EFFECT OF TRAINING IN FUNCTIONAL BEHAVIOUR ANALYSIS ON SELF EFFICACY TOWARDS MANAGING STUDENTS’ CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR AMONG SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS TEACHERS

Abstract

Functional Behavioural Analysis is an empirically proven investigatory procedure for the determination of the purpose of behaviours. It has been useful in the management of challenging behaviours more importantly among students with special educational needs. This evidence has been growing worldwide but is still limited in Nigeria. Special education teachers who are at the forefront of educating children who have special educational needs tend to regularly encounter children with challenging behaviours. These teachers need all the support and professional enhancement that will help them to deliver more efficiently on their occupational goals. Special education teachers in Osun State have not previously been exposed to Functional Behavioural Analysis (FBA). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of FBA training on the self-efficacy of special education teachers towards managing student challenging behaviour (CB). The study was a quasi-experimental study with an intervention group (N = 20) and control group (N = 20) which were based in two separate schools. The intervention and control groups each had 10 qualified teachers and 10 student-teachers. Participants completed a questionnaire packet which included a semi-structured socio-demographic questionnaire, a knowledge and practice of FBA and CB questionnaire, The Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the teachers Professional Quality of Life Scale(PQOLS) for the pre-intervention assessment. This was followed by delivery of the training on FBA for the intervention group. The training was delivered in two sessions each lasting for about 2 hours over a period or two weeks. Follow up support for the teachers were also done over a period of two weeks. Hence, post-intervention assessment was done at 4 weeks after the pre-intervention assessment. The data was analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics.Analysis of baseline socio-demographic, knowledge and experience of CB and FBA parameters revealed nostatistically significant difference between the intervention group and the control group{1.00/0.607). Also a comparison of the level of total efficacy, total burnout and total quality of life revealed no differences across the two groups prior to the intervention. There were no statistically significant differences in overall self-efficacy (total TSES score) and the subscale scores which include Student engagement, Instructional Materials, and Classroom Management across the two groups of qualified teachers (p value= 0.315, 0.310, 0.841 and 0.085 respectively). Post-intervention, the total self-efficacy was higher among the intervention group (M=156.00; SD=33.58) than the control group (M=131.11; SD=33.59) with a p-value of 0.033. Similarly the efficacy on student engagement and the efficacy on classroom management were also significantly higher among the participants in the intervention group when compared to the control group (P= 0.025 and 0.024 respectively). The total burnout experience was higher among the control group (M=65.00; SD=13.53) than the intervention group (M=49.70; SD=13.14) with a p-value of 0.023. there was an increase in mean self-efficacy of the Intervention group (Pre-intervention -M=125.33; SD=26.40 and Post-Intervention M=156.44; SD=30.36) with a small effect size (Partial Eta 2 =0.49). Also, there was a significant increase in the efficacy in student engagement after the intervention (Pre-intervention -M=43.00; SD=10.27 and Post-Intervention M=52.44; SD=9.58) with a medium effect size (Partial Eta 2 =0.56). The efficacy in classroom management among the intervention group also increased significantly (Pre-intervention -M=39.44; SD=8.66 and Post-Intervention M=50.33; SD=10.97) with a large effect size (Partial Eta 2 =0.99). Analysis of covariance affirmed there was a significant difference between the intervention group and the control group on the post-intervention scores on the TSES [F (1,18)=8.95, p=0.009, partial eta squared=0.36]. Also, there was a significant difference between the intervention group and the control group on the post-intervention scores on the PQOLS [F (1,17)=9.82, p=0.006, partial eta squared=0.380]. Satisfaction with the training was high with 95.5% of them expressing that they were mostly/very satisfied with the training and with all of them expressed a desire for further training. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The study showed that the FBA based training had a significantly positive impact on the self-efficacy of primary school teachers in schools for children with special needs in Osun state. The training also has the potential for reducing the burnout experience of these teachers and improving their quality of life. It is recommended that the study be replicated with a larger sample and if confirmed to be effective should be extended to all staff working within the special education schools in the state of Osun and areas with similar profiles