Applied behavior analysis: What do teachers of students with autismspectrum disorder know?

Dillenburger, K., & Fennell, B. (2016). Applied behavior analysis: What do teachers of students with autismspectrum disorder know? International Journal of Educational Research, 1-17.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2016.06.012

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Download date:18. Apr. 2020

Appliedbehavioranalysis:Whatdoteachersofstudentswithautismspectrumdisorder

know

BrianFennellandKarolaDillenburger(2016)

InpressinSpecialEditiononABAandEducation

InternationalJournalofEducationalResearch

Abstract

Withrisingnumbersofschool-agedchildrenwithautismeducatedinmainstreamclassrooms

andappliedbehavioranalysis(ABA)consideredthebasisofbestpractice,teachers’knowledge

inthisfieldhasbecomeakeyconcernforinclusion.Self-reportedknowledgeofABAofspecial

needsteachers(n=165)wasmeasuredandcomparedtotheiractualknowledgeofABA

demonstratedinaccurateresponsestoamultiple-choicetest.Findingsreportedhereshowthat

teachers’self-perceivedknowledgeexceededactualknowledgeandthatactualknowledgeof

ABAwasnotrelatedtotrainingreceivedbygovernmentagency.Implicationsforteachertraining

arediscussed.

Introduction

Prevalenceratesforautismspectrumdisorder(ASD)haverisensharplyoverrecentdecades.

Severalcontributingfactorshavebeenidentifiedincludingincreasedpublicawarenessof

characteristicsofASDandgreaternumbersparticipatinginscreening/diagnosticprocedures

(Fombonne,2005).Thereisconsiderableconcernabouthowanalreadyoverstretched

education,care,andhealthsystemcancope.Presently,estimatedprevalenceratesforautismin

theschoolpopulationare2%(CDC,2015;DHSSPS,2014)butthisislikelyanunderestimation

giventhatintheUK-wideMillenniumCohortStudy(n=18,000+)parentsof3.5%of11year-olds

weretoldthattheirchildhasautism(Dillenburger,Jordan,McKerr,&Keenan,2015)and,2.7%of

11year-oldsand3.1%of16year-oldsself-disclosedthattheyhadautism(Dillenburger,

Schubolz,McKerr,&Jordan,2015).

Thereisaclearneedforteachersinmainstreamclasses,aswellasspecialeducation,tohave

expertiseinASDandevidence-basededucationalinterventions.Giventhatinitialteachertraining

entailsverylittleinputaboutautism(Dillenburgeretal.,2014),muchridesonthequalityand

contentofcontinuousprofessionaldevelopment(CPD;.

SpeckandKnipe(2005)provideaguidetoessentialelementsforhighqualityprofessional

developmentthatwouldserveasagoodguideinanefforttoevaluateandreformteacherCPD.

AhighqualityprogramofCPDforteachersmust:

• Befocusedonimprovingstudentlearning,

• Assesstheparticipantslearningneedsandsetgoalsaccordingly,

• Promoteprofessionalgrowththroughsustained,intensetrainingactivitiesover

amulti-yearperiod,

• Evaluateprogressbycollectingandanalyzingdatathatinformsprogram

changes.

(Speck&Knipe,2005pp.8-17)

Inplanningandimplementingprofessionaldevelopmentactivities,Borko(2004)recommends

thatorganizersengageinmorecomplexanalysisofoutcomesincluding:teacherknowledge,

changetoteacherpractice,changetoteacherthinking,andaffectonstudentlearning.Thisideal

iscontrarytothetypicalone-shotworkshopapproachcurrentlyemployedinmostUS(Darling-

Hammond,2005)andIrish(Banks&Smyth,2011)schools.Whiletheultimategoalof

professionaldevelopmentforteachersistheimprovedlearningoutcomesfortheirstudents,

evidencebasedondatagatheredthroughouttheprocesswillhelpdelivertheseoutcomes.

Highqualityprofessionaldevelopmentisrequiredtoachieverealimprovedstudentlearning.

AvoidingaonesizefitsallapproachtoCPDbyofferingteacherschoiceandmultiplelevelsof

trainingisimperativetoaffectchangewithteachersbasedontheirindividualneeds.Intensity

(i.e.providingmultipleopportunitiesandmethodssustainedovertime)andcontentthatis

focusedontheeverydaypracticeandspecificsubjectmatterofparticipantsarekeyelementsin

thishighqualityapproach.SpeckandKnipe(2005)expandonthiselementbysuggestingthe

inclusionofnewresearchandoutsideexpertsasameansofhelpingteachersevaluatetheirown

practiceandadaptnewstrategiestotheirownsettingandteachingstyle.

ResearchregardingcontinuousprofessionaldevelopmentforteachersinIrelandisscant.Many

ofthestudiesthatdoexistfocusonsatisfactionratingsofparticipants(Glenn,McDonagh,

Sullivan,Roche,&Morgan,2012;Price,Waterhouse,andCoopersLLB,2012)ratherthanlearner

outcomesasconsideredbestpractice.Forexample,BanksandSmyth(2011)compiledsurvey

dataontheuptakeofCPDbyteachersandthemotivationalfactorsthatrelatetoindividual

participation.ProfessionaldevelopmentcoursesprovidedbytheDESsupportservicesreceive

lowlevelsofscrutiny(TheTeachingCouncilofIreland,2011)incontrasttothoseopportunities

offeredbythirdlevelinstitutions,suchaspost-graduatediplomas,higherdiplomas,andmaster

ofeducationdegreeprogramsthatundergorigorousinternalvalidationandexternal

accreditationprocessesmuchthesameasITEprograms(Egan,2004).

MultiplereportsonCPDinIrelandhavestressedtheneedtobasethesetrainingactivitieson

evidenced-basedpractice(Price,Waterhouse,andCoopersLLB,2012;TheTeachingCouncilof

Ireland,2011),yettherecontinuestobeaheavyrelianceonsimplequalitativepost-hoc

evaluationsfromparticipantsofCPDforteachers,oftenrelatedtoorganizationalratherthan

contentissues(Egan,2004).Teacher-participantsattendingCPDcoursesareaskedtocompletea

voluntaryfeedbackformrequestinginformationlimitedtotheirperceptionsoftheorganization,

venue,speaker,ortrainingactivitiesandthelikelihoodofthecoursechangingtheirteaching

methodsandpotentialstudentachievement(Price,Waterhouse,andCoopersLLB,2012).The

authorsofthisreportacknowledgedthelackofdataavailableonchangeinstudentoutcomesor

teacheruseofnewskill/knowledgeintheirschoolasaresultofCPDactivitynecessitatedtheir

useofteacherperceptionfindingsthroughoutthissurvey.

ThenatureofCPDprovisioninIreland,andbytheSESSspecifically,canbeenhancedtoaccount

forparticipantlearningneedsandindividualgoals(Price,Waterhouse,andCoopersLLB,2012).

Respondentsindicatedinthissurveythatsomeneeds,namelythoseofexperiencedteachers,

werenotbeingmetbyone-offintroductorylevelseminars.SustainedintenseprogramsofCPD

canhelpteachersimproveskills,increaseknowledgebasewhiledirectlyaffectingstudent

learningoutcomesthroughamulti-yearprocess.Localprofessionaldevelopmentcommunities

canhelpcreatethesustainedlearningopportunitiestobringaboutthesegoals(Borko,2004).

WhileUKandIrishgovernmentssupportaneclecticapproachtoeducationandhealthcare

interventionsforchildrenwithASD(NationalInstituteforHealthandClinicalExcellence(NICE),

2013),andtheresultantextensivetrainingrequirementstopromotemasteryofmultiple

methodologies,theUSgovernmentendorsesevidence-basedpractices(EBP)groundedin

appliedbehavioranalysis.

AppliedBehaviorAnalysis

Thescienceofbehavioranalysishasbeenappliedsuccessfullyinalargevarietyoffields(e.g.

healthbehaviors,behavioralsafety,classroommanagement,organizationalmanagementto

namebutafew)andacrossallage-rangesandthereforeisconsideredthebasisforevidence-

basedautisminterventions.ABA-basedtherapyiswidelyendorsedbylaw,forexample,the

IndividualswithDisabilitiesEducationActof1997(IDEA,1997)requiresthat

[i]nthecaseofachildwhosebehaviorimpedeshisorherlearningorthatofothers,

[professionals]consider,whenappropriate,strategies,includingpositivebehavioral

interventions,strategies,andsupports[basedonABA]toaddressthatbehavior(Sect.614

(d)(3)(B)(i)).

USlegislationrequiresthecompletionofafunctionalbehavioralassessment(FBA)and

implementationofabehavioralinterventionplanbasedonFBAforstudentswithspecial

educationalneedsandchallengingbehaviors.SimilarlyintheUK,NICE(2015)requires

professionalstocarryoutfunctionalbehavioralassessments,particularlyincaseswhere

behaviorsareconsideredchallenging.Inaddition,ABAhasawell-documentedhistoryandthere

areliterallythousandsofstudiesevidencingeffectivenessinalargerangeofareas.

ABA-basedinterventionsforpeoplewithautism

Appliedbehavioranalysis(Baer,Wolf,&Risley,1968)haslongbeenutilizedtohelpindividuals

withautismspectrumdisorderincreasesociallyrelevantskillsandthusimprovequalityoflife

forthispopulationandtheirfamilies.

AsabasisforeducationalinterventionsforstudentswithASD,ABAhasaccumulateda

considerableamountofempiricalsupport(Dawsonetal.,2010;Eikeseth,Smith,Jahr,&Eldevik,

2007;Lovaas,1987).Infact,ABA-basedearlyintensiveinterventionsarestatistically

significantlyrelatedtooptimaloutcomesforchildrenwithASD.

Despitethislargebodyofsupportingevidence,ABA-basedinterventionsarenotavailable

universally.LackofABA-basedinterventionshasanegativeeffectonservicecost,familystress

levels,qualityofavailableservices,andlong-termoutcomes.

Instead,aratherill-defined‘eclecticapproach’(Dillenburger,2011)hasbeenpromotedin

Ireland(Parsonsetal.,2009;TheTaskForceonAutism,2001)andtheUK,e.g.:NorthernIreland

(DepartmentofEducationNorthernIreland(DENI),2002),Scotland(Dunlopetal.,2009),and

England.

Thelackofcleardefinitionandcoherentconceptunderpinningtheeclecticapproachis

evidencedin(Jordan,Jones,&Murray,1998),whoarguedthatintheeclecticapproach‘All

interventionshaveseveralaspectsorparts,someofwhichmaybeverydifferentfromone

another’.(P.5)

Thisvaguecharacterizationisnotonlyprecariousforpractitionersandresearchersitalso

providesmajorobstacleswhenconsideringtrainingprogrammes.Infact,comprehensivestaff

trainingintheeclecticapproach,i.e.,masteryofmultipletheoriesandtherapymethodologiesto

acceptablelevelsofcompetenceandprogramfidelity,isvirtuallyimpossible(Dillenburger,

2011).Thus,individualinterventionsthatmaybeincludedinaneclecticprogramusuallylack

evidenceofeffectivenessandmayevenbedetrimental.Thereisnoevidencethatthesynergetic

effectisbeneficial,infactthereisevidencetothecontrary.

DuetolackofinternationallyapprovedtraininginABA(BACB,2015)intheUKorIreland,

regrettably,UKandIrishgovernmentsandmanyprofessionalsstillcaricatureABAas‘one

methodofintervention’(Dillenburger&Keenan,2009;Leslie&Tierney,2013)andmayeven

recommendABAtobeusedwithintheeclecticapproach.“TraininginABA’maybeofferedin

shortcourses,commonlyrangingfrom1-2hoursinduration(DepartmentofEducationNorthern

Ireland(DENI),2015;Dillenburgeretal.,2014).

Ontheotherhand,anextensiveprogramofprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesisavailable

toIrishteachersthroughtheSpecialEducationSupportService(SpecialEducationSupport

Service,2014a)oftheDepartmentofEducationandSkills(DES).Someofthistrainingis

reportedlyaboutABA.Althoughteachersareencouragedtoattendthesecourses,participationis

strictlyvoluntary.

Inordertoestablishtheknowledge-basedinABAinteachersinIreland,asurveyofIrishspecial

educationteacherswasconductedtoascertainself-perceivedvs.actualknowledgeofABA.

Resultswerethencomparedintermsoftraininglevels.

Methodology

Participants

Onehundredandsixty-five(n=165)teachersofstudentswithASDinIrishschoolsrespondedto

thesurvey.Themajorityofrespondents(60%)werebetweentheagesof30-49yearsofageand

many(44%)reportedhavingmorethan10yearsexperienceofteachingingeneral.However,

onlyasmallnumberofparticipantshadextensiveexperienceteachingstudentswithASD;most

ofrespondents(67.8%)had<5yearsexperienceofworkingwiththispopulation(7.9%ofthe

respondentsdidnotindicatethedurationofexperienceinthisfield).

Researchtool

Anonlinesurvey(usingSurveyMonkey®)wasdevelopedspecificallyforthepurposeofthe

presentresearch.Thefirstsectionofthesurveysoughtdemographicinformationand

informationaboutthetrainingandtrainingprovider,e.g.,codedas(1)notraining,(2)

governmentsupportedtraining,and(3)othertraining.Respondentswerethenaskedtoself-

declaretheirunderstandingofABAandfunctionalbehavioralassessment(FBA)onasimple

four-pointratingscale(i.e.(1)verylittle,(2)somewhat,(3)good,and(4)verygood).

Thesecondsectionofthesurveyincludedelevenquestions(i.e.,threetrue/falsequestions,four

multiplechoicequestions,twoopen-endedresponsequestions,andonemultipleanswer

question)toassessparticipants’actualknowledgeofABA,includingelementsofFBAprocedures.

Questiontypeswereramdomizedthroughoutthesurvey.

Thefirstsurveyitemaskedrespondentstorecognizevariousmeasurabledimensionsof

behavior(i.e.frequency,duration,latency)bymeansofatrue/falsequestion.Theseconditem

wasamultiple-choicequestionthataskedparticipantstoindicatethe‘goalofanABA

intervention’.Theresponsechoicespresentedwere:toeliminatetargetedbehaviors,toimprove

sociallysignificantbehaviors,ortoreducestressforcarers/teachers(i.e.,correctresponse:‘to

improvesociallysignificantbehaviors’).

Thethirdsurveyitemwasamultipleanswerquestionthathadtwocorrectresponsesfromfour

itemspresented.Teacherswereaskedtochooseasmanystimuliasapplicablethatresultinthe

‘increasethelikelihoodofabehavioroccurringinthefuture’.Theoptionsincluded:positive

reinforcement,positivepunishment,negativereinforcement,andnegativepunishment(i.e.,two

correctresponses:‘positivereinforcement’and‘negativereinforcement’).

Intheforthitemparticipantswereaskedtoprovideananswertothequestion:‘Asaformof

negativepunishment,whatisremovedtoaffecta“timeout”procedureforastudent’sbehavior?’

Asanopen-endedquestion,respondentswerefreetoprovideanyanswertheychoseforthis

item(i.e.,correctresponse:‘positivereinforcement’,orapproximationse.g.reinforce,

reinforcement).

Fifth,givenaproceduraldefinition(i.e.’whenapproximationsofatargetbehaviorare

reinforced)respondentswereaskedtoidentifythecorrectprocedurefromtheoptions:shaping,

extinction,andvariablereinforcement(i.e.,correctresponse:‘shaping’).Atrue/falsequestion

followedthataskedparticipantstoagreeordisagreewiththestatement:Stimulusfadingiswhen

antecedentstimulusischangedwhilemaintainingthetargetbehavior.(i.e.,correctresponse:

‘true’).Participantknowledgeoffunctionalbehavioralassessmentprocedureswasassessedby

askingrespondentstoindicatewhichitemwasnotconsideredpartoftheFBAprocesswitha

choicebeing:antecedentvariables,physicalprompts,andconsequentvariables(i.e.,correct

response:‘physicalprompts’).

Thepenultimatesurveyitempresentedrespondentswithfourstatementsofwhichonlyonewas

true.Participantswereaskedtoindicatewhichonetheydeemedtobetruthful.Thestatements

were:(1)Punishmentisineffectiveatreducingtargetbehavior,(2)appliedbehavioranalysisisa

behaviorchangeprogramcreatedespeciallyforusewithpeoplewithautismspectrumdisorders,

(3)negativereinforcementcontingenciesservetoincreaseatargetbehavior,and(4)

reinforcementmustfolloweveryoccurrenceofatargetedbehaviortohaveareinforcingeffect

(i.e.,correctresponse:‘negativereinforcementcontingenciesservetoincreaseatarget

behavior’).Thefinalitemofthesurveywasatrue/falsequestion:An‘ABC’(antecedent-

behavior-consequence)chartisanexampleofataskanalysis(i.e.,correctresponse:‘false’).

Procedures

Participantrecruitmentusedathree-prongedapproach.

(1) Participantswererecuiteddirectlyduringthreeprofessionaldevelopmentcourses

deliveredbySESSforteachersofstudentswithASDandotherspecialeducationalneeds.

Attendees(totalapproximatelyn=210)wereofferedonlineorpapercopyaccesstothe

survey.Atotalof88surveyresponseswerereturned(responserate42%),splitequally

betweenpaperandonlinesurveycompletion.

(2) Emailscontainingresearcheridentification,purposeofthestudy,requestfor

participationandasurveylinkweresenttogeneralschoolemailaddressesfroma

publicallyavailablelistofIrishmainstreamschoolsthathadspecialclassesforstudents

withASD(NCSE:NationalCouncilforSpecialEducation,2013).Emailaddressesfor

theseschoolswereobtainedviaschoolwebsitesandwww.schooldays.ie.Theschools

wereaskedtoforwardtheinformationtotherelevantteachersofstudentswithASD.

(3) Emailscontainingresearcheridentification,purposeofthestudy,requestfor

participation,andasurveylinkweresenttogeneralschoolemailaddressesofspecial

schoolswithASDspecificclassesand12pilotschools(formerlyknownasABAModelsof

Education).TheselistsweresourcedfromtheNCSE(2013).Theschoolswererequested

toforwardtheinformationtotherelevantteachersofstudentswithASD.

Intotal,238e-mailsweresenttoschools,including141primaryschools,57secondaryschools,

29specialschools,and11formerABAschools.Approximately15emailswerereturnedas

undeliverable;afollow-upsearchwasconductedforalternativeemailaddresses,however,11

emailsremainedundeliverable.Giventhatsomeoftheschoolsmayhaveforwardedtheemailto

multipleeligibleteachers,theexactnumberofindividualpotentialparticipantscouldnotbe

undetermined.Sevety-sevenfurtherresponseswereacquiredthroughthedirectemail

solicitationofprimary,secondary,andspecialschools.Thisrepresentsa32%responseratefrom

238emailssenttoschools.

Atotalofn=165responseswerereturnedfromthecombinedfacetofaceandemailrecruitment

procedures(88and77respondentsrespectively).Theoverallresponseratewas36.8%for

combinedrecruitmentmethods.

Ethics

TheresearchwasconductedinlinewithQueen’sUniversityBelfastResearchGovernance

ProceduresandapprovedbytheSchoolofEducationResearchEthicsCommittee.

Results

Trainingprovider

Only59responses(35.8%ofthetotalsample)includeddetailsofthetrainingproviderforABA;

ofthese,onlyn=5reportedhavingreceivednotraininginABA,while66.1%(n=39)ofthese

respondentsstatedthattheyhadreceivedgovernmentsupportedtrainingintheareaofbehavior

analysis.

Self-declaredlevelofunderstandingofABA

Twenty-six(15.8%)teachersreportedself-perceivedknowledgeofABAtobeverygood,while

thirty-threeofthem(20.0%)ratedtheirknowledgeofABAas‘good’.Thus,atotaloffifty-nine

teachers(35.8%)thoughtthattheirknowledgeofABAwaseithergoodorverygood.

Fiftyteachers(30.3%)ratedtheirunderstandingofABAas‘verylittle’,whileafurtherthirty-

threeofthem(20%)identifiedtheirknowledgeofABAas‘somewhat’.Eighty-three(50.3%)

teachersindicatingthattheyhadonlyminimalknowledgeofthescienceofbehavioranalysis.

Twenty-threerespondents(13.9%)failedtoprovidetheself-reportofknowledgeofABA.The

majorityofteacherswhoreportinga‘verygood/good’knowledgeofABAalsoindicatehaving

participatedinCPDfromthegovernmentprovider.Onthebasisofthisself-report,respondents

weregroupedashavingknowledgeofABAontwolevels,either‘good/verygood’(n=59)or

‘little/minimal’(n=83).

ABAknowledgeassessment

Table1showstheresponsestotheknowledgequestionsposedtoparticipantsonthetopicof

appliedbehavioranalysis,includingfunctionalbehavioralassessment.

Table1:Self-perceivedknowledgeofABAcomparedwithactualknowledge Correct Incorrect Noresponse *Self+ **Self- *Self+ **Self- *Self+ **Self-1.Dimensionsofbehaviour

71.1%(n=42) 81.9%(n=68) 0(n=0) 3.6(n=3) 28.9%(n=17) 14.5%(n=12)

2.GoalsofABA

38.9%(n=23) 50.6%(n=42) 32.2%(n=19) 27.7%(n=23)

28.9%(n=17) 21.7%(n=18)

3.PositiveReinf.defined

61.0%(n=36) 60.2%(n=50) 11.9%(n=7) 25.4%(n=21)

27.1%(n=16) 14.4%(n=12)

3.NegativeReinf.defined

32.2%(n=19) 36.1%(n=30) 40.7%(n=24) 49.6%(n=41)

27.1%(n=16) 14.4%(n=12)

4.Timeoutprocedure

5.1%(n=3) 0.0%(n=0) 45.8%(n=27) 41.0%(n=34)

49.19%(n=29) 59.0%(n=49)

5.Identifyshapingprocedure

62.7%(n=37) 38.6%(n=32) 10.2%(n=6) 26.5%(n=22)

27.1%(n=16) 34.9%(n=29)

6.Identifystimulusfading

61.0%(n=36) 55.4%(n=46) 3.4%(n=2) 10.9%(n=9) 35.6%(n=21) 33.7%(n=28)

7.Skillgeneralizationdefined

15.3%(n=9) 2.4%(n=2) 28.8%(n=17) 34.9%(n=29)

55.9%(n=33) 62.7%(n=52)

8.ElementsofanFBA

45.8%(n=27) 24.1%(n=20) 18.6%(n=11) 34.9%(n=29)

35.6%(n=21) 41.0%(n=24)

9.Identifyeffectofneg.reinforcement

10.2%(n=6) 8.4%(n=7) 49.1%(n=29) 59.1%(n=49)

40.7%(n=24) 32.5%(n=27)

10.ABCdatacollectiontool

39.0(n=23) 22.9%(n=19) 28.8%(n=17) 45.8%(n=38)

32.2%(n=19) 31.3%(n=26)

*good/verygoodself-perceivedknowledge**little/minimalself-perceivedknowledge

Thehighestrateofcorrectresponsesforbothgroupswasreportedforthefirstitemsurveyed.

Whilethisquestionwasaboutabasicattributeofbehaviour,therelativelyhighrateofcorrect

repsondingmaybeduetothefactthatthisquestionwaspresentedasatrue/falsesurveyitem.

Therewasa50:50probabilityofacorrectresponsebychance,infactthegroupreportingless

knowledgeofABAgainedahigherrateofcorrectresponses,i.e.,10%higherthanthosewhoself-

reportedmoreknowledgeofABA.

ThegrouppurportingtohaveagreaterknowledgeofABAalsohadapoorerperformanceinthe

seconditem,regardingthegoalofanABA-basedintervention.Furthermore,despiteself-

reportinga‘good’understandingofABAlessthanfourinten(38.9%)oftheseteachers

respondedcorrectlythatthegoalofABAinterventionswastoimprovesociallysignificant

behaviors.Theirperformanceonthisitemwasinfactsurpassedbythoseacknowledging‘little’

understandingofABAwithmorethanhalf(50.6%)ofthegroupselectingthecorrectresponse.

TheanswerselectedbymanyoftheotherparticipantswasthatthegoalofABAinterventionsis

to‘eliminatetargetbehaviors’.TheseresultsseemtosuggestthatteacherscategorizeABAasa

systemforinterventioninchallengingbehaviorreductionoreliminationratherthanthe

technologytoteachnewskillsandbehaviorsthatitis(Mitchell,2008).

Thenextiteminthesurveyrequiredamorecomplexunderstandingofbehavioralprinciples.

Thiswastheonlyexampleofamultipleanswertestquestion.Respondentswereaskedwhatwas

‘likelytoincreasebehaviorinthefuture’.Equalnumbersineachofthegroupscorrectly

identified‘positivereinforcement’asameansofincreasingfuturebehavior(61%and60%for

thosewith‘good’knowledgeandthosewith‘littleknowledge,respectively).

However,correctidentificationof‘negativereinforcement’asrelatedtoincreasingfuture

behaviorwasnearlyhalfthatof‘positivereinforcement’.Infact,morerespondentsinthe‘little

knowledge’group(n=30;36%)selectedthiscorrectresponse,withonly19(32%)ofthe‘good

knowledge’groupgettingthisright.

Theseresponsesareperhapsnotsurprisingsincemisuseoftheterminology‘positive

reinforcement’and‘negativereinforcement’iscommon.Thegeneralpublicfrequentlyequates

‘negativereinforcement’withpunishment(i.e.theapplicationofanaversivetoreduceor

eliminateanunwantedbehavior).Whilethismistakeiscommon,greaterunderstandingwould

beexpectedofeducationalprofessionals,especiallythosewhohavereceivedstatefunded

trainingandwhoclaimtohaveagoodorverygoodknowledgeofABA.

Thenextitemaskedrespondentstosupplythemissingelementinthedefinitionof‘time-out’

throughtheuseofanopen-endedresponseformat.Only5.1%(n=3)oftheteachersreporting

‘good’knowledgeofABAansweredcorrectly.Noneoftherespondentswhoreportedhaving

‘little’knowledgeofABAansweredcorrectly.Alargenumberofnon-responsescamefromboth

groups;n=29(49%)forthosewhoclaimedtohavegoodknowledge,vs.n=49(59%)ofthose

whoreportedpoorknowledgeofABA.

Lowcompletionratesonthisitemmayhavebeentheresultofthequestionformat(i.e.greater

responseeffort).However,time-outproceduresareoftenusedwithinschooldiscipline

procedures(Maag,2001;Yang,2009)andthusqualifiedteacherswouldbeexpectedtobe

familiarwiththebasicprocedure.

Thenextopen-responsequestionwasastatement(i.e.,‘Abehaviorwhichoccursacrossdifferent

settings,withdifferentpeople,andoveranextendedtimeissaidtohavebeen…’).Onlynine

(15.3%)respondentsidentifiedashaving‘good’knowledgeofABAcorrectlywrote

‘generalization’(orequivalentwords)andthosewhohaddeclared‘little’knowledgeofABA

faredevenworsewithonlytwocorrectresponseswererecorded(2.4%).

Discussion

ThecurrentresearchreportedtheresultsofasurveyofteachersofstudentswithASDtoassess

theirknowledgeofappliedbehaviouranalysis.Participants(n=165)wereaskedtoindicatetheir

self-percievedknowledgeofABAprinciples(responserate86%;n=142).Respondentswere

placedintogroupsofthosewith‘verygood/good’ABAknowledge(n=59)andthosewith

‘somewhat/little’ABAknowledge(n=83).Theywereaskedtorespondtoamultiplechoicetest

assessingtheiractualknowledgeofABA.Testitemsrequiredparticipantstodefineorprovide

examplesofverybasicelementsofthescienceofbehaviour.

Theperformanceofteacherswhoparticipatedinthisstudyindicatedthattherewasverylittle

realunderstandingofABAprinciplesacrossbothgroups.Thegroupofteachersclaimingtohave

’verygood/good’knowledgeofbehavioralprinciplesfaredworsethanthosepurportingtohave

littleABAknowledge,inmostofthebasictestitems.Theteacherswhoself-declaredtohave’very

good/good’knowledgeofABAoutperformedthosewhothoughtthattheirknowledgewas

limitedononly4/11testitems,despitethefactthatthecontentofthemultiplechoicetestwere

quitebasicandtheyhadreceivedGovernmentfundedtraining.

Teacherswhothoughtthattheyhad‘somewhat/little’knowledgeofABAoutscoredtheir

counterpartsononeoftheseitemsbymorethan10%correctresponses,despitethefactthat

theyhadreceivednotrainingornon-Governmentfundedtraining.Themajorityofbothgroups

failedtorespondtothetwoitemsthatweremoredifficultastheywereutilizingtheopen-ended

responseformat.

ThecurrentstudywasthefirsttimeempiricalevidencewasgatheredontheABAknowledgeof

IrishteachersofstudentswithASDandtheeffectivenessofGovernmenttrainingprogrammes.

To-date,onlyparticipantsatisfactiondatahasbeencollectedfortheefficaciousnessofpublicly

fundedcontinuousprofessionaldevleopment(Price,Waterhouse,andCoopersLLB,2012).CPD

providersforeducatorsinIrelandonlycollectlimitedfeedbackfromparticipantsandno

participantdatabasehasbeenestablishedtodate.

Thisresearchhighlightstheinadquacyandmisrepresentaionsperpetuatedbyparticipant

satisfactionsurveysandself-reportsofknowledgegainedfromprofessionaldevelopment

programmes.Thoseparticipantswhoseself-reportedknowledgeofABAwas‘good’performed

worseontheactualknowledgeofthesubjectthanteacherswhoreported‘poor’knowledgeof

thesubjectmatter.EvalutionsofCPDproviders,aswellasparticiapntoutcomes,hastodate

reliedsolelyonthissubjectivemeasure(i.e.satisfactionsurveys)andthenon-empiricalmethod

ofself-reportingofknowledge.InordertoimproveteacherCPDandlearneroutcomesinIrish

schools,empiricalmethodsofdatacollectionmustbecomerequiredcomponentsoftheteacher

trainingprocedures.

Infact,continuingtolimitthedatacollectionaroundCPDparticiaptiontosatisfactionsurveys

andcollectingself-reportsofknowledgeasevidenceoftrainingeffectivenesswillcreatean

unfoundedself-confidenceamongteachersregardingtheir‘expertise’onatopic.Thecurrent

exampleillustrastesthispointvividly.TeacherswhoparticipatedinCPDintheareaofABA

believetheyhave‘verygood’knowledgeofthesubjectasaresultoftheirtrainingand

experiences.Theymaybeviewedbythemselvesandcolleaguesas‘experts’onABA,yetthe

resultsoftheknowledgequestionsinthisstudyhavecalledthisviewintoseriousdoubt.

Improvingstudentoutcomeshasbeendirectlyrelatedtoimproved,efficaciousprofessional

developmentandinitialteachereducation.Inordertomakeevidence-baseddecisionsabout

effectiveCPDmodelsandtrainingproviders,datawouldbeneededthatgoesbeyondthebasic

qualitativepost-trainningfeedbackthatisgatheredcurrently.

Thepresentsurveryoffersarepresentativesample(n=165)outofatotalof320registered

specialneedsteachersinIreland(NationalCouncilforSpecialEducation,2013;Special

EducationSupportService,2013).ThereisnocentraldatabaseofCPDparticiaptionnoristhere

anyresearchregardingtheaffectofCPDparticipationonlearneroutcomesorclassroompractice

(Price,Waterhouse,andCoopersLLB,2012)intheIrishDepartmentofEducationandSkills.

Thereforethissurveyreliedonteacherself-reportsregardingknowledgelevelofthecontent

areasandparticipationinCPDandthetrainingprovider.

Price,Waterhouse,andCoopers(2012)reportaninterestingresponsebyasegmentofafocus

groupwhenaskedaboutCPDintheabsenceoftheSESSprogramoftraining.Manyrespondents

suggesttheywouldhaveparticipatedinthirdlevelSENpostgraduateprogramsasameansof

professionaldevelopmenthadtheSESStrainingnotbeenavailable.Thecollegesofeducation

postgraduatecourses,however,haveanadvantageovertheCPDtrainingofferedbytheSESSin

thattheformerareaccreditedbytheTeachingCouncil(Egan,2004)andthelatterarenot

accreditedatall.Egan(2004)concludedthatanincreaseinteacheruptakeofpostgraduate

programsthroughthirdlevelinstitutions,oftenattheteacher’sownexpense,isevidenceofthe

supportforaccreditedCPDforteachersinIreland.Asaguidetofuturepolicyregardingteacher

CPD,theTeachingCouncilhasproposedthatCPDcompletionbecomepartoftherenewalof

licensureprocessandthatCPDcoursesundertakenshouldbecountedtowardsadditional

qualificationforparticipants.Increasingthelevelofteacherundertakingpostgraduateprograms

ofstudyshouldbeincentivizedasameansofgrowingtheindigenousexpertiseincriticalareasof

needs(e.g.ASDeducation,inclusivepractice,andappliedbehavioranalysis).

Conclusion

FurtherinvestigationoftheefficacyoftrainingteachersinABAisnecessary,e.g.,inacost-

savingsanalysisofthegovernementservicedeliverymodelofCPD.StudentswithASDinIrish

schoolsrequireteacherswithexpertiseinevidence-basedpracticeinordertomaximizetheir

potential.ResearchshouldincludetestsofCPDparticipantknowledgepriortoandfollowing

trainingprogrammecompletion(e.g.,McKee&Dillenburger,2012).Theseassessmentsneedto

bemoreextensivethanthesurveyusedinthisstudyandmaybenefitfromagradedarrayoftest

items(e.g.basic,intermediate,andexpertlevelknowledgeprobes).Furthermore,university

basedtrainingtointernationalstandardsinABAshouldbemadeavailabletoteachers(Behavior

AnalystsCertificationBoard,2015).

BACBqualificationsprovideameasureofconsumerprotectionandameansofdisplaying

professionalcompetence.AcceptanceofthesecredentialsbygovernmentagenciesinIrelandis

necessarytoensurethatABAmethodsarenotbeingimplementedbyindividualswithout

credentialsandbyteachersinIrishschoolswithinsufficienttrainingtodesignanddeliver

efficaciousinterventions(Keenanetal.,2010).Thiskindoftrainingwouldensurethatchildren

andadultswithautisminIrelandreceiveoptimalinterventionsandskillsdevelopmentthatcan

improvetheirqualityoflifeandreducetheneedforstatefundedcareandsupportthroughout

theirlives.Untilsuchtimes,ABAwillcontinuetobeemployedontheislandofIreland

(Dillenburgeretal.,2012;Leslie&Tierney,2013)withoutqualitycontroloradequateteacher

training(Keenanetal.,2010).

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