Examining the effects of brief training on the attitudes and future use of behavioral methods by teachers

Teachers from government and independent schools anonymously completed a measure of attitudes towards applied behavior analysis (ABA) before and after participation in a short seminar on ABA. A total of 187 primary teachers provided data on professional qualifications, years of teaching, school type, number of students in the classroom, and prior knowledge of ABA. Data were also collected on the number of students with a disability the teacher had instructed. Survey results suggested that, before and after the seminar, teachers held negative attitudes towards ABA. These attitudes, however, significantly and positively shifted after attending the seminar. Neither the number of students taught with a disability over the last 5years nor teacher type (e.g., specialist or classroom) nor school type (e.g., independent or government) was significantly related to the attitude measure. The findings have implications for ongoing teacher education and professional development, as well as for school psychologists tailoring interventions and framing recommendations for teachers in mainstream primary settings.