Merging the Silos to Support Students: Education Leadership, Special Education, and Applied Behavior Analysis

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247

Special Education; Students with Disabilities; Interdisciplinary Approach; Special Education Teachers; Instructional Leadership; Specialists; Applied Behavior Analysis; Industrial Psychology; Public Schools; Positive Reinforcement; Token Economy; Feedback (Response); School Personnel

3514-1859

979-83-514-1859-9

Numerous challenges, complexities, and considerations are associated with delivering Special Education supports and services. To meet the needs of students with disabilities (SWDs) in a school setting, a multidisciplinary team needs to work together closely. To create a functional foundation for collaboration, membership should include a special education teacher, school administrator, and behavior specialist. Unfortunately, these three professionals often neglect to collaborate or coordinate services, which creates an imbalance of support and power. In addition to these team members, behavior specialists or Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) are typically utilized in school settings, working with students identified exhibiting emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) among other disabilities. Although the techniques employed by BCBAs traditionally are used to address student behaviors, they can also be utilized to enhance staff performance through organizational behavior management (OBM). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the implications of OBM techniques used by education leaders, behavior analysts, and special education teachers within the public-school context. The study utilized a multiple baseline design across participants, with a sample size of five education support professionals (ESPs) within a school for students with EBD. This study utilized an intervention package of (a) positive reinforcement, (b) a token economy system, and (c) visual feedback to increase the percentage of positive praise delivered by ESPs to students. Additionally, this research explored if using applied behavior analysis (ABA) to modify staff behaviors indicated a relationship with student performance and perceptions from participants on this approach to increasing performance. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

As Provided

2024

ED647757