Pre-service special education teachers and functional behavioral assessments: A multiple methods randomized controlled study

Students with disabilities who engage in challenging behavior must receive effective and equitable behavior interventions to prevent negative outcomes such as isolation and harm from restrictive interventions. Therefore, it is essential for school professionals to know how to assess and understand the function of behavior. Functional behavioral assessments (FBA) are evidence-based tools for improving the effectiveness of behavior interventions and are widely accepted, and in some cases legally mandated, within the field of special education. However, special education teachers may not be able to adequately conduct FBAs, pointing to a possible gap in pre-service preparation. The purposes of this study were to (a) further explore the preparation received by pre-service special education teachers on conducting FBAs and (b) evaluate the effects of an online training intervention on pre-service special education teachers’ knowledge, application skills, perceived knowledge, and self-efficacy in conducting FBAs. The researcher administered a questionnaire to 90 pre-service special education teacher participants within one state and used a randomized controlled trial to test the effects of an online FBA training for 71 of the participants. The researcher found that FBA content is generally limited in special education licensure programs, compared to the requirements of conducting FBAs, and online training interventions may not significantly improve the knowledge and skills needed for conducting FBAs in practice.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Special Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Folkerts, Rebecca

Contributors dc:contributor

• Meadan, Hedda
• Ostrosky, Michaelene
• Xia, Yan
• Hirsch, Shanna

• Functional Behavioral Assessments
• Challenging Behavior
• Teacher Preparation
• Higher Education
• Special Education
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Multimedia Interventions
• Randomized Controlled Trials

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Rebecca Folkerts

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/124352

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F124352