Association for Behavior Analysis International

There are a number of empirically identified barriers to the successful progression of children through the educational system. Such risk factors are increasingly prevalent at the preschool stage with changes in the demographic backgrounds of children, increased language and economic diversity, as well as variance in family circumstances presenting various educational and behavioral challenges for children. Often times failure to teach children important life skills at this point can lead to future failures within educational settings and/or the development of ongoing problem behavior. The symposium will demonstrate the role of behavior analysis in the prevention of and intervention for problem behavior within Irish preschool settings. Across a series of studies, the presenters will discuss the impact of the preschool life skills (PLS; Hanley et al., 2007) in teaching important learning readiness skills, the role of parents in supporting children learn the PLS, and the role of observational learning in acquiring such skills. Furthermore the research presented within the symposium explores the impact of the Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT, Wills et al., 2010) to target the emergence of problem behavior. Issues of generalisation and maintenance will be discussed within all of the presentations, as well as the specific application of the interventions within Irish preschools.

Practitioners working within preschool educational settings

CANCELED: Preschool teachers increasingly report disruptive behavior as the greatest challenge they face within the classroom setting. Considering the increasing prevalence of risk factors associated with disruptive behaviour (e.g., limited learning opportunities and antisocial behavior) early intervention preventative measures should be utilized to address such issues. This study explores the effects of teaching children to engage in observational learning of the preschool life skills (PLS Hanley et al. 2007) within a preschool setting. Twenty-one children were assigned to three groups, Group 1 receiving the PLS program, Group 2 receiving training in a specific observational learning protocol, and Group 3 receiving treatment as usual. Following 13 weeks of intervention the results indicate positive outcomes for the children receiving direct training on the observational learning protocol and those children receiving the PLS program. Interestingly, both the observational and PLS group showed similar maintenance and generaliation outcomes. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of observational learning within the preschool context.

Pr¬eschool is an important educational setting for child development and problem behavior is a prevalent barrier within this setting. Preschool teachers have expressed the need for evidence-based classroom management interventions to address problem behavior. Class-Wide Function-Related Intervention Teams (CW-FIT, Wills et al., 2010) is an intervention which incorporates social skills training, group contingencies and reinforcement to address problem behavior within classrooms. This intervention has been found to be socially valid by teachers and children, and effective in increasing children’s engagement, decreasing problems/problem behavior in elementary, kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms. The aim of the current study was to evaluate a modified CW-FIT as an effective strategy to address problem behavior within two community-preschools in Ireland across three preschool classes with 32 children. A multiple baseline design across participants was employed to evaluate the outcomes, with measures of generalization and maintenance also taken. Visual analysis of data revealed an increase in the children’s on-task behavior and social skills as well as a decrease in children’s problem behavior within these settings.