Efficacy of Paraprofessional Behavior Support Coaching for Elementary School Students with Externalizing Behavior Disorders

Summary:  View help for Summary Efficacy of Paraprofessional Behavior Support Coaching for Elementary School Students with Externalizing Behavior Disorders This program tested the efficacy of the Behavior Support Coaching for Paraprofessionals (BSC-P) model for improving paraprofessionals’ classroom intervention practices and the behavioral and academic outcomes for elementary school students with or at risk for externalizing behavior disorders. Although paraprofessionals play a substantial role in providing classroom-based behavioral interventions for students, they often receive very little training or job-embedded support in behavior management. Given the challenges of providing adequate support to students with externalizing behavior disorders and their risk for negative outcomes (e.g., poor academic performance, drop-out, juvenile delinquency), there is a significant need to identify effective models for supporting these students and the professionals who work with them. Thus, the purpose of this project was to test the efficacy of the BSC-P coaching model for supporting paraprofessionals in the implementation of data-driven behavioral intervention supports and subsequently improving the behavioral and academic outcomes of students with or at risk for externalizing behavior disorders.

The research team conducted a randomized control trial to test the impact of the BSC-P coaching model on paraprofessionals and their assigned students. Participating paraprofessionals and their classrooms were assigned to either a BSC-P immediate coaching condition, or a waitlist-control condition to compare against the coaching model. Classrooms, paraprofessionals, and students were determined to be eligible to participate based on a multi-gated behavioral screening procedure that identified the presence of externalizing behaviors and disruptive classroom behaviors for up to five nominated students per classroom. Over the course of twelve-weeks, participating classrooms engaged in a screening, baseline assessment, intervention, and post-intervention assessment process. The immediate coaching condition received the BSC-P coaching model whereas the waitlist-control condition maintained regular school procedure, or “business-as-usual.”  Paraprofessionals in the BSC-P immediate coaching condition received training and coaching on how to screen students for behavioral difficulties, identify students' behavioral needs, match students' needs to research-based interventions, and monitor students' response to intervention.

The research team utilized a three-cohort randomized controlled trial in which schools serve as the unit of randomization. Schools were randomly assigned to receive immediate BSC-P coaching or a business-as-usual waitlist-control condition following screening and baseline assessment phases. Data collection was completed at two time points (baseline, post-intervention) to examine the efficacy of the intervention for improving paraprofessional practices and student outcomes.

Multiple measures were used to assess paraprofessional and student outcomes, and potential mediating and moderating variables. The Behavioral and Emotional Screen System–3 was used as a behavioral screener to determine students' risk for externalizing behavior disorders. Paraprofessional outcomes included their level of using behavioral intervention practices as measured through a self-report Behavior Strategy Log Student outcomes. Students' level of disruptive behaviors were measured through 45 minutes of direct observation via the Behavioral Observation System in Schools (BOSS). Students' social-emotional behaviors were captured using the teacher rating scale versions of the Behavior Assessment System for Children 3 and the Social Skills Improvement System. Students' academic achievement was measured with the Woodcock Johnson IV Brief Achievement Tests for reading and math Potential moderating variables included the paraprofessional-teacher relationship measured via a self-report questionnaire, and teachers’ classroom-wide practices measured by the Classroom Strategies Assessment System. Mediating variables that may have affected students’ behavioral outcomes were paraprofessionals’ Behavior Strategy Log usage.

Using multi-level modeling to account for the nested nature of students within paraprofessionals within schools, we examined the treatment effect of BSC-P coaching at post-test for our experimental group versus the waitlist-control group (i.e., the interaction effect of timepoint and condition variables). Analyses controlled for baseline scores and predicted post-intervention outcomes for (a) paraprofessionals’ behavior strategy usage, (b) students observed engagement and disruptive behaviors, (c) teacher ratings of students’ behavior and social skills, and (d) a brief measure of students’ academic outcomes. Moderation analyses examined the potential effects of the paraprofessional-teacher relationship and teachers’ classroom-wide practices on paraprofessional behavior strategy usage and students’ behavioral outcomes. We also examined the potential mediating effects of paraprofessionals’ behavior strategy practices on the impact of the BSC-P coaching model on student outcomes.

Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources United States Department of Education. Institute of Education Sciences (R324A170069)

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Paraprofessional; Disruptive Behavior; Externalizing Behavior Disorders; Coaching