Graduation Year

2009

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Granting Department

Psychological and Social Foundations

Major Professor

Harold Keller, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Linda Raffaele-Mendez, Ph.D.

Committee Member

John Ferron, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Carie English Ph.D.

Keywords

student behavior, teacher behavior, treatment integrity, teacher beliefs, intervention training, intervention coaching, performance feedback

Abstract

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.

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