This study evaluated the implementation of the school-based Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for elementary school students engaging in high levels of problem behavior. Three students and their classroom teachers in two public schools participated in the team-based PTR process during which they engaged in teaming and goal setting, functional behavior assessment, intervention, and evaluation. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the impact of using the PTR model on student problem and replacement behaviors. Direct and indirect observations of student behaviors were conducted across target and generalization academic time periods. Findings indicate that the PTR intervention effectively reduced problem behavior and increased replacement behavior for all three participating students in both target and generalization academic time periods. Social validity assessments with the participating teachers and students indicated high levels of acceptability of and satisfaction with the PTR intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes. Implications for using the PTR model within MTSS for students who are not responding to Tier 2 interventions are discussed.

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.

No description available.

The presence of challenging and violent behaviors that pose risks to the overall safety and the educational learning experience in the public education setting have been on the rise in recent years. Traditional reactive, coercive, and punitive measures to address these behaviors have been futile. Congress responded to the national increase in violent behaviors by implementing several acts, including zero tolerance policies, in an effort to diminish the rise in violent behaviors. Of significance to this study was the inclusion of Functional Behavior Assessment in the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997. Unfortunately, FBA has the least legal grounding of all the disciplinary provisions of IDEA and has been questioned by experts in the field if sufficient empirical support exists for the generalization of the technology to all students and whether or not school personnel have the skills required to conduct FBA with integrity (Drasgow, Yell, Bradley, & Shriner 1999; Quinn, 2000; Scott et al., 2005; Skiba, 2002). The purpose of this research study was to obtain and analyze information regarding the perceptions of special education teachers in the Commonwealth of Virginia on the use of Functional Behavior Assessment with students with high incidence disabilities in public schools. A nonexperimental survey design using an online self-report survey was conducted with special education teachers in the eight superintendent regions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The study examined the behaviors that most frequently prompt a FBA, if a relationship exists between the type and frequency of training and the perceived effectiveness of FBA, the relationship between teacher attributes of beliefs and self-efficacy and the overall perceived effectiveness of FBA, and how teachers perceive the overall FBA/BIP process in public schools. The survey was distributed electronically to special education teachers through the office of the special education director in each of the 132 school divisions in Virginia. A total of 373 special education teachers responded to the survey. Respondents perceive the extent to which FBA contributes to the effectiveness of interventions that reduce challenging behaviors of students and the effectiveness of current FBA methods in increasing positive replacement behaviors and improving learning/academic achievement in public schools moderately effective. Congruent with the literature, special education teachers reported that chronic problem behaviors and physically aggressive behaviors were most likely to prompt an FBA. Respondents indicated their knowledge base, training experiences, and background in FBA. Overall, the majority of special education teachers reported that the training that they have received in FBA was moderately to very effective. Respondents indicated that further training in all areas of FBA was needed using a dynamic team based process with post training support. The most frequently reported area of FBA that requires more training was developing function-based interventions while the least reported area of need was developing hypotheses about the functions of the behavior. Teacher beliefs and self-efficacy were examined to determine if these attributes predict a special educator’s perceived effectiveness of FBA. High levels of teacher self-efficacy were associated with increased views of perceived effectiveness of FBA in public schools. Two belief items were found to correlate with the perceived effectiveness of FBA. The results of this study have important implications for personnel development and training for future and current special educators as well as information that can be applied to the exploration of a standardized process for conducting FBA in public schools in Virginia.

Despite the strong internal validity of functional analysis, most behavior analysts continue to use descriptive and indirect methods to conduct functional behavior assessment. However, most descriptive and indirect methods have received little empirical support for their convergent validity with functional analysis. The ABC narrative recording and the Open-Ended Functional Assessment Interview (OEFAI) stand out as descriptive and indirect methods that have received some empirical evidence for their convergent validity, but those studies included some limitations. Thus, this dissertation aimed to evaluate more thoroughly these two approaches. The purpose of the first study was to verify the convergent validity of ABC narrative recordings and of the OEFAI with a functional analysis. One hundred seventy-six behavior analysts analyzed ABC narrative and OEFAI transcripts of challenging behaviors in four children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Results show that, for three of four children, the OEFAI conclusions corresponded more with the outcomes of functional analysis than did the ABC narrative recording. Psychoeducators are also involved in the treatment of challenging behaviors in children with ASD. However, we did not find studies that described the performance of psychoeducators in functional behavior assessment. The purpose of the second study was to examine the convergent validity of behavioral functions identified by psychoeducators with the outcomes of functional analysis and to compare them with functions identified by behavior analysts. Fifty-four psychoeducators analyzed the same transcripts used in the first study to identify behavioral functions. Psychoeducators produced more accurate functions when using the OEFAI for three children in four. Behavior analysts were more exact than psychoeducators in four of seven comparisons while the three others remained undifferentiated. Altogether, the results underline the importance of enhancing training in functional behavior assessment for psychoeducators. / Malgré la validité interne élevée de l’analyse fonctionnelle, la majorité des analystes du comportement et des psychoéducateurs continuent d’utiliser les méthodes descriptives et indirectes pour effectuer des évaluations fonctionnelles du comportement. Cependant, la plupart des méthodes descriptives et indirectes ont reçu peu de soutien empirique pour appuyer leur validité convergente. La grille antécédent – comportement – conséquence (ACC) narrative et l’Open-Ended Functional Assessment Interview (OEFAI) se démarquent comme des méthodes descriptives et indirectes dotées de soutien empirique pour appuyer leur validité convergente, mais ces études comportent des faiblesses. Cette thèse vise donc à effectuer une évaluation plus approfondie de ces deux approches. L’objectif de la première étude est d’évaluer la validité convergente de la grille ACC narrative et de l’OEFAI. Nous avons recruté 176 analystes du comportement pour analyser des transcriptions de la grille ACC narrative et de l’OEFAI comportant des données de comportements problématiques de quatre enfants ayant un trouble du spectre de l’autisme (TSA). Les résultats montrent que pour trois enfants analysés sur quatre, les conclusions tirées de l’OEFAI correspondent plus souvent avec celles de l’analyse fonctionnelle que celles de la grille ACC narrative. Les psychoéducateurs interviennent aussi dans la réduction des comportements problématiques chez les enfants ayant un TSA. Toutefois, il est difficile de trouver des études qui décrivent les performances en évaluation fonctionnelle du comportement chez les psychoéducateurs. L’objectif de la seconde étude est d’examiner la validité convergente des fonctions comportementales identifiées par des psychoéducateurs et de les comparer à celles des analystes du comportement. Cinquante-quatre psychoéducateurs ont analysé les mêmes transcriptions de la grille ACC narrative et de l’OEFAI utilisées dans la première étude. Les résultats montrent que les psychoéducateurs sont plus exacts pour identifier la fonction du comportement en utilisant l’OEFAI pour trois des enfants et en utilisant la grille ACC pour un enfant. Les analystes du comportement sont plus exacts que les psychoéducateurs dans quatre comparaisons sur sept tandis que les trois autres sont non différenciées. Les résultats soulignent la nécessité de bonifier les formations en évaluation fonctionnelle du comportement chez les psychoéducateurs.