Master of Arts (Applied Psychology)

The Dunning-Kruger effect is a well-researched phenomenon where individuals who are least skilled tend to overestimate their abilities. The current study attempted to investigate the Dunning-Kruger effect among special education (SPED) teachers in Singapore and China in the area of functional behavioural assessment (FBA) and behavioural intervention. Specifically, the study sought to investigate if teachers who were least knowledgeable in the area tended to rate their skills similarly to their peers. Additionally, the study also sought to investigate if administering a knowledge-based test prior to teachers rating their skills resulted in its greatest reduction among teachers who were least knowledgeable. Hence, 292 teachers were recruited from 5 SPED schools in Singapore, and 471 teachers were recruited from 2 SPED schools in China. Teachers were required to fill out a knowledge-based test and a perceived skills questionnaire in the area of FBA and behavioural intervention. The administration of these materials was counterbalanced such that half of the teachers were administered the knowledge-based test first, while the other half was administered the perceived skills questionnaire first. Contrary to theories on the Dunning-Kruger effect, the study found that teachers who were least knowledgeable rated their skills significantly lower than their peers. Furthermore, administering the knowledge-based test first resulted in similar reductions of perceived skills scores across all teachers regardless of their knowledge level. These results and their implications are discussed.

Test anxiety is a growing global phenomenon that has serious physical, psychological and academic consequences for students. Given its pervasiveness, several preventive interventions have been developed over the years to equip students with coping strategies to maintain helpful thoughts and to take action to manage the stresses caused by tests. However, there are no specific measures that can evaluate test-taking coping skills that have been developed in the research literature yet. Hence, the current study aims to develop and validate the Test Anxiety Coping Skills (TACSk; pronounced as ‘task’ with ‘c’ silent) measure, and to test its utility as an outcome measure in an established intervention programme. The study recruited 173 secondary two to four students aged between 13 to 17 years old (M = 15 years old, SD = 1.0). Out of the 173 students, 94 students completed the TACSk measure at one timepoint (after intervention) and 79 students completed the TACSk measure at two timepoints (before and after intervention). Reliability and confirmatory factor analyses were run. The results indicate that the 15-item TACSk measure had good psychometric properties, namely a) it yielded good internal reliability estimates and b) it demonstrated adequate fit with a proposed three-factor model. Additionally, the measure was responsive to changes in coping skills after students have gone through the intervention programme. Their TACSk scores showed significant increase after the intervention. Overall, this study addressed a research gap by developing a validated test-taking coping skills measure that may be used by educational and mental health professionals working with adolescent students that express test anxiety. The study also showed support for a cognitive-behavioural-study conceptual framework, whereby test-taking coping is comprised of cognitive coping skills, behavioural affective coping skills, as well as study and exam preparation skills. Going forward, this framework may serve as a guide for practitioners to develop test anxiety coping skills interventions in schools. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed

Given that there is an increase in the number of children with social-emotional and behavioural difficulties and schools are best positioned to support them, Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based programmes within a Tiered System of Support framework may be implemented. A Tier 2 programme may be considered as it is an efficient use of resources to target a larger group of students than Tier 3 while being more targeted than Tier 1. Implementation drivers of staff selection and training would need to be considered for effective implementation. As such, this study explored factors that were related to teacher self-efficacy beliefs for delivering a Tier 2 CBT-based programme. Vignettes which required participants to consider how confident they would feel when required to deliver and facilitate sessions were used. Survey data on 103 teachers’ (mean age = 38.0 years, SD = 9.63) self-efficacy beliefs for teaching in general (using the Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale [TSES]), teachers’ sources of self-efficacy beliefs (Mastery Experience, Vicarious Experience, Social Persuasion, Physiological/Affective State), as well as demographic variables were collected.

Based on the quantitative results, one of the four theorised sources of self-efficacy, Mastery Experience, and self-efficacy beliefs for teaching in general were significant predictors of self-efficacy beliefs for delivering a Tier 2 CBT-based programme. While quantitative results did not suggest that Vicarious Experience was a significant predictor, it was frequently highlighted when participants were asked for qualitative comments that opportunities to observe peers, professionals and other teachers with more experience, as well as role-play, would help them feel more confident to deliver such sessions.

Additionally, this study did not find any significant correlation between self-efficacy beliefs for delivering a Tier 2 CBT-based programme and demographic variables, including years of experience and prior training in social-emotional support. The lack of a quantitative relationship between prior training and self-efficacy beliefs for delivering a CBT-based programme might be due to the prior training not being specific to providing a CBT-based programme. On the other hand, training was often cited in response to the qualitative items as a type of support that participants felt would help them feel more confident to deliver such a programme. Hence, training which is specific to the domain in which self-efficacy beliefs needs to be raised should be provided.

These results can be used to inform the selection of educators for such a programme and in designing the training for these teachers. Future studies may then explore the outcomes of such trainings and CBT-based programmes both in terms of teacher self-efficacy beliefs as well as student outcomes.

There have been increasing efforts to develop interventions tailored to addressing anxiety in individuals with special needs. However, research on interventions for individuals with comorbid intellectual disability (ID) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been limited. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also necessitated the consideration of developing remotely delivered programmes that can withstand the fluctuations in the spread of the virus and evolving safety measures. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of a remotely delivered PMR programme in reducing anxiety levels. It adopted a nonconcurrent multiple baseline design for a 24-year-old female and a 21-year-old male with comorbid ID and ASD, who were attending day activity centres (DAC) in Singapore. Participants underwent three phases – baseline, intervention and one-month follow-up. Anxiety ratings were assessed across all the phases on a six-point scale and were provided by proxy raters, who were either centre staff or parents of the participants. Participants’ level of independence for each of the eight PMR skills and the social validity of the intervention were also assessed. The intervention yielded mixed findings for the anxiety ratings, despite positive feedback from parents and staff on the questionnaire. Both participants were able to attain 50% and 100% mastery of the eight PMR skills by the end of intervention. Although this study is limited in its ability to determine the effectiveness of the intervention, it highlights the potential of implementing a remotely delivered PMR programme for adults with comorbid ID and ASD. Future studies will be needed to continue refining and evaluating the intervention programme.