Open Collections

Teachers’ responses to students with behavior problems : attributions, affect and interventions

University of British Columbia

School psychologists are often called upon to act as consultants for teachers in the development of intervention plans for students with behavioral difficulties in the classroom. Information about the antecedents which may influence teacher behavior (i.e., response and interventions), especially with regard to students with behavioral difficulties can be valuable for the psychologist to use in the development of the intervention plan. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' causal attributions, affective reactions and behavioral responses (in the form of classroom interventions) from the theoretical perspectives of Weiner's attribution theory (1995) and Bandura's self-efficacy theory (1977). A primary assumption of the study was that teachers are responding to natural attributions (mediated by affect) when they intervene with students with behavioral difficulties in the classroom, and that teachers respond differently to students depending on the type of behavior problem. Participants were 112 preservice elementary teachers at the end of a two year training program. Teachers were given one of three student-descriptions and vignettes depicting a student with defiant, hyperactive, or social rejection behavior difficulties. Measures included the Problem Behavior Scale (attributions), The Teacher Emotion Questionnaire, and the Teacher Interventions Rating Scale. Results of analyses of variance and t-tests suggest different patterns of responses to each ofthe three problem-behavior students and significant differences by case on many of the dimensions measured. Correlational analysis suggests many significant inter-relationships between attributions, emotions and interventions. Results of stepwise multiple regression analysis indicate that punishment interventions are predicted by feelings of anger and pity, accounting for 43 percent of the variance; and counselling/supportive interventions are predicted by feelings of pity and hopelessness, accounting for 28 percent ofthe variance. In addition, results suggest that overall, teachers do respond to natural attributions, but this does not seem to be the only influence on their choice of interventions. Implications for consultants and School Psychologists are discussed.

Thesis/Dissertation

application/pdf

2009-02-18

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4745

School Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

DSpace