DOI: 10.3886/e203001v1
title: Efficacy of Paraprofessional Behavior Support Coaching for Elementary School Students with Externalizing Behavior Disorders

description: <b>Efficacy of Pa</b><b>raprofessional Behavior Support Coaching
for Elementary School Students with Externalizing Behavior Disorders</b>









<br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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. <br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>