Effects of Training on Knowledge Acquisition in Designing Behavioral Support Plans Based Functional Behavioral Assessment for Teachers at Special Needs Schools

Abstract

This study tested the effects of training that targeted knowledge acquisition on the designing behavioral support plans based on functional behavioral assessment. The participants were four teachers of special needs schools for intellectual disabilities. The training consisted of a lecture on the functional behavioral assessment and homework in which participants practiced what they had learned in the lecture to students at school. The evaluation indicators were the content of the participants' behavior support plans for fictitious cases, their knowledge of applied behavior analysis, and their records of students' behavior problems. As a result, the content of behavioral support plans for fictitious cases and knowledge of applied behavioral analysis improved, and students' behavior problems decreased. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the training in this study for teachers of special needs schools for intellectual disabilities. This study also confirmed the validity of the participants' acquisition of knowledge about functional behavioral assessment, which was an issue of previous research. In the future, this study indicated the need for replication and establishment of a control group to test the external validity of the study's findings.