Master of Arts (Applied Psychology)

Challenging behaviors were reported to co-occur with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Intellectual Disability (ID). In Singapore, these two developmental disabilities are common in the student population supported by the Special Education (SPED) Schools. Research on Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and function-based interventions revealed its effectiveness in addressing challenging behaviors across different developmental disabilities and settings. Despite this, there remained a research-to-practice gap in the utilization of FBA and function based interventions. This highlighted the importance of providing professional development for SPED educators in this area.

This study adopted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to investigate the relative effectiveness of two modes of training delivery (web-based learning or face-to-face workshop) in increasing SPED educators’ knowledge and confidence in implementing FBA and function-based interventions. SPED educators were randomly assigned to the face-to-face workshop group (n = 55) or the web- based learning group (n = 49). A comprehensive training package was delivered to the participants through either mode of delivery. Participants completed two questionnaires pre- and post training to measure the change in their knowledge of and their perceived confidence in implementing FBA and function-based interventions. Analyses of results show that participants in both groups showed a significant increase in their knowledge of FBA and function-based interventions. However, only participants in the face-to-face workshop reported a significant increase in their confidence to apply what they have learnt. Participants in the face-to-face workshop group gained significantly more knowledge of FBA and function-based interventions than those in web-based learning group, even after statistical control of potential confounds.