Training Paraeducators to Use Behavior Management Strategies: Implementation and Evaluation of a Brief Targeted Intervention

Training paraprofessionals to be highly qualified providers of services to students with disabilities is a requirement of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), although many special education paraprofessionals still lack the skills and knowledge to work with students with special education needs – particularly those who engage in disruptive behaviors. This project evaluated the use of one module of a 10-week online paraeducator inservice training (Morgan et al., 2004) that focused on behavioral interventions. Five paraprofessionals who currently work at a public school for students with significant behavior problems in a rural school district in the Western United States participated in the training. The live face-to-face training included direct instruction on the basic principles of applied behavior analysis. A single-case pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the face-to-face training for all five participants immediately after the training had ended, and the extent to which participants maintained the information one month after the training session. Data collected on participants’ acquisition and maintenance of knowledge of behavior management strategies based on the principles of applied behavior analysis indicate that the training was successful.