An evaluation of the generalized effects of training teachers of young children to use functional assessment in combination with behavioral consultation to remediate problematic classroom behaviors

Teachers may encounter students who engage in behaviors that interfere with their education and that of other students in the classroom. Although systems are in place to assist teachers with problem resolution in these cases, little effort is made to further teachers' problem-solving skills prior to system-level involvement. Teachers simply are not taught problem-solving skills that are generally applicable to many challenging situations. This study examined the effects of embedding functional assessment training in a brief behavioral consultation process on the generalization of behavior assessment skills to novel problem situations by primary teachers.; Participating teachers were assigned randomly to either a brief behavior consultation only group (n = 19) or a brief behavior consultation and functional assessment training group (n = 21). Experimental group participants were taught to evaluate target student problem behavior using a competing response diagram format in the context of an inservice training session. These teachers received behavioral consultation subsequent to training. Results indicated that functional assessment training effectively taught experimental group participants to analyze problem behavior according to the competing response diagram format in a novel situation independent of consultant guidance. Results are discussed in the context of current behavioral consultation practice, teacher pre-service training, and implications for school psychologists and other school technical support personnel.