarna? 3. I vilka avseenden är personalen samstämmiga respektive skiljaktiga i sitt utförande av behandlingsprinciperna? 4. Vilka framträdande hinder och möjligheter framkommer när det gäller att arbeta enhetligt och i linje med de terapeutiska målen? 5. Framkommer faktorer som genom att förändra centrala organisationsstrukturer skulle utveckla verksamheten? Uppsatsen har en kvalitativ metodansats. Observationer gjordes på verksamheten vid fem tillfällen och tre intervjuer genomfördes, två med personal i behandlingsgruppen och en med enhetens föreståndare. Det framgår att verksamheten till stor del arbetar enhetligt efter de essentiella behandlingsprinciper som är vägledande för miljöterapi, men att det finns aspekter som skulle kunna förbättras. Det framkommer även såväl möjliggörande som hindrande faktorer för upprätthållande av behandlingsintegritet. I diskussionen förs resonemang kring centrala begrepp såsom ledningens betydelse för en välfungerande organisation, behandlingsintegritet, personalens kompetens och tillgänglighet samt ungdomarnas möjlighet att påverka verksamhetens innehåll. / Abstract Young people with antisocial problems are a difficult group to treat where no specific method has proven effectively for solving all the problems surrounding the youth. The best chance to treat youths with behavioral problems is found in institutions where staff members agree on the theories used, so called treatment integrity. The purpose of the Study was to find out whether staff members on a treatment institution for youths have a unanimous way of practicing the milieu therapeutic treatment principles guiding the institution, within the following questions: 1. Which essential principles of treatment guides the institution? 2. In what way do the personell practice these principles in treating the youths? 3. In what area/areas appears unanimous or differences in the way staff members practice the principles? 4. Which prominent problems and possibilities appear in working homogeneous and according to the therapeutic goals? 5. Do factors appear which by chancing prominent structures of the organisation would develop the institution? The Study includes a qualitative approach. Data were collected from five observations at the institution and three semistructured interviews with staff members and the manager. The result shows that the staff members overall are unanimous concerning the practice of the treatment principles, but also indicate that some aspects could be improved. Enabling as well as preventing factors for maintaining treatment integrity emerges. Central aspects of the discussion are the management’s importance for a functioning organization, treatment integrity, competence and availability among staff members and the youth’s ability to influence the content of treatment.

xiii, 122 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation study explored the dimensions of fidelity to aid both researchers and practitioners in their measurement of the construct and use of the data. Understanding the dimensions of fidelity is important for three reasons: (a) limited agreement on a definition, (b) variability in measurement, and (c) inconsistent relations demonstrated between fidelity and outcomes. Leaders in the fields of program evaluation, behavioral health, psychology, and education have begun to promote an expanded definition of fidelity that looks beyond whether surface level components of interventions were delivered to include examination of whether interventions are delivered with quality and whether students are engaged. With this issue in mind, an expanded definition of fidelity was used to explore surface/content dimensions of fidelity or total fidelity, quality/process dimensions of fidelity, and student engagement. Specifically, this study examined how these dimensions relate to each other and how each dimension relates to student literacy outcomes. Multi-process multi-level models were used to study the interrelations among the dimensions of fidelity and the interrelations among the group level fidelity measures and multiple measures of student literacy development. The results of this study indicated that the construct of fidelity is multidimensional and potentially more complicated than has been discussed in the literature to date. When examining the relations among the dimensions of fidelity, total fidelity and quality were highly related, quality and engagement may be related, and total fidelity and engagement were not related. The relation between total fidelity and student outcomes was in the opposite direction of what was hypothesized--lower total fidelity was related to higher student outcomes. The relation between student engagement and student outcomes was in the hypothesized direction--higher engagement was related to higher student outcomes. The relation between quality of delivery and student outcomes was also in the hypothesized direction with higher quality related to higher student outcomes. The results highlight several issues related to fidelity that need to be considered by both researchers (measuring multiple components, repeated assessment, data analytic methods) and practitioners (how and what to measure, general variability in implementation, use of the data) in the field of education. / Committee at large: Elizabeth Ham, Co-Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Kenneth Merrell, Co-Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; David Chard, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Yvonne Braun, Outside Member, Sociology

Function-based assessments and interventions are routinely used in school settings as an effective method to address problem behaviors that impede the learning of the student or others. When function-based interventions are not successful, it is often due to problems with treatment integrity (TI). Using an ABCBC single subject design, this study examined whether function-based teacher supports could improve TI. The results demonstrated that the function-based supports provided to the teacher resulted in higher levels of TI and improvements in student behavioral outcomes. Using function-based intervention concepts to develop teacher intervention support, limitations to the study, and directions for future research are discussed.

Improving educational outcomes involves many variables, including identifying effective interventions and ensuring that they are effectively implemented in schools. Within a "response to intervention" model, treatment integrity of academic interventions has become increasingly important. However, recent research has suggested that ensuring treatment integrity by instructional staff may require intensive coaching, including daily or weekly performance feedback. This system may be unsustainable in typical schools because of limited resources for supervision. Some studies have found that treatment integrity can be achieved with intense prior training that includes extensive practice followed by feedback in the training setting. Fluency-based instruction has the advantage of providing multiple practice opportunities in a relatively short amount of time. A fluency training package for paraprofessionals using the Corrective Reading: Decoding curriculum was evaluated in a multiple baseline design across individuals. The primary dependent variables included paraprofessionals' presentation rate and praise rate. Additional dependent variables included paraprofessionals' accuracy in presenting error correction procedures, ratio of positive to negative comments, students' on-task behavior, and word reading accuracy. Participants included five paraprofessionals delivering supplemental reading instruction to students in small groups, and one student from each of the paraprofessionals' groups. We provided five hours of fluency training to paraprofessionals over five days in a group setting. Following fluency training we observed paraprofessionals during a maintenance phase. Paraprofessionals generally increased their presentation rates, praise rates, and percentage of accurate error correction steps with fluency training. Three paraprofessionals with variable positive-to-negative comments ratios decreased this variability during fluency training. We subsequently provided performance feedback if a paraprofessionals' presentation rate or praise rate did not maintain at criterion levels. Four of the five paraprofessionals required performance feedback on at least one skill. Performance feedback had mixed effects on paraprofessionals' skills. Most students maintained adequate word reading accuracy throughout the study, with no clear effects when interventions for paraprofessionals were introduced and withdrawn. Students' on-task behavior was variable throughout the study, with decreases in variability for three students corresponding with fluency training for paraprofessionals.

This study examined teacher perceptions of an intervention including a daily behavior report (DBRC) with a measure of treatment integrity present (Experimental Group) and without a measure of treatment integrity present (Control Group) The study was conducted in an analog (i.e., vignettes) online format with teacher participants from a southeastern school district. Each participant was presented with a vignette describing a student with problem classroom behaviors, a summary functional behavior assessment, and a sample behavior intervention plan including a DBRC. Only the Experimental Group was then presented with a direct observation measure of treatment integrity correlating to the DBRC. All teacher participants then rated the intervention using the Usage Rating Profile-Intervention (URP-I). On average teachers evaluated both the DBRC intervention with and without a treatment integrity component positively (i.e., means ranged from slightly agree to agree across all measures). A t-test indicated that no statistically significant differences existed between the Experimental and Control Groups’ total scores on the URP-I. This indicated that the measure of treatment integrity did not impact teachers’ ratings of the intervention on the URP-I. A MANOVA procedure found no statistically significant differences in teachers’ ratings of the intervention using each of the four factor scores of the URP-I (i.e., Acceptability, Understanding, Feasibility, and Systems Support). A multiple regression procedure used to examine various raters’ demographic characteristics found no statistically significant predictability for URP-I scores based on race, grades taught, years experience, and teaching setting (special/gifted versus general education). Cautious generalizations should be made due to limitations including the analog nature of the study, limited geographical area and participant characteristics. Additionally, the URP-I, a direct observation treatment integrity checklist, and a behavior intervention plan with an emphasis on a DBRC were all used. Use of other variables such as different interventions, rating scales and treatment integrity measures should be investigated. Suggestions for future research include conducting similar lines of research in naturalistic settings with school teachers and children, continued research in the different ways to collect treatment integrity research, and conducting acceptability and teacher perception research for other behavior interventions, target behaviors, and with other teacher groups.

Behavior skills training is a didactic training format used to increase skill in an effective and efficient way. Video self-monitoring refers to the process of recording oneself for the purpose of self-review in order to observe and change one's behavior. The purpose of the following study was to determine if an intervention package that included Behavioral Skills Training (BST) and Video Self-Monitoring (VSM) would increase, generalize and, maintain high levels of treatment integrity of paraprofessional staff members while teaching a discrete trial training program to a student with autism. Additionally, student behavior was observed to determine if increased staff effectiveness would affect learner responding. The study found that the intervention package was effective in changing staff behavior by improving their treatment integrity. An observed change in student behavior emerged towards the end of the study when treatment integrity was high across staff members. Staff behavior generalized when the DTT program was implemented with a novel student. Additionally, maintenance of treatment integrity remained high after the intervention was withdrawn. Overall, these findings suggest that BST, followed by VSM, is an effective intervention for changing staff behavior. / Applied Behavioral Analysis

Inom institutionsvård för ungdomar har det visat sig finnas flera faktorer som är avgörande för ett positivt behandlingsresultat. En av dessa är personalgruppens samstämmighet. I föreliggande studie har syftet varit att undersöka vilka teorier och metoder som finns och tillämpas på HVB-hemmet Multigruppen, om det finns en förtrogenhet om, samt samstämmighet kring dessa hos personalgruppen, samt på vilket sätt ledarskapet på verksamheten bedrivs och om strategier för att främja en samstämmighet finns. Studien har en kvantitativ och kvalitativ metodansats. En enkätundersökning med verksamhetens personalgrupp och fem stycken intervjuer genomfördes. Intervjuerna genomfördes med tre anställda ur personalgruppen och två ur ledningen. Studiens resultat visar att det råder vissa brister kring det praktiska tillämpandet av verksamhetens teorier och metoder. Studien visar också att personalgruppen har en del svårigheter med att upprätthålla ett gemensamt förhållningssätt – trots detta anser de flesta att de arbetar mot gemensamma mål. Ledarskapet som bedrivs på Multigruppen är i stort lyhörda mot sin personal, ställer krav och ger positiv feedback. Trots detta visar studien att majoriteten av personalgruppen inte är trygga med den ledning som finns. I studien diskuteras bland annat vad som kan tänkas vara de bidragande orsakerna till det resultat som framkommit samt studiens svagheter och styrkor. / Within institutional care for at-risk youth it has been shown that several factors are crucial for a positive outcome. One of these factors is the unanimity of the staff. In the present study, the aim has been to examine the theories and methods practiced at Multigruppen, an institution for at-risk youth. The study looks at the staffs’ familiarity as well as consensus with these theories and methods, the leadership system and the leaderships’ strategies to promote a consensus. The study was based on quantitative and qualitative methods. A survey and five interviews with staff members were conducted, two of which were in leadership roles. The results show inconsistencies between the theoretical and the in fact practiced methods in the treatment process. The study also shows that the staff have difficulty maintaining a common approach, however that most believe they are working toward common goals despite this. The leadership at Multigruppen is generally receptive of staff input and gives positive feedback as demanding high standards. Despite this, the study shows that the majority of the staff group have insecurities in regards to the leaderships’ capability. The study includes a discussion of possible contributing factors to the results obtained as well as the study’s’ strengths and weaknesses.

No description available.