EXPLORING THE PROFESSIONAL NEEDS OF A SAMPLE OF BC TEACHERS WHO TEACH STUDENTS WITH CHALLENGING BEHAVIOURS by Kathleen Takeda B.Sc., Simon Fraser University, 2004 B. Ed., Simon Fraser University, 2007 PROJECT SUMBITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMETNS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF EDUCATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA April2013 © Kathleen Takeda, 2013 UNNERSITYofNORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA UBRARY Prince George, B.C. ii Abstract This mixed-methods study explored the professional support needs of a sample of BC public school teachers in relation to the effective management of challenging behaviours. Specifically, the study sought to (a) identify the types and frequency of challenging behaviours exhibited in classrooms, (b) ascertain the impacts of challenging behaviours, and, (c) determine and provide recommendations for the specific professional support needs of teachers. Teachers from three school districts in southeastern BC were asked to participate in this study by completing both quantitative and qualitative questions on an on-line survey. Findings from the study indicated challenging behaviours were exhibited persistently and chronically in classrooms and both students and teachers were being affected negatively. Despite the negative impacts, teachers believed challenging behaviours could improve with more support. Recommendations included improved training and preparation, increased time for accessing updated resources, and improvements to school, community/family, and systemic related supports. iii Table of Contents Abstract 11 Table of Contents 111 List of Tables Vll Acknowledgement Vlll Chapter 1 Introduction Significance Background of the Project Personal Location Purpose of the Study Research Questions Conclusion Outline of the Project 1 3 5 7 9 9 10 10 Chapter 2 Literature Review The Impact of Challenging Behaviours Impact on students Impact on teachers Teacher Needs for Challenging Behaviour: Perceptions from Around the World Challenging behaviours in American classrooms Challenging behaviours in Australian classrooms Challenging behaviours in Israeli classrooms Challenging Behaviours in BC Classrooms Lacking a Standardized Definition Conclusion of the Literature Review 12 13 13 14 17 Chapter 3 Research Methods Project Design and Methodologies Mixed methods approach Survey design Sampling design and methods Distributing the survey and maintaining participant security Data Analysis Outline of the Survey 17 20 22 25 27 28 29 29 29 30 31 32 33 34 iv Chapter 4 Chapter Summary 35 Results Quantitative Results Demographics Challenging behaviours encountered Impacts of challenging behaviours Beliefs on challenging behaviours Strategies and approaches to challenging behaviours Preparation!fraining for challenging behaviours 36 36 Pre-service preparation/training In-service preparation/training Pro-D preparation/training Resources for challenging behaviours Printed resources On-line resources BC Ministry of Education resources Supports for challenging behaviours School-related supports for challenging behaviours Systemic-related supports Outside-school supports Qualitative Results Types of behaviours Impacts of challenging behaviours Impact on job satisfaction Impact on working conditions Impact on student learning Strategies for challenging behaviours Training for challenging behaviours Pre-service training In-service training Pro-D training General comments on training for challenging behaviours Resources Limitations of resources Strengths of resources Supports for challenging behaviours School Related Supports 37 37 39 40 41 42 45 46 47 47 48 49 49 49 50 51 51 51 52 54 55 56 57 58 60 61 61 62 63 63 63 64 65 65 v Administration Special Education I Learning Support Teachers District behaviour specialists Other teachers (collaboration) School or district psychologist Job demands Out-side school supports Parents/families/caregivers Community resources/specialists Final recommendations for effectively supporting challenging behaviours Chapter Summary 65 66 66 66 67 67 68 68 69 69 Chapter 5 Discussion Classroom Variables: c 'omplexity and Size The Effects of Challenging Behaviours Frustration Support Needs Training and preparation Supports In-school supports Out-side school supports Systemic related supports Resources A Changing Society Discussion Summary 73 74 75 77 78 79 80 80 81 81 82 83 84 Chapter 6 Conclusions Conclusions A serious issue in a sample of BC classrooms Supports needed for improving challenging behaviours in BC classrooms Recommendations Improving the current training and preparation models Improving support structures and personnel In-school supports Outside school supports Systemic-related supports Recommendation conclusion 86 86 86 87 71 88 89 90 90 91 92 92 vi Implications Pedagogical implications Methodological implications Personal Response Chapter Summary 94 94 95 96 References Appendices 93 93 Appendix A (Introductory Participant Letter) Appendix B (Survey and Responses) 99 101 vii List of Tables Table 1 Behaviours, Definitions/Examples, and Percentage of Teachers Experience the Behaviours 38 Table 2 A Sample ofBC Teachers' Views on the Impact of Challenging Behaviours 40 Table 3 A Sample ofBC Teachers' Feelings and Beliefs on Challenging Behaviours 41 Table 4 A Sample ofBC Teachers' Satisfaction and Familiarity with Strategies for Challenging Behaviours 42 Table 5 A Sample of BC Teacher Respondents who Received Training 43 Table 6 A Sample ofBC Teacher Respondents' Reasons for Perceiving the Training as Minimally Effective 44 Table 7 A Sample ofBC Teacher Respondents' Reasons for Perceiving the Training as Very Effective 45 Table 8 A Sample ofBC Teachers' Perceptions of Resources as Supports for Challenging Behaviours 48 Table 9 A Sample ofBC Teacher Respondents' Views on Supports for Challenging Behaviours 50 Table 10 Types of Challenging Behaviours Qualitatively Reported by a Sample of BC Teachers 53 viii Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Andrew Kitchenham, for his guidance, patience, time, and support throughout this journey. His extensive knowledge of topics in education, graduate studies, and his willingness to explore the issue of challenging behaviours in classrooms with me is most appreciated. I would also like to express my gratitude to my committee members, Mrs. Becky Blair and Dr. Linda O'Neill, for their insights, support, and unwavering dedication to the educational community. I would like to thank my husband Michael, baby boy Kai, and the rest of my family for being so understanding and a wonderful encouragement while I spent many hours away working on my program. Your support was essential to my success and this accomplishment is as much yours as it is mine. I would also like to thank my Creston crew, Tina Harms and Carolyn Ziefflie, who made this journey a shared experience never to forget. You answered my many questions, proofread my papers, and were the encouraging, motivating, and driving forces to keep on go mg. Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank all the teachers in BC who participated in my study and who advocate and work tirelessly for students to ensure they are provided with the best learning opportunities possible. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Challenging behaviours are a significant problem in today's classrooms, considerably impacting students and teachers in their working and learning environment (Ford, 2007; Westling, 201 0). The issue of challenging behaviours is unique in that these behaviours significantly disrupt the learning of other students, the student displaying the behaviour, and the teacher' s ability to teach (Ford, 2007). In addition, challenging behaviours increase the stress of both students and teachers alike (Ford, 2007; Westling, 2010). As a result, challenging behaviours impact adversely everyone invested in the learning process and the learning process itself. In the following sections of this introductory chapter, I will present the unique characteristics of challenging behaviours and how they affect students and teachers, the significance of the project, the background behind the project, my personal location, the purpose of this study, my guiding research question, and a summary followed by an outline of what to expect in the subsequent chapters. Challenging behaviours presented in classrooms today possess many unique characteristics. In addition, there is a wide range of challenging behaviours that may be exhibited by students which makes dealing with these behaviours more difficult. These behaviours include but are not limited to : non-compliance/defiance, disrespect, aggression, self-injury, destruction, general disruption, effort, stereotypy, and damaging property behaviours (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008; Westling, 2010). In addition, often these behaviours are chronically persistent and are exhibited in many students (Hastings & Bham, 2003). In addition, challenging behaviours presented today are unique to the distinctive culture of the school and the culture of the current student generation (Friedman, 1995). 2 Students with challenging behaviours often struggle with low academic achievement and tend to have poor social skills (Dunlap et al., 2006; Whitted, 2011). Challenging behaviours may be present in children diagnosed with exceptionalities such as children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Moeller et al. , 2001), autism spectrum disorder (Ames & White, 2011 ), and learning disabilities (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) to name a few . However, students with challenging behaviours often do not have a designation or condition associated with the behaviours (Ford, 2007; Naylor & White, 2010; Westling, 2010). As a result, many British Columbia (BC) students with challenging behaviours do not get the additional support they require to be successful in school as they are not recognized by the British Columbia Ministry of Education as having significant needs (Naylor & White, 2010). Consequently, classroom teachers are left trying to meet a wide range of behavioural, academic, social, and emotional needs without the needed supports. Often, the training and general classroom management strategies teachers have and apply to support the intensive nature of these challenging behaviours have minimal effect and little improvement is made to remedy the conditions in the classroom (Friedman, 1995; Gebbie, Ceglowski, Taylor, & Miels, 2012; Smart & lgo, 2010; Westling, 2010). The intense, chronic, and disruptive nature of challenging behaviours leaves teachers feeling frustrated (Abidin & Robinson, 2002; Ford, 2007; Naylor & White, 2010; Westling, 2010). Despite existing training, resources, and supports, many classroom teachers are at a loss of what to do to manage and improve the individualized challenging behaviour while minimizing the adverse impacts on the academic, social, and emotional well-being of all students (Ford, 2007; Gebbie et al. , 2012; Westling, 2010). As challenging behaviours continue to disrupt significantly the learning of the students and cause stress and frustration for teachers, more information is needed to find an effective solution for these ongoing behaviour issues. 3 Significance Today, in BC, teachers face complex and demanding classrooms. As classrooms move towards an inclusive model in which all students with and without exceptionalities are in the same classroom (BC Ministry of Education, 2006), teachers must meet an increased array of diverse needs including the individualized needs of students with exceptionalities and large ranges in student academic, social, emotional, and behavioural needs (Morrissey, Bohanon & Fenning, 201 0; Naylor & White, 201 0). Further exacerbating pressure on teachers are structural externalities such as increasingly-large class sizes, complex classroom compositions, fewer specialist teachers, limited resources and supports, high accountability standards for both teachers and students, and added programming initiatives without increased instructional time (Naylor & White, 2010). Although teachers may generally feel confident in curriculum instruction and enjoy working with students, the heavy demands of teaching with minimal time and expertise for managing challenging behaviours leave teachers feeling frustrated as they are unable to effectively support the individualized needs of students with challenging behaviours as well as the needs of all other students (Ford, 2007; Westling, 2010). My results also indicated teachers were frustrated with the time constraints they experienced when trying to deal with challenging behaviours and numerous job demands. The consequences of insufficiently supporting teachers in relation to challenging behaviours may result in decreased mental well-being, low job satisfaction, and the loss of good teachers due to burnout (Friedman, 2000; Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008; McKinney, Campbell-Whately, & Kea, 2005; Naylor & White, 2010). The effects of challenging behaviours on students include constant interruptions to concentration and interference with available teacher, work, and learning time (MacSuga & Simonsen, 2011 ; Westling, 201 0). Challenging behaviours take up precious instructional 4 time, intenupt student learning, reduce teacher time for individual student attention, and cause stressful and frustrating situations resulting in negative emotions and their own individual needs not being met (Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008; MacSuga & Simonsen, 2011; Naylor & White, 2010; Tillery, Varjas, Meyers, & Collins, 2010; Westling, 2010). The teachers surveyed in my study also confirmed these findings and voiced similar concerns regarding the negative impacts of challenging behaviours. Students displaying the challenging behaviours require specific behavioural, academic, social, and emotional support in order to be successful (Morrissey, Bohanon & Penning, 2010; Naylor & White, 2010). For all students, the consequences of ongoing challenging behaviours in the classroom may result in lower academic achievement due to a disruptive learning environment, poor social relationships, and an increased risk to safety due to certain types of challenging behaviours. As the problem of challenging behaviours seems to be ongoing and supported insufficiently as indicated by the aforementioned professional literature and my study, the overall success of students across the BC school system may be at risk for sub-optimal performance. Despite having been through teacher education programs (Smart & Igo, 201 0), having numerous available written resources and on how to deal with behaviours in the classroom, knowledge of general classroom management strategies (Smart & Igo, 2010), and current existing supports (Ford, 2007), teachers still report challenging behaviours continue to be a significant problem (Naylor & White, 2010). Classrooms with challenging behaviours can only be successful if students with behavioural challenges are supported properly. In tum, teachers need to be sufficiently supported to effectively assist students with challenging behaviours. As the provincial government continues to invest in student learning programming initiatives for student success (BC Ministry of Education, 2011, 2012), it seems 5 more support should be provided to address the challenges associated with challenging behaviours. My project researched the importance of supporting behavioural issues in BC classrooms and sought to provide direction in terms of identifying the most common challenging behaviours teachers face and the specific current needs. Recommendations were made in terms of specific support needs for improvements in preparation/training, resources, and supports. Although Naylor and White (2010) had already established challenging behaviours as a significant cause of stress to teachers in BC, I felt it was necessary based on my search of the professional literature, to provide an in-depth holistic study of this exploratory nature focussing on identifying the specific needs of effectively managing challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. The information I gathered from this study should be used to help the governing educational agencies ascertain the specific behavioural support needs for improving the overall working and learning conditions in BC classrooms. Background for the Project Originally, my intention for this project was to create a meaningful and useful tool for my own practice as a classroom teacher as well as to bring attention to a significant aspect of Special Education about which I felt passionate. Challenging behaviours were a part of my Special Education and general classroom work that took immense energy, required the upmost professionalism, impacted my emotions, and greatly influenced not only my classroom climate but also the overall school environment. Managing, improving, and remediating challenging behaviours were areas in which I did not feel confident despite having been through a professional teacher education program relatively recently (within the past six years) and having knowledge of general classroom management strategies. From my informal observations, I noticed more experienced colleagues also struggled with how to 6 handle challenging behaviours and, as a result, I felt I should focus on challenging behaviours as the topic of my project. As part of my work as a school teacher, I engage in professional conversations with colleagues about the challenges teachers face in today' s classrooms. The purpose of these conversations is to share, collaborate, and determine effective practices for the particular challenges being discussed. I surveyed informally 10 teachers for the purpose of my project proposal and asked the teachers to share what they felt were the current challenges in today's current classrooms. From the teachers I surveyed in my school district, it became clear that behavioural challenges were among the top issues. When teachers were asked to explain or give examples of problematic behaviours, it became apparent that whether the child had a designation or not, the behaviours mentioned posed a significant level of disruption as well as a persistent nature associated with it. The teachers with whom I spoke reported busy classrooms, diverse individualized needs, curricular pressures, limited behaviour-specific training, time constraints, and a lack of expertise/knowledge as reasons why challenging behaviours affected their abilities to support effectively students with challenging behaviours. Initially, I wanted to create a handbook that would be a practical resource teachers could easily use to apply workable strategies to support students with challenging behaviours. However, my research uncovered that there were already resources similar to the one I was attempting to make. Many of these resources were of high quality (e.g. , Caselman & Cantwell, 2011 ; Dunlap, Iovannone, Kincaid, Wilson, Christiansen, Strain, & English, 2010; Rhode, Jenson, & Reavis, 1992; Rief, 2005). I started reflecting on my handbook project idea and asked myself questions (e.g., If many good resources and supports already exist, why aren't teachers using the resources and supports 7 out there? To what extent are the resources and supports available? What barriers limit the uses of the resources and supports?). Taking into consideration my personal experiences, the information provided from the teachers, and my research indicating a survey of resources and supports already existed on challenging behaviours, I decided to explore the perceived needs of teachers in BC, particularly with reference to preparation, resources, and supports for managing effectively challenging behaviours. As our education system is specific to our province, I felt this study should focus on the current behavioural needs in BC classrooms, factors affecting professional support and resource use in BC, and on recommendations for future supports for challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. Personal Location I am a Grade 4 teacher at a K-7 elementary school in a small rural town in BC. The school I teach at is the largest elementary school in the area, and there is one secondary school in the town and two other smaller elementary schools in nearby communities. Our school goal is to develop positive growth mindsets in all students in order to improve independence. Our staff decided on that goal as we found many of our students required a great amount of social, emotional, and behavioural support on top of the academic support we provided them. This goal and the conversations around the development of this goal helped in determining the topic of my project, challenging behaviours. The 2012-2013 school year is my fifth year at this current school. My past teaching experiences include teaching music and art at the elementary level, being a teacher on call at both secondary and elementary schools, and being a learning support and special education teacher. At the school where I taught and in my past teaching experiences, I had not only 8 taught in large and diverse classrooms, but I also worked with many students, both designated and non-designated, who had a range and multitude of challenging behaviours. My situation was not unusual as many teachers throughout my school and the surrounding schools also encountered many students with challenging and complex behaviours. Teachers and myself were feeling overwhelmed when faced with challenging behaviours and although school based team meetings were held, parents were met with, and behaviour plans with research based strategies were employed, these situations did not seem to improve. Despite living in a small rural town with limited resources, there were many supports that were potentially available to help my colleagues and I deal with challenging behaviours such as visits from district behaviour specialists, learning support and special education teachers, social workers, child care and youth workers. However, access to these resources was often limited and therefore ineffective in supporting teachers with challenging behaviours. Through my research, I sought to determine the specific professional support needs teachers required to effectively manage challenging behaviours. By surveying teachers on the specific types of challenging behaviours they encountered, the frequency in which the behaviours were exhibited, and the impacts of challenging behaviours, I aimed to highlight the severity and complexity of this problem. In addition, I also surveyed teachers on their current training, resources, and supports in order to determine the specific support needs they found useful or lacked in order to provide helpful recommendations to improve the issue of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. 9 Purpose of the Study The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the specific professional support needs of BC teachers in relation to the effective management of challenging behaviours in a sampling of BC classrooms. The sample of BC teachers included in this study were all public school teachers and therefore, from this point forward, all references to BC teachers and the education system is within the context of the public school system. The information I gathered from this project should be used to elicit specific recommendations for the appropriate avenues to address and support challenging behaviours in BC classrooms to improve the overall learning environment. Teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, governing educational bodies and policy makers, BC teacher education programs, resource providers, and educational researchers may fmd my results useful for the purpose of effective future planning and research in the area of challenging behaviours. Research Questions Prior to my study, four key pieces of information regarding challenging behaviours were pre-established: (a) challenging behaviors are the leading source of stress for BC teachers (Naylor & White, 2010), (b) challenging behaviours affect negatively the learning environment (Ford, 2007; Westling, 2010), (c) teacher have had training opportunities where preparation for challenging behaviours took place (Smart & Igo, 2010, Westling, 2010), and (d) there are many effective behaviour resources available (Caselman & Cantwell, 2011; Dunlap et al., 2010; Gresham, Watson, & Skinner, 2001 ; Morrissey, Bonanon, Penning; 2010; Rhode, Jenson, & Reavis, 1992; Rief, 2005). Taking that information into consideration, I formed the central research question for this project: What are the specific professional support needs of teachers in relation to the effective management of challenging behaviours in a sampling of BC classrooms? 10 Conclusion In my present study, I examined the issue of challenging behaviours from a sample of BC teachers in a southeastern region of BC. In this study, I sought to learn the specific professional support needs teachers required to effectively manage and thus improve the issue of challenging behaviours. Through an on-line survey over a three-week period, I gathered both the qualitative and quantitative feedback of teachers (n=97) ranging in experience, education, and area of expertise from three different school districts. I focussed my research on five main areas: (a) the types and frequency of challenging behaviours presented currently in BC classrooms, (b) the impacts challenging behaviours were having on students and teachers, (c) the amount and type of training teachers had received to prepare them for dealing with challenging behaviours, (d) the current effectiveness of the strategies and supports they were using and receiving, and (e) the perceived specific support needs BC teachers felt would significantly help them effectively manage challenging behaviours in order to provide specific recommendations. Despite only surveying a sample ofBC teachers, my intention was to bring much-needed attention to the issue of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms and generate recommendations to improve this this large, complex, and seemingly ignored problem which was having serious negative impacts on BC students and teachers. Outline of the Project After having introduced my project topic, its significance, background, personal location, purpose, research question, and main focus areas in this chapter, I will present five more chapters on the process, findings, recommendations, and conclusions of my project. In Chapter 2, I provide insight on the issue of challenging behaviours in classrooms using the pre-established literature. I will also exemplify the limitations in the existing literature and 11 explain how the information is extended in this current study. In Chapter 3, I provide the research methodologies and designs employed as well as the operational definitions and methods of data analysis used for the purposes of this project. In Chapter 4, I analyze both the quantitative and qualitative results and provide tables and quotes to strengthen the results. In Chapter 5, I interpret the fmdings and discuss five main issues gathered from the results. Finally, in Chapter 6, I provide recommendations, acknowledge limitations, and offer my personal response on the issue of challenging behaviours in classrooms. In addition, I provide a list of references and a sample of the participant letter and survey questionnaire in Appendices A and B. 12 Chapter 2: Literature Review In Chapter 1, I introduced the significance, background, and location of my project followed by the purpose of my study, my guiding research question, and the main points I intended to focus my research on for the topic of specific professional support needs for BC teachers to effectively manage challenging behaviours. In this chapter, I will provide a more in-depth review of the professional literature on challenging behaviours and the support needs of teachers as the topic of challenging behaviours in the classroom has been well researched (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Morrissey, Bohanonn, & Fenning, 2010; Smart & Igo, 2010; Westling, 2010). In the first section of the literature review, I will discuss the impacts of challenging behaviours on students and teachers. In the second section, I will review and synthesize the information from key studies on challenging behaviours in classrooms from around the world. Views, approaches, and responses towards challenging behaviours differ according to unique geographical areas and cultures (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Westling, 2010), level of behavioural expertise (Naylor & White, 2010; Smart & Igo, 2010), and varying educational systems ' needs and supports (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Naylor & White, 2010; Westling, 2010) and should therefore be explored. I will then focus on examining the limited literature specific to challenging behaviours in BC classrooms in order to establish the need for my present study which is specific to the professional supports needs of BC teachers dealing with challenging behaviours. Finally, I will close the literature review section with a discussion regarding the lack of common language and definitions associated with challenging behaviours and how that impacts progress and research in the area of challenging behaviours in classrooms. The purpose of the literature review is to determine the ongoing issues, 13 effective practices, and recommendations already established for challenging behaviours and extend that knowledge to present-day BC classrooms. The Impact of Challenging Behaviours Challenging behaviours in the classroom impact two main groups of people: the students displaying the challenging behaviours along with their classmates, and the classroom teacher, particularly novice teachers. Students displaying challenging behaviours often encounter educational and social problems (Dunlap et al. , 2006; Whitted, 2011). In addition, the learning of classmates is negatively impacted by ongoing disruptions (Westling, 2010) . The extent to which teachers feel exasperated and frustrated by the ongoing interference caused by challenging behaviours is extensive, often resulting in costs to their emotional and physical well-being (Friedman, 1995; Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008; Naylor & White, 2010; Smart & Igo, 2010). The following section will discuss the impacts of challenging behaviours and the effect of those behaviours on individuals involved in the classroom. Impact on students. Students who display challenging behaviours are at a greater risk for academic failure, dropping out of school, becoming socially isolated, and becoming involved in delinquent activities (Dunlap et al., 2006; Whitted, 2011). Of particular concern are children with exceptionalities who have a higher rate of behavioural problems when compared to typically-developing peers (Hemmeter, Ostrosky, & Fox, 2006). In addition to the risks students with challenging behaviours present to themselves, the learning of the peers in the classroom is adversely affected by challenging behaviours as well. Westling (20 10) found ongoing interruption, interference, and disruption during lessons negatively impacted the learning of the other students in the classroom. In addition, 14 students had less individual time with a teacher as that teacher dealt with challenging behaviours (MacSuga & Simonsen, 2011; Naylor & White, 201 0). Impact on teachers. Effective teaching is instrumental for student learning. Teachers enjoy and relish in being a positive influence on student lives through education (Naylor & White, 2010). However, many teachers' ability to effectively meet student needs is limited by students with challenging behaviours, leaving teachers feeling highly dissatisfied in their teaching profession (Friedman, 1995; Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008; Naylor & White, 2010; Smart & lgo, 2010). Landers, Alter, and Servilio (2008) surveyed 540 Kindergarten to Grade 12 teachers from 35 different schools in two northeastern United States public school districts using a convenience sample. The purpose of the study was to investigate teacher job satisfaction in relation to specific categories of challenging behaviours to guide professional development efforts. Teachers were surveyed on two aspects: ( 1) job satisfaction, and (2) the top five behaviours they found most challenging. Landers, Alter, and Servilio conducted a factor analysis on 12-likert scale questions related to job satisfaction. For the behaviours teachers found most challenging, the open responses were categorized into the five most common sub-groups using a two-step process: (a) creating subcategories using common definitions and examples, and (b) developing criteria for each of the top five categories to have a minimum of 100 responses. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) measured the relationship between the five sub-groups ofbehaviours and teachers' job satisfaction and it was determined the behaviour category of disrespect to adults greatly reduced teacher job satisfaction, particularly at the high-school level. The level of job satisfaction was in direct relation to the level of emotional attack a teacher received or perceived to receive. The authors suggested that relationship building and direct instruction in respect were the most 15 important strategies to prevent disrespect between students and teachers. However, the researchers also acknowledged teachers faced extremely restrictive time constraints from heavy workloads to deal with challenging behaviours. The results indicated challenging behaviours, particularly disrespect, negatively impacts teacher job satisfaction. Qualitative comments determining how challenging behaviours impact job satisfaction and the extent to which job satisfaction was affected were not employed by the authors but were used in my present study to strengthen understanding of the impact of challenging behaviours on teachers. Challenging behaviours take up a significant amount of a teacher' s time and effort during the school day and minimizes the time a teacher has to offer to the rest of the class (MacSuga & Simonsen, 2011 ; Naylor & White, 2010). As a result of the intense, persistent, and severe nature of challenging behaviours, teachers report high levels of stress, emotional distress, anger, attrition, bum-out, and a feeling of loss in what to do to manage and improve these behaviours (Friedman, 1995; Friedman, 2000; Hastings & Bham, 2003 ; Landers, Alter, Servilio, 2008; Naylor & White, 2010; Westling, 2010). As a result of the aforementioned effects of challenging behaviours, many teachers struggle daily with challenging behaviours while other teachers leave the teaching profession altogether (McKinney, Campbell-Whately, & Kea, 2005). In their grounded theory design study, Smart and Igo (2010) conducted semi- structured interviews to provide an in-depth look into the struggles new teachers face when dealing with behaviours in the classroom. Specifically, Smart and Igo sought to find out what specific strategies first-year teachers used for challenging behaviours and the perceptions of the effectiveness of those strategies. Nineteen initial interviews and five 16 follow-up interviews took place with first-year teachers in two southeastern United States public school districts. Analyzing the information gathered from the interviews using open coding lead to emergent themes and categories being determined. Theoretical saturation was established when no new themes emerged and key concepts with each interviewee had been addressed. The results indicated many new teachers who had limited special education training felt unprepared to meet the diverse social, emotional, and behavioural needs in an inclusive classroom. New teachers tried a variety of behaviour management strategies. Some teachers relied on their past experiences during pre-service training as well as relying upon their mentors as sources of information. Teachers also reported using trial and error and/or making up their own strategies for behaviour management. Other teachers admitted they would try anything out of desperation and often did not have any source of behaviour management training or experience to rely upon. Teachers new to the profession also reported asking for support from administration in dealing with behaviour management strategies, but only some teachers reported administration as helpful. Finally, teachers tried ignoring the problem behaviours as a method of behaviour management but found this method to be ineffective and more of a coping strategy than a way of dealing with behaviours. The information above indicates many new teachers feel unprepared and are overwhelmed by the demands of dealing with challenging behaviours as a part of teaching. The findings by Smart and Igo (2010) are supported by other studies which argue few teacher education programs provide adequate training in behaviour management (Westling, 2010) and a lack of training leaves novice teachers feeling unprepared, intimidated, and stressed by classroom behaviour issues (Liu & Meyer, 2005). The aforementioned studies suggest there is a need for better training, more available and effective resources, supports, and on-going education for new teachers to develop a wide-range of effective strategies to 17 deal with challenging behaviours. Without these behavioural supports, the educational system risks losing many new teachers. Teacher Needs for Challenging Behaviour: Perceptions from Around the World Studies on challenging behaviours have been well documented around the world (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Westling, 2010). The literature highlights the need for current and updated challenging behavioural knowledge, training, and supports, as cultures and behavioural challenges change and evolve globally. Whereas my present study focussed on the behavioural challenges Canadian teachers face, particularly BC teachers, the following studies focus on challenging behaviours in the United States of America, Australia, and Israel. Challenging behaviours in American classrooms. Westling (20 10) explored teachers' knowledge, views, and practices in relation to challenging behaviours. A convenience sample was used to survey 38 special education teachers and 32 general education teachers in one southeastern state in the United States. Teachers were surveyed on seven different aspects of challenging behaviours in relation to their jobs using Likert-type rating questions. These topics included: (1) the cause and potential for improving challenging behaviour, (2) perceived adequacy of pre-service, (3) in-service preparation, (4) confidence for working with challenging behaviour, (5) strategies used to improve challenging behaviour, ( 6) support and collaboration available, and (7) effects on teachers and students. In addition, teachers were asked to fill in blank spaces in order to describe the number of students with a disability, the number of students with a disability displaying challenging behaviours, and the overall number of students in the class exhibiting a category of challenging behaviour. After gathering and inputting the data into an Excel spreadsheet, the data was uploaded to SAS version 8.2 for analyses. For the purposes of descriptive data reporting, responses on Likert-type scaled questions in certain sections were combined so 18 that I strongly agree and I agree were one category as well as I disagree and I strongly disagree. As well, other sections using often and very often were combined as well as rarely and never. Participant scores were summed in sections of the survey and correlational and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Reliability measures were ensured using testretest and Cronbach's alpha measures. All reliability levels were acceptable with a score of greater than 0.7, except for the following items: (a) behaviour is learned, (b) social withdrawal, and (c) stereotyped behaviour. Validity of the questionnaire was confirmed when 14 nationally recognized experts in Applied Behaviour Analysis and Positive Behaviour Supports approved the content in the questionnaire. Through his content analysis, Westling (20 10) examined differences in general education teachers ' and special educators ' perceptions, views, and knowledge in relation to challenging behaviours. The three most commonly encountered challenging behaviours reported by both groups of teachers included defiance and non-compliance, disruption, and socially inappropriate behaviour. Special education teachers viewed students with emotional disturbances/behaviour disorders as the most challenging category of students with problematic behaviours whereas general education teachers viewed students with no identified disabilities as the most challenging group of students with behavioural challenges. Both groups identified students with ADHD and learning disabilities as significantly challenging. Few teachers from both groups felt that their pre-service and in-service preparation to deal with challenging behaviours was adequate or extensive enough which positively and significantly correlated with their level of confidence to deal with challenging behaviours (Westling, 2010). In addition, very few of the participants used any of the common 19 behavioural strategies provided often or very often and frequently relied on experience as the main strategy for dealing with challenging behaviours (20 10). Nearly half of the teachers reported feeling unsupported in relation to challenging behaviours (Westling, 201 0). This lack of support contributed to the teachers' feelings of low confidence in relation to challenging behaviours. Sources of support included collaboration with other teachers, building administrators, district administrators, behavioural specialists, community professionals, as well as parents and families (2010). General education teachers did not identify any of the listed potential sources of support as available often or very often. The highest sources of support for special education teachers were other teachers through collaboration and building administrators (2010). Both teacher groups reported strong adverse effects from dealing with challenging behaviours including behaviours taking up a large amount of time, negatively impacting teacher effectiveness, and impeding student learning (Westling, 201 0). Interestingly, 44% of general education teachers reported challenging behaviours made them think about quitting while 11% of special education teachers reported thinking about leaving the profession (20 10). Overall, it was found special educators felt less of an adverse effect from challenging behaviours relative to general education teachers (2010). Despite the negative impact of challenging behaviours, almost 100% of the surveyed teachers believed behaviours were learned and could be improved with proper support (20 10). Westling's (2010) examination of teachers' views in relation to challenging behaviours highlight the following important points with regards to the impact of challenging behaviours on teachers. First, challenging behaviours are prominent and have adverse effects on special educators, general classroom teachers, and students. Despite the negative impacts, teachers believe behaviours can improve. Secondly, teachers perceive challenging behaviour 20 preparation via pre-service and in-service training inadequate which correlates to low strategy use and confidence in relation to challenging behaviours. Finally, teachers reported feeling insufficiently supported in relation to challenging behaviours encountered at schools, also correlating to low confidence in relation to managing challenging behaviours. The implications from Westling' s findings indicate more effective training and support is needed to improve student learning and teacher well-being. Without these improvements, the education system risks ongoing behavioural issues and the adverse side-effects of decreased academic achievement and potential loss of good teachers. Despite a holistic approach to determining the impact of challenging behaviours in the classroom, there were some limitations to Westling' s (20 10) study including: (a) a relatively small non-random sample population, (b) a relatively small geographic location limiting the application of the findings to the broader American population, (c) not including printed resources as a support, (d) limited use of descriptive feedback to strengthen participant responses, (e) not distinguishing between professional development and in-service training, (f) absence of the frequency or level of intensity in which the behaviours were exhibited, (g) minimal discussion on the impact of the behaviours on student learning, (h) minimal emphasis on the current demands on teachers, and (i) the use of the postal system for delivery and response. Challenging behaviours in Australian classrooms. Similar to Westling' s (2010) findings , Ford (2007) examined the perceptions of97 Australian teachers with regards to challenging behaviours through the use of a questionnaire method. The purpose of the questionnaire was to explore a variety of factors related to supporting students with disabilities and challenging behaviours. Ford's (2007) study distinctly differs from Westling ' s (2007) study in that Ford (2007) surveyed only special education teachers and 21 their perceptions were with regards to only designated students. However, all of the designated students were in mainstream educational settings. The questionnaire consisted of22 closed-ended questions including Likert-type scale questions, multiple choice questions, and factual response information. Closed-ended questions were coded and quantitative data analysis was conducted using SPSS-X (2007). Five open-ended questions were qualitatively analysed using content analysis to summarise the descriptive responses. Descriptive feedback was provided and included both quantitative (e.g., percentages, proportions, and total numbers) and qualitative reporting (e.g., quotations from the participants). Ford (2007) discovered almost one-quarter of all students in the Australian schools surveyed were identified as students with challenging behaviours and most of those students displayed more than one severe behaviour at a time. From a list of 40 challenging behaviours, teachers identified the five most difficult behaviours they encountered as hitting, abusive language, screaming and yelling, destroying things, and pushing. A strong majority of teachers did not perceive their pre-service programs adequately prepared them to work with challenging behaviours (Ford, 2007). Alarmingly, most of the teachers who perceived their pre-service program as inadequate reported the programs did not prepare them at all. Teachers described the training as too theoretical, not realistic to classroom realities, too brief, lacking depth, and not addressing how to manage a teachers' emotional stress when working with challenging behaviours. Approximately 33% of all the teachers surveyed reported partaking in some kind of professional development activity around challenging behaviours during the past two years (Ford, 2007). While one-third of those teachers found the professional development improved their awareness and strategies, the other two-thirds majority stated unfavourable 22 perceptions of the professional development including a dissatisfaction with the lack of ongoing support or feedback, lack of regard to what is realistic given the current time and resource constraints, a focus on one-on-one student interactions instead of managing the systems such as curriculum and policies, and a shortage of school-specific applications. Most teachers reported they received extra assistance for students with significant behavioural needs but 78% of those teachers did not believe the supports were effective in meeting the needs of the students (Ford, 2007). Teachers reported support was mostly on a short-term basis, difficult to acquire, reactive, unreliable, and emotionally unsettling as support came on what was perceived as a lottery or emergency crisis basis. The most common type of extra-assistance was additional teacher-assistant (TA) time. While many teachers appreciated they help of a TA, other teachers expressed concerns including a TA' s lack of expertise, training, and the issue ofTAs requiring supervision. Overwhelmingly, the common recommendation among teachers surveyed was the need for more adequate preparation and support for challenging behaviours. Teachers particularly targeted professional development as a means in which ongoing education should be provided in a relevant manner specific and unique to the local school needs. Teachers expressed training should be sensitive to the individual culture of the school and specific to the individual students. Another theme that emerged from the recommendations was the need for more collaborative planning time with colleagues and parents. Teachers reported feeling "starved" (Ford, 2007, p.119) for collaboration time and needing more opportunity to share with experts, families, support staff, and teachers, to develop successful plans while sharing the responsibility of the designated student's needs. Challenging behaviours in Israeli classrooms. In his well-cited article (Hastings & Bham, 2003 ; Landers, Alter, Servilio, 2008; Smart & lgo, 2010), Friedman (1995) reported 23 on two studies which examined: (1) how student behaviours contribute to teacher burnout, and (2) the differences between male and female teachers and their behaviour management ideologies. Friedman's studies differ from other studies as he explores not only the perceptions of teachers in both elementary and high school settings but also examines differences between religious and public schools and gender differences with regards to challenging behaviours teacher face and teacher burnout. In his first study, Friedman (1995) surveyed teachers from 12 primary schools using random stratified single-stage cluster sampling. Of the respondents, 342 teachers were women and six teachers were men; 227 teachers were from public schools and 67 teachers were from religious schools while four teachers did not indicate their school's affiliation. The sample population was noted as satisfactorily representing the Israeli teacher population at large. The teacher survey included three sections on demographics, perceived level of burnout, and frequency of student behaviours in the classroom. A multiple regression analysis was conducted on the three dependent variables: disrespect, sociability, and attentiveness. Results from the analysis indicated that all three significantly affected teacher burnout, with disrespect having the greatest effect and sociability having the least effect. Friedman (1995) also surveyed 10 sixth-grade student classes in his first study using a stratified random single-stage cluster sampling. Eight classes were from public schools while the remaining two classes were from religious schools. The content of the student survey included asking students about what teachers do to make them feel good, what teachers do to annoy students, and behaviours of students to disturb or irritate teachers. Content analysis of the student responses was conducted independently by three researchers. A chi-square test of association indicated there were no significant differences between public school students and religious school students. 24 Results from Friedman's ( 1995) first study identified students' lack of respect for both teachers and peers was reported as the highest contributor to teacher burnout in general. This finding is supported by student comments including, "not doing what the teacher asks" and "intentionally disobeying the teacher." Teachers in a more conservative culture such as religious schools were more affected by student behaviour than teachers in a more liberal setting such as public schools. Although Friedman's (1995) results identified key behavioural factors affecting teacher burnout, he felt it was necessary to determine how differing behaviour management ideologies affected burnout as well. In his second study, Friedman surveyed 151 elementary teachers and 240 high school teachers. The sample of teachers included 108 male teachers and 276 female teachers. The questionnaire comprised of three sections including topics on: teacher burnout, student behaviour patterns, and student management ideologies. Questions with regards to student management ideology were provided using a Likert-like response format for the participants. Reponses were coded in such a manner that high scores indicated a more custodial and highly controlled approach while low scores indicated a more humanistic and democratic approach. In addition to the ideology survey, Friedman asked teachers to fill out another questionnaire identifying the frequency to which they were being exposed to challenging behaviours. Using a multivariate analysis of variance (AMANOVA) of the three dependent variables (disrespect, sociability, and attentiveness) and the independent variables gender and behaviour ideology, the results indicated teachers with differing ideologies towards methods of student control encountered a similar frequency of challenging student behaviours. Using separate regression analyses, Friedman determined male teachers experienced disrespect less frequently than female teachers. Male teacher's 25 burnout was significantly affected by student attentiveness while female teacher burnout was significantly affected by disrespect. Friedman' s report (1995) indicates challenging behaviours are presented worldwide and both teachers and students are keenly aware of the negative impacts of challenging behaviours. Furthermore, effective management and perceptions of challenging behaviours is culture and context specific. Disrespect towards teachers and among students, significantly affected teacher burnout and education policy makers should acknowledge and appropriately address challenging behaviours to remediate this significant problem. Limitations in this study (Friedman, 1995) include its applications to a distinct culture of education and school system different than the Canadian system. In addition, Friedman frequently cited his own previous studies in this particular study and therefore may have been biased in his supporting literature. Finally, although this study was stated to be the first study of its kind focussing on teacher burnout rather than teacher stress due to challenging behaviours, individuals may view the content as being outdated. However, the date of Friedman' s 1995 study indicates behavioural challenges in classrooms remains an on-going and unresolved problem which needs to be appropriately addressed. Challenging behaviours in the classroom appear globally (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Westling, 2010). Teacher perceptions of the most challenging types ofbehaviour are specific to differing geographical areas and cultural views. However, common to all the teachers surveyed around the world was the notion that teachers needed better professional support in relation to challenging behaviours in order to effectively manage behaviours. Challenging Behaviours in BC Classrooms Although the BC government boasts the province offers world-class education as well as teachers and institutions that rank among the best in the world (Province of British 26 Columbia, 2013), there appear to be insufficiently addressed challenges which are hampering the current education system in BC. In 2009, Naylor and White (2010) conducted a survey on a random sample of public school teachers to examine the working lives of BC teachers. The questionnaire consisted mostly of closed-ended questions and was provided on-line and distributed by e-mail. Naylor and White investigated the impacts of the current working and learning conditions BC teachers faced in six different areas including: new teachers, gender differences, professional development, job satisfaction and stress, workload and stress, and work/life balance. Teachers from 54 of the 60 BC school districts responded and a 95% confidence interval for the purposes of random sampling was acquired. For the purposes of my present study, the relevant information from Naylor and White (2010) included teachers reporting challenging behaviours as one of the top stressors out of a possible 4 7 sources of stress. In addition, Naylor and White found not one, but a combination of factors that cause stress for teachers including the combination of limited time and multi-tasking, complex classrooms, lack of support for challenging behaviours, and stressful professional relationships. Adding to the problem of challenging behaviours were teacher reports of an increased workload, decreased overall number of teachers, increased class size, reduced special education teachers and support for behavioural issues, minimal funding for professional development, and specific needs for both female and new teachers. Teachers expressed challenging behaviours as a main reason of low job satisfaction. However, teachers also indicated a love for teaching and felt strong satisfaction when they saw themselves as influential in a child's learning and development. The information gathered by Naylor and White (20 10) indicated teachers in BC teachers are highly stressed by challenging behaviours in classrooms and do not feel they are adequately supported. While Naylor and White holistically explored a wide range of factors 27 affecting working and learning conditions, I built on one aspect of their BC specific information and specifically explored in-depth the issue of challenging behaviours BC teachers currently face, including: (a) the specific types of behaviours BC teachers view as most problematic, (b) the number of students with challenging behaviours that have a designation or not, (c) specific information on the current professional support needs, and (d) specific recommendations on how to better support BC teachers in relation to challenging behaviours. Lacking a Standardized Definition Challenging behaviours are a significant issue that requires immediate and focussed attention from classroom teachers. As challenging behaviours are individualized and range in their form and intensity, supporting students with challenging behaviour is often a difficult task. One problem is the lack of a standardized definition for challenging behaviours (Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008). In some studies, the literature narrowed challenging behaviours down to five direct categories (Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008) while other studies identified up to 40 types of different challenging behaviours (Ford, 2007)). Types or categories of challenging behaviours such as aggressive, disruptive, disrespectful, noncompliant, and injurious behaviours to name a few , were gathered by a variety of ways including surveying peer-reviewed literature, identifying common themes from surveys, and using already formed categories from behaviour assessment checklists (Ford, 2007; Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008; Westling, 201 0). A lack of standardized categories highlights the wide spectrum of behaviours that teachers may encounter and reinforces the complexity of dealing with challenging behaviours as well as maintaining the need for more behavioural support and expertise. 28 Conclusion of the Literature Review The purpose of the literature review was to acknowledge the existing research in the area of challenging behaviours in classrooms. The literature reviewed confirmed challenging behaviours affect teacher well-being as well as student learning (Friedman, 1995, 2000; Ford, 2007; Naylor & White, 2010; Westling, 2010). As such, classroom behaviours are an issue that requires serious attention from governing educational bodies. New teachers are particularly at risk for bum-out (Smart & Igo, 2010) and teacher preparation programs need to take this information into consideration in their training programs. In BC, the literature indicates challenging behaviours are a leading cause of stress for teachers and more support is required to improve the issue of challenging behaviours to minimize interference to learning and teaching (Naylor & White, 2010). The information gathered from the literature review indicated and supported the need for my present study as what still remained unclear were the specific details surrounding challenging behaviours in BC classrooms and the specific professional support needed for effectively managing challenging behaviours. As such, I conducted a study on a sample of BC teachers that explored their perceptions of the specific support needs they required in relation to challenging behaviours and in the context of our current education system. The methods, results, interpretation and discussion of the findings, and final recommendations are provided in the following chapters. 29 Chapter 3: Research Methods Chapter 1 introduced the purpose and guiding research questions for my project as well as provided the significance, background, and personal location information for this present study. Chapter 2 presented the professional literature to provide support for the need to examine more closely the issue of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms and the support needs of BC teachers in relation to challenging behaviours. In this chapter, the research methods for my study will be presented and will include: the project design and methodologies, methods for data analysis, and outline of the survey. Finally a chapter summary will conclude this chapter. A sample of the introductory letter to participants and the survey has been included in Appendix A and B, respectively. Project Design and Methodologies Careful considerations were made in designing and choosing the methodologies for my study. I wanted to choose a method that would provide a strong and current account of teachers ' perspectives on the issue of challenging behaviours and the support needs they perceived as necessary to effectively manage challenging behaviours. I also wanted to conduct a survey that was convenient and accessible to all participants and one that protected their identity so that they would feel comfortable sharing their stories. The following section outlines the project and survey designs as well as the methods used to create and conduct my study. Mixed methods approach. I conducted a mixed-methods study to explore the professional needs ofBC teachers in relation to effectively meeting the needs of students with challenging behaviours. The study is considered mixed-methods as the survey I created was comprised of both closed- and open-ended questions which will allowed me to gather both quantitative and qualitative data from the participants. Using a mixed methods design 30 allowed me to not only gather the "numbers" related to my study but also the "stories" provided by teachers on the topic of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms and teachers ' support needs (Creswell, 2012). Specifically, I used a convergence mixed-methods design as I gathered the qualitative and quantitative information simultaneously on the survey, analyzed the datasets independently, and then merged and interpreted the data to determine whether or not the independent datasets provided similar results. The closed-ended quantitative questions were Likert-style rating questions, ranking questions, questions asking for absolute numbers, and multiple choice formatted questions. The open-ended qualitative questions were open response questions where teachers were asked to extend or justify their responses or provide additional information, insights, or opinions in text boxes. Initially, my intentions were to conduct a quantitative study with only closed-ended Likert style questions on the survey, but I felt qualitative feedback in the form of teacher comments would strengthen the study by providing detailed explanations and accounts of their experiences with challenging behaviours. The choice to conduct a mixed-methods approach was threefold: (1) using a quantitative data-collection format such as Likert-style questions on my survey minimized the time teachers had to commit to completing the survey and provided useful quantitative data; (2) using qualitative comments allowed for more detailed explanations and descriptions of teachers' perceptions; and, (3) combining the quantitative and qualitative data together would strengthen the overall findings of my study. Survey design. The survey design was cross-sectional as it examined the current beliefs, views, and practices of BC teachers and the supports teachers perceived as needed in today's classrooms. The survey was created in the form of a web-based questionnaire supported by Fluid Surveys Canada in which I hold a personal account. I had access to the account information as did my supervisor by the use of a secure password. Fluid Surveys 31 Canada is a survey software provider that ensures the data collected from participants stays within Canada on their secure server. Choosing to use an on-line questionnaire to gather teachers ' perceptions and views was appropriate for my project as my personal location is relatively remote and the web-based survey provided me access to teachers from three different school districts and allowed for responses in a timely manner. In addition, teachers were able to login to the survey at their convenience and send the survey back to me at their convenience without having to access the postal system. Further, Fluid Surveys Canada provided basic statistical applications that were helpful for analyzing the results gathered from my research. Sampling design and methods. A purposeful convenience was used to explore BC teachers ' perceptions in relation to challenging behaviours. The sample population and geographical area included in this present study included Kindergarten to Grade 12 public school teachers from three school districts in southeastern BC. The school districts included: School District 5: Southeast Kootenay; School District 8: Kootenay Lake; and School District 20: Kootenay - Columbia. Teacher participants were solicited by way of British Columbia Teacher Federation (BCTF) local representative presidents sending an e-mail with the link for my on-line survey to their BCTF members and asking the teachers to voluntarily complete the survey. Choosing to use the BCTF as a mode in which to deliver and make contact with teachers was purposeful. I wanted to increase teacher participation from my sample population in order for my study to strongly reflect the voices of teachers and their perceived needs. However, I felt teachers might not respond to an e-mail from the school board or administrators as teachers may have perceived participation as extra-curricular or for the purpose of the government. Due to last school year's (2011-2012) job action, I theorized many teachers may partake in a self-selection bias and not participate in my study 32 if sent by the school board and thus, asked the BCTF local presidents if they would be willing to participate and help send the survey out to their members. Distributing the survey and maintaining participant security. Anonymity and confidentiality for all participants was assured to the best of my ability. Confidentiality was difficult to ensure due to the nature of the research being conducted mostly on-line using the web-based survey. My personal login passwords used to access my Fluid Surveys account were stored securely in my personal locking filing cabinet in my home office and any printed material with participants' personal information on it were also stored in the locking filing cabinet. Permission from each school district was acquired before contacting or distributing the survey to teacher participants. Initial contact was made with each of the three participating school districts in December 2012 and January 2013 and conditional approval to conduct my study in their school districts was conditionally granted by the superintendents. The conditions were dependent upon approval for my study from the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Research Ethics Board to ensure participant safety and ethical standards were upheld. The UNBC Research Ethics Board granted me approval to conduct my study in January 2013 and as such I contacted the superintendents with proof of the approval and asked for their confirmed and formal approval to conduct my study in their school district. The superintendents then responded again in that same month, January 2013 , with formal approval to conduct my survey with the teachers in their school district. Once approval had been given by the superintendents, I also contacted the local BCTF presidents seeking their permission and aid in contacting teachers within their respective locals to conduct my study. Three of the four local presidents responded in agreement and I was then able to send an introductory short email to them along with the link to my on-line survey for 33 the local presidents to send to their teacher members by late January 2013. One school district's policy for all surveys soliciting staff was that the survey be sent directly by the superintendent. In this particular school district, the survey was sent by the superintendent to the school administrators and then forwarded to teachers. A three-week and two-day time period between January and February 2013 was provided for the teachers to respond to the survey. To increase teacher participation in the study, a follow up email was sent at the twoweek mark to the BCTF local presidents and subsequently forwarded to the teachers reminding and encouraging their participation in this present study. I made it clear to the participants in an introductory letter (see Appendix A) that at any time the participants wished to remove themselves from the project, their request would be immediately acknowledged and their information would be removed from the study without penalty and destroyed. In addition, any information shared with my supervisor would be viewed electronically and would therefore also be deleted. Data Analysis Data gathered from participant responses on closed-ended questions from the survey were analyzed using quantitative descriptive statistics. Total number of responses and the related frequencies were used for determining the tendencies of the respondents. Statistical descriptors such as mean, median, or mode were used where these descriptors best reported the data. Where useful to the reader, the quantitative data was presented in a table format. Qualitative data from the open-ended questions on the survey was gathered and examined. Patterns were explored and the content was then coded and themed. Themes were identified by examining overlapping and frequently cited common words/phrases used by the respondents. The qualitative data was used to support the quantitative results as well as provide additional examples, explanations, and interpretations. Selected direct quotations 34 from the respondents were gathered for the purpose of strengthening the fmdings and discussion. The data gathered from this study were used to discuss the specific professional supports, resources, and training needed for BC teachers in order to effectively meet the needs of students with challenging behaviours. Outline of the Survey The survey was developed by integrating a review of pre-existing professional literature and surveys on challenging behaviours in the classroom, using the information gathered from discussions with colleagues on aspects of challenging behaviours they struggled with, and my own personal experiences. Combining these sources of information, I created a survey that explored BC teachers ' experiences with challenging behaviours in the classroom. Further, I developed the survey in such a way that it could be used as a tool to provide an opportunity for teachers to voice their perceptions of the supports needs they saw as necessary to improving the working and learning conditions in the classroom in relation to challenging behaviours. An introductory cover letter (see Appendix A) introducing myself as a fellow BC teacher, indicating the purpose of the study, the relevance and value of the participants and their views, assurances for confidentiality and anonymity, as well as the completion time required, was provided for all participants. At the end of the introductory letter and before a participant could begin the on-line survey, the participants were asked to select Yes or No in response to the question: "By completing the questionnaire you will be giving your consent for the information you share to be used in the study. Do you agree to the sharing of your information for the purposes of this study?" If the participants selected Yes, then consent by the respondents was acquired and participants were automatically advanced to the question section of the survey. 35 The questionnaire was comprised of both open- and closed-ended questions, representing a semi-closed-ended survey and took an estimated 20 minutes to complete. The survey was organized into six distinct parts: (1) questions about the participants ' demographics, (2) questions on the types and frequency of current challenging behaviours in the classrooms, (3) teacher perceptions on the impacts of challenging behaviours and their beliefs about challenging behaviours in the working and learning environment, (4) perceptions on resources for challenging behaviours, (5) views on training and preparation, and (6) supports for these behaviours. Headers were provided to clearly separate sections and indicate a change in topics. Where appropriate, operational definitions were provided to improve clarity and avoid confusion of terms. A sample of the proposed survey has been provided in Appendix B. Chapter Summary A convergence mixed-methods design was used to conduct my study as both qualitative and quantitative responses strengthened the datum I could use to recommend the specific support needs of BC teachers in relation to the effective management of challenging behaviours in the classroom. The on-line survey contained both open- and closed-ended questions in which teachers could select or indicate their responses as well as provide descriptive feedback comments. Anonymity and confidentiality were provided to the best of my ability and approval from three school district superintendents, the UNBC Research Ethics board, three BCTF local representative presidents, and the participants themselves were obtained before conducting the study and analyzing the data. The survey was organized into six distinct sections and allowed for teachers to express their experiences, concerns, and recommendations in relation to supporting challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. Chapter 4 will provide the results specific to the study and highlight the substantial fmdings. 36 Chapter 4: Results Chapter 1 introduced my project, the background information, significance, and guiding research question. Chapter 2 provided a thorough analysis of established world-wide literature on the impacts of challenging behaviours and support needs of teachers. Chapter 3 outlined my project design and the methods I employed to gather and analyze data to determine the specific professional support needs of BC teachers for the effective management of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. In this chapter, I will report the results of my mixed methods study in two phases. First I will introduce the quantitative results of the survey and the demographics of the respondent population. Second, I present a section on the qualitative results from this mixed methods study. Appendix B provides a copy of the entire survey with the results from the quantitative questions. Quantitative Results I gathered and analyzed results using the Fluid Surveys Canada online survey program. I analyzed the quantitative data gathered from mostly Likert-scale questions using frequency counts and mean, median, and mode measures. While I used a 10-point scale to determine the opinions and preferences of participants on certain questions, the reporting was explained using the Net Promoter Scale (NPS). The NPS provides information as to whether participants' responses were positive (promoter), neutral (passive), or negative (detractor). An overall positive or negative score on a scale of -100 to +100 indicated the level of disagreement (negative NPS score) or agreement (positive NPS score). The results were also analyzed for patterns such as recognizing large discrepancies in proportions between the positive and negative scores. The following section outlines the quantitative findings from the survey. 37 Demographics. There were a total of 97 responses given over a three-week and twoday period from January 2013 to February 2013. Follow up e-mails to encourage higher participation took place at approximately the two-week mark of the survey's timeline. The population presented a mix of both female (n = 72) and male teachers (n = 19) ranging from Kindergarten to Grade 12 classroom and subject teachers as well as specialist teachers such as: Teacher Librarians, Student Services Teachers, Teachers on Call (TOC), Special Education Teachers, Alternate Education Teachers, District Integration Support Teachers, and Counselors. The majority of teachers reported having classrooms with 20-30 students enrolled; however, 14% (n=13) of the respondents had classrooms sizes of30 or more students. Of the total reported classrooms, the mean number of designated students demonstrating challenging behaviours was 3.7, while the mean number of non-designated students demonstrating challenging behaviours was 5.1 . Thus, the overall mean number of students reported with challenging behaviours in a classroom was 8.1 , representing approximately 30%- 40% of the students in a class of20-30 students. There was a wide teaching experience range within the respondent population, with a noticeable proportion (41%) of the respondents having taught more than 20 years. An overwhelming 78% of the respondent population had exceeded education above a Bachelor's degree by attaining additional post-secondary certificates, diplomas, Bachelor's degrees, or Master's degrees. Challenging behaviours encountered. Table 1 outlines the definitions and examples ofbehaviours encountered as well as the percentage of respondents who experienced the behaviours listed. For BC Teachers, the four most challenging behaviours encountered were: (a) disruption (95%), (b) disrespectfuVrudeness (94%), (c) impulsivity (87%), and (d) defiance/non-compliance. These four behaviours were experienced by 87-95% of the total 38 Table 1 Behaviours, Definitions/Examples, and Percentage of Teachers Experiencing the Behaviours Behaviour Verbal Aggression Definition/Examples Challenging, threatening, using strong inappropriate language Percentage 63% Physical Aggression Hitting, pushing, kicking others 59% Self-Injury Harming oneself such as self-cutting, self-hair pulling, self-hitting. 29% Destruction Breaking school or personal property 54% DisrespectfuVRudeness Lack of manners (inappropriate words/actions), lack of regard to the school/staff (ex. talking back), lack of social etiquette (ex. yawning loudly, passing gas). 94% Disruption Interfering and interrupting at inappropriate times, clowning around. 95% Defiance/Non-compliance Not doing as asked, not following rules. 87% Impulsivity Acting without thinking. 87% Social Withdrawal Tends to avoid/withdraw from participating in activities, avoids contact with peers/adults. 73% Passive Aggression Purposefully aggressive without verbally addressing the behaviour: silent treatment, eyerolling, avoiding work/getting started, tapping, not listening, silently defiant. 76% Dishonesty Lying. 78% Stereotypy Repetitive movements or acts (Ex. hand flapping, body rocking, parts of speech. 38% Illegal behaviour Engaging in behaviours that are against the law such as drugs, alcohol, theft, fraud, and vandalism. 29% 39 responding teachers. The four aforementioned behaviours were closely followed by: (a) dishonesty (78%), (b) passive aggression (76%), and (c) social withdrawal (73 %). Interestingly, of the 13 behavioural categories provided in the survey, teachers reported behaviours with a physical or active component as the least-frequently encountered behaviours. These behaviours with a physical component included: (a) stereotypy (18%), (b) self-injury (29%), (c) illegal behaviour (29%), (d) destruction of school property (54%), and (e) physical aggression (59%). Other responses specified by the teacher participants but not included in Table 1 were: apathy/unwillingness to try to work, sexual imitation, bathroom procedure issues, Tourettes/Aspergers/deafness/low IQ, poor attendance, and hyperactivity/silliness. The majority of teachers reported spending more than 10-30 minutes of a school day dealing with challenging behaviours while an additional35% of the respondents reported spending at least half-an-hour to an hour on challenging behaviours in a typical day. Most teachers (37%) indicated this time was spent dealing with 3-5 behaviours in a day, however many teacher reported dealing with up to 10 (24%) or more (22%) behaviours per day. Impacts of challenging behaviours. Time and stress were the main impacts of challenging behaviours. Teachers reported that the greatest impact on the learning environment that challenging behaviours had was disrupting instructional time (97%) followed closely by increased stress on teachers (95%) . Further to these to impacts were equally strong reports (90%) of increased stress on students and individual teacher time taken away from other students. Less impactful but still strong was the emotional impact of challenging behaviours on teachers (84%) and students (81 %). Table 2 displays BC teachers' agreement (PS), neutrality (NS), or disagreement (DS) to statements regarding the impact of challenging behaviours and reported using NPS . Stress 40 Table 2 A Sample of BC Teachers ' Views on the Impact of Challenging Behaviours in Percentages Specific Item Challenging Behaviours Impact Promoter Passive Detractor Student Learning 69 27 3 Job satisfaction 56 71 15 Stress in the Learning Environment 71 25 3 Negative Emotions 51 42 7 (71 %) and student learning (69%) were more strongly reported as being impacted by challenging behaviours than job satisfaction (56%) and negative emotions (51%). However, in all, BC teacher respondents were in strong agreement (>50%) challenging behaviours impacted all four aforementioned areas indicating challenging behaviours had a wide range of negative impacts. Conversely, there were very few teachers (::=:; 15%) in disagreement with the statements. Beliefs on challenging behaviours. Table 3 displays the level of agreement teachers reported on statements pertaining to their feelings and beliefs surrounding challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. Most teachers reported not feeling very confident with regards to challenging behaviours in the classroom (41 %). They were also 13 times more in disagreement (66%) than agreement (5%) with the statement pertaining to feelings of being suppmted with challenging behaviours. They strongly believed challenging behaviours could improve with better support (61 %). 41 Table 3 A Sample of BC Teachers' Feelings and Beliefs on Challenging Behaviours in Percentages Specific Feeling or Belief Items Promoter Passive Detractor Feels confident to effectively manage and improve challenging behaviours 27 32 41 Feels supported with regards to significantly challenging behaviours in classrooms 5 29 66 Believes challenging behaviours can improve with better support 61 31 8 Strategies and approaches to challenging behaviours. Teacher respondents were asked to report their general satisfaction on the effectiveness of strategies they used to meet the needs of students with challenging behaviours as well as their familiarity with behavioural models. Table 4 displays the respondents' satisfaction and familiarity levels as shown by the NPS scores. Teachers responded they were nine times more unsatisfied than satisfied with the effectiveness of strategies they currently used. However, the majority ofthe respondents felt neither extremely satisfied nor minimally satisfied, as indicated by a majority neutral response (51%) with the effectiveness of the strategies currently used. Table 4 also displays the level of familiarity teachers had with principles and models of different behavioural approaches and strategies. Overwhelmingly, teachers responded with a negative NPS for each approach, indicating extremely low levels of familiarity. It was not clear from the quantitative results whether or not the respondents were unfamiliar with the model names yet were unknowingly aware of specific strategies within those models or if 42 Table 4 A Sample of BC Teachers' Satisfa ction and Familiarity with Strategies for Challenging Behaviours Promoter (%) Passive(%) Detractor (%) 5 51 44 Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) 5 16 79 Functional Behaviour Analysis (FBA) 12 18 70 School Wide Positive Behaviour Intervention Support (PBIS) 11 19 70 Response to Intervention (RTI) 4 16 81 Category and Specific Items Level of Satisfaction for: Effectiveness of Strategies Currently Being Used Level of Familiarity for: teachers truly did not know behavioural strategies. A qualitative follow-up question asking for descriptions of participants' specific strategies was used to further identify specific strategies and levels of familiarity. Teachers ' comments on specific strategies currently used are presented in the Qualitative Results section. Preparation/Training for challenging behaviours. Respondents were asked to report on the level of preparation and training they had received for dealing with challenging behaviours in terms of pre-service, in-service, and professional development (Pro-D) opportunities. Table 5, 6, 7, and 8 summarize the respective results of teacher responses for: (a) receiving training, (b) the overall perceived effectiveness of the training received, (c) reasons for choosing the training as minimally effective, and (d) reasons for choosing the 43 Table 5 A Sample of BC Teacher Respondents who Received Training in Percentages Type of Training Received Training No Training Pre-Service Training 37 63 In-Service Training 33 67 Pro-D Training 45 55 training as very effective. The following sections will outline the overall findings, and then provide specific results for pre-service, in-service, and Pro-D training responses. Surprisingly, the majority of teacher respondents reported they did not receive pre-service, in-service, or Pro-D training (Table 5). For the minority of respondents who did receive training (33-37%), most (64-78%) reported the training was not very effective in helping them deal with current challenging behaviours. The main survey response cited for the ineffectiveness of the training was the training was too long ago (pre- and in-service training) or the information provided in the training was too general (Pro-D) (see Table 6). Conversely, for those teachers who perceived the training as being very effective, the respondents cited a range of reasons (Table 7). Specific results on the three training opportunities are provided in the following sections. Pre-service preparation/training. Pre-service training was defined as training before becoming a teacher or during teacher education training. Surprisingly, the majority (63%) of teachers reported not receiving any pre-service training for dealing with challenging 44 Table 6 A Sample of BC Teacher Respondents ' Reasons for Perceiving the Training as Minimally Effective Pre-Service (%) In-Service (%) Too long ago 38 18 0 Training was too quick 15 9 0 Needs to be ongoing feedback/updates 15 9 18 Information was too general for chosen grade level/subject area 15 0 27 Inappropriate content for chosen grade level/subject area 15 9 9 Information from professor was outdated 0 9 0 Other, please specify 54 55 82 Reason Pro-D(%) behaviours. Of the minority group of teacher respondents who had received pre-service training, Twenty-nine percentage of the respondents reported receiving training recently (past two years), 35% received training within the last 3-10 years, and the largest proportion of respondents (38%) responded receiving training over 10 years ago, indicating an almost 10% decrease in pre-service training for challenging behaviours in recent years. A strong majority (78%) of respondents indicated they perceived their pre-service training as not very effective. Also noteworthy, not one respondent felt their pre-service training was effective. The remaining 22% of the respondents had a neutral perception of their pre-service training. The top reason reported for by teachers for choosing the response of minimally effective was the training was too long ago. Few respondents (15% for each category) felt 45 Table 7 A Sample of BC Teacher Respondents ' Reasons for Perceiving th e Training as Very Effective (in Percentages) Pre-Service In-Service Training was recent 29 33 62 Training was an adequate time length to get the information needed 29 25 54 There was ongoing feedback/updates 29 33 23 Information was specific for chosen grade level/subject area 14 8 31 Content was appropriate for chosen grade level/subject area 29 25 38 Information from professor was current 14 17 54 Other, please specify 43 50 23 Reason Pro-D the other options on the survey adequately explained their perceptions for minimal effectiveness of the training. However, many respondents (54%) chose to explain and describe their pre-service training and preparation for challenging behaviours with comments. These comments are shared in the Qualitative Results section. In-service preparation/training. In-service training was defined as training provided by the school district. Most respondents (67%) did not receive in-service training. For those respondents who did receive in-service training, most received the training in the past two years (38%), followed by those who responded receiving training over 10 years ago (29%). The majority of respondents (67%) who had received in-service training indicated the training was ineffective for dealing with the current challenging behaviours they face. Like 46 pre-service, the main reason cited from teachers for the ineffectiveness of the in-service training was that it was too long ago. For those who found the in-service training effective, the top reasons cited were that training was recent and there were ongoing feedback-updates. Further explanations and descriptions of in-service training are provided in the Qualitative Results section. Pro-D preparation/training. Pro-D training was defmed as self-selected training for challenging behaviours. Like the two prior types of training, the majority of the respondents (55%) reported not having received any Pro-D training for dealing with challenging behaviours. However, the results indicate self-selected Pro-D was the mode in which most teachers had been prepared to deal with challenging behaviours. The majority (50%) of teacher respondents had Pro-D training within the past two years although most (64%) indicated the training was not very effective. The most-reported reasons for the perceived ineffectiveness included respondents felt there needed to be ongoing feedback/updates and the information was too general to apply to their grade levels or subject areas. For those teachers who felt the Pro-D training had been effective, the top three reasons included: the training was recent (62%), the workshop was an adequate time length to the information needed (54%), and the information from the professor was current. Additional teacher respondent comments on Pro-D training are provided in the Qualitative Results section. Resources for challenging behaviours. Three main types of resources for challenging behaviours were provided in the survey: (a) printed resources (resources such as books, pamphlets, etc), (b) on-line resources, and (c) BC Ministry of Education (MotE) resources. Teachers were asked to respond to statements on resources as supports for challenging behaviours and indicate the degree to which they minimally agreed or strongly agreed on a scale of0-10. Table 8 summarizes the respondents ' responses to statements 47 Table 8 A Sample of BC Teachers ' Perceptions of Resources as Supports for Challenging Behaviours in Percentages Promoter Category and Specific Items Passive Detractor Printed Resources: Availability 13 24 63 Effectiveness to Support 2 17 81 Overall Usage 6 22 72 A vail ability 23 42 36 Effectiveness 4 23 74 Overall usage 4 19 77 Availability 12 18 70 Effectiveness 0 6 94 Overall Usage 0 2 98 Online Resources: BC Ministry of Education Resources: regarding resource availability, resource effectiveness to support the teachers' ability to manage challenging behaviours, and current resource usage to help teachers with challenging behaviours. Overall, most teachers disagreed the resources were available, effective, and used. The following sections will describe the results for each type of resource. Printed resources. Teacher respondents indicated printed resources were minimally available, effective, and used. When asked to explain why use was low if the resources were available, respondents stressed they did not have time to read/learn strategies from a book 48 (67%), they did not have time to search for resources (49%), and the strategies were not specific to the behavioural challenges they faced (35%). For the few (6%) respondents who reported a high use of printed resources, the top reasons included the respondents felt the resources were very helpful (64%), convenient (57%) and easily accessible (50%). On-line resources. A neutral tendency in responses was reported with regards to online resource availability. However, on-line resource effectiveness (4%) and usage (4%) for helping teachers manage challenging behaviours were low. BC Ministry of Education Resources. Overwhelmingly teachers reported they minimally agreed BC MofE resources were available (78%), effectively supported teachers (94%), and were used by teachers (98%) to help manage challenging behaviours. Noticeably, not one teacher showed agreement the BC MofE resources effectively supported teachers with challenging behaviours. In addition, not one teacher showed agreement with the statement BC MofE resources helped teachers in relation to challenging behaviours. Supports for challenging behaviours. Teachers were asked to indicate the level to which they were sufficiently supported by three different supports for challenging behaviours: (a) school-related supports, (b) systemic-related supports, and (c) outside-school supports. The categories strongly disagree and disagree were combined as well as the categories of strongly agree and agree to reveal a stronger respondent preference. Table 9 displays the teachers ' responses. The following sections outline results specific to each of the supports. The overall results on supports indicate teachers felt school related supports were the greatest sources of support with other teachers (85%) overwhelmingly favoured, followed by administration (61 %), and special education/learning support teachers (58%). Teachers viewed the four areas which provided the least support from a range of sources. These sources included manageable classroom composition (72%), community resources/specialists 49 Table 9 A Sample ofBC Teacher Respondents' Views on Supports for Challenging Behaviours in Percentages Category and Specific Items Overall Disagreement N/A Overall Agreement School-related Supports: Administration 0 39 61 District Behavioural Specialist 21 62 17 Special Education/Learning Support Teacher 12 30 58 School or District Psychologist 25 42 33 Other Teachers (collaboration) 2 14 85 Manageable Classroom Size 12 62 26 Manageable Classroom Composition 12 72 16 10 53 37 12 63 24 Systemic-related Supports: Outside School Supports: Families/Parents/Caregivers Community Resources/SEecialists (63%), and then followed equally by manageable classroom size and district behavioural specialists (62% ). The following sections provide details on each sub-category of supports. School-related supports for challenging behaviours. Most teachers agreed they were sufficiently supported by other teachers (85%), administration (61 %), and special education/learning support teachers (58 %). Teachers indicated they agreed five times more 50 than those who disagreed that other teachers sufficiently supported them with challenging behaviours. In regards to district behavioural specialists and school/district psychologists, a greater proportion of teachers disagreed with the statements indicating they were sufficiently supported by these two specific school-related supports. Further, approximately one-quarter of the teachers responded behavioural specialists and school/district psychologist were not applicable supports, indicating these supports were not even an option to some teachers. When asked to rank the school-related supports in terms of what teachers perceived as being the most helpful support for improving challenging behaviours, administration was indicated as the first choice, followed by special education/learning support teachers, and the district behavioural specialists was the third preference. Comments describing the reasons behind the teacher preferences are provided in the Qualitative Results section. Systemic-related supports. The majority of respondents disagreed they were sufficiently supported with a manageable classroom size (62%). Almost five times as many teachers indicated they disagreed (72%) they were sufficiently supported with a manageable classroom composition than those who agreed (16%). Teacher comments on systemicrelated supports are provided in the Qualitative Results section. Outside-school supports. Most respondents disagreed they were sufficiently supported by families/parents/caregivers (53%) and community resources/specialists (63%) for dealing with challenging behaviours. Teacher comments on outside-school supports are given in the Qualitative Results section. Qualitative Results I gathered and analyzed qualitative results using the Fluid Surveys Canada online survey program. The number or comments for the qualitative questions varied as some questions were optional and allowed for participants to add or expand upon topics that had 51 not been mentioned or indicated through their quantitative responses. I analyzed the qualitative data using coding of themes for each topic in the survey. In each section, I looked for common words/phrases or topics and noted them. I also made note of topics that did not fit any of my themes. I then combined similar categories together and coded them, further reducing the total number of themes. Finally, I analyzed the content of the themes to determine whether they were similar or independent with regards to the responses in the quantitative feedback. Certain quotes from the comment feedback were selected based on their ability to accurately and effectively represent a theme. The following sections outline the qualitative findings from the survey. Types of behaviours. Respondents were asked to provide examples of typical behaviours they encounter in classrooms. Although one teacher summed up their response as "there are no typical behaviours" many others provided specific examples. The behaviours reported qualitatively were coded into three themes : (a) miscellaneous non-physical behaviours (ex . defiance, non-compliance, disrespect, rudeness, disruptive, verbal aggression); (b) physical behaviours (ex. physical aggression, destruction ofproperty, toileting issues); and (c) academic related behaviours (ex. apathy towards work, avoidance, attendance and tardiness issues). The most common type of behaviours reported were miscellaneous non-physical behaviours, which mirror the quantitative results. Teachers also added qualifiers to their responses, indicating the challenging behaviours were constant, persistent, repetitive, and displayed in an ongoing cycle. The behaviours mentioned were in terms of students acting on other students, themselves, or objects/school property. Teachers also saw these behaviours as happening sometimes for a reason (such as attention getting) or randomly, without any apparent reason. Some teachers explained the behaviours as 52 Table 10 Types of Challenging Behaviours Qualitatively Reported by a Sample of BC Teachers Miscellaneous Non-Physical Behaviours Defiance/Non-Compliance Not following the rules Verbal defiance Refusal to complete tasks Disruptive/Distracting Blurting/calling out Loud and repetitive noises Off topic conversations Hyperactivity/impulsivity Outbursts /tantrums Physical Behaviours Self-Care Demands instructions/ help immediately Refusing to dress appropriate! y Always wants to make their own decisions Physical Aggression & Meltdown/Tantrums Kicking/hitting/poking Pushing Biting Rolling on floor Hands over ears/eyes Crying Clowning around/silliness Blowing Movement Passive resistance Walking/Running in class Rude/negative responses Running away/hiding Talking back Tapping, rocking, throwing chewing objects Complaining/tattling Inappropriate conversations Entitlement Toileting/bathroom procedures Not able to control frustration Disrespect/rudeness Academic Related Behaviours Taking/pulling objects Sexual imitation Apathy to work Lack of effort Avoidance Disengagement Refuses to go to class Complaining about assignments/tasks Continually late/tardy Perfectionism Over-zealous, not respectful of others 53 Table 10 Types of Challenging Behaviours Qualitatively Reported by a Sample of BC Teachers (cont'd) Miscellaneous Non-Physical Behaviours Physical Behaviours Verbal Aggression Swearing Academic Related Behaviours Other Cell phone issues N arne calling Yelling/screaming Verbal bullying Inappropriate content Dishonesty/Lying stemming from parents of the "me" generation or due to a physiological condition such as ADHD. Table 10 provides examples ofbehaviours reported. The following comments portray some examples of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. One teacher reported, "A typical disruption starts out as passive resistance to an assignment or discussion. When called to task the students behaviour quickly escalates into an outward verbal defiance and sometimes physical." Another example, "(Student) hits ... pushes other students ... walks around while instruction is being given. Refuses to complete academic tasks. Will not dress for outdoor activities ... so teacher needs to focus on the child at all times." Teachers also expressed how the behaviour impacted the flow and learning in a classroom, "Stopping for these disruptions every time would basically stop the learning in the classroom." 54 Impacts of challenging behaviours. Teachers were asked to share how challenging behaviours impacted three areas: working conditions, job satisfaction, and student learning. In all three areas, three themes emerged as the impacts of challenging behaviour: time, energy, and stress. Time and energy were combined as many of the responses overlapped. More specifically: (a) significant amounts of time and energy were taken away from learning/ students and required for dealing with the challenging behaviour, and (b) there was increased stress on the teacher and the students. The following sections provide the qualitative results. Impact on job satisfaction. While some teachers indicated they loved their jobs, very few respondents reported behaviours did not impact their job satisfaction; however, most teachers indicated challenging behaviours had a negative impact on their job satisfaction. While acknowledging dealing with behaviours was a part of their job, many teachers expressed just how impactful the negative effects ofbehaviours were. I can spend a full day addressing one or two incidents, facilitating dialogue, and planning remedial intervention. It is time consuming and can be extremely stressful, especially when I wonder how safe students are either at school or at home, because extreme behaviours are usually signs of deeper problems. Teachers indicated the time and energy taken away from other students and learning was very dissatisfying. Teachers reported spending a disproportionate amount oftime dealing with challenging behaviours which meant less time was spent on the curriculum or with other students who also required help, clarification, enrichment, or differentiated instruction. As well, certain ' fun ' and ' engaging' activities were limited or avoided. " .. .lots of my time is spent counselling better behaviours, resolving the situation." 55 Additionally, teachers reported large amounts of time and energy were required to carefully supervise/monitor the student with challenging behaviours as they were often a safety or disruption concern, leaving little time for others. Dealing with the behaviours was reported to be a complex process that required a lot of time and energy as the behaviours had to be addressed and resolved, and the student had to be counselled and reintegrated while other students in the class had to be refocused or counselled also. Teachers further reported communicating, collaborating, creating plans, IEPs and attending meetings most often outside of school time was stressful and time consuming, which also affected their job satisfaction. Teachers reported feeling stressed both mentally and physically from dealing with challenging behaviours and expressed increased fatigue, exhaustion, worry, anxiety, frustration, low-self-confidence, personal discouragement, and feeling emotionally drained. All of these factors negatively impacted job satisfaction as teachers felt they were not spending time on teaching and helping students who wanted to learn but instead were constantly dealing with and thinking about challenging behaviours during and outside of school hours. One teacher explained situation as: Constant helicoptering of students to gauge what they will do next in order to ensure the learning and safety of other students is not impacted. Endless meetings with AOs, SST, SD, counselor, parents, other teachers, other students. The student is on my mind during recess as I consult past teachers for advice ... after school as I plan my next day's work, at home as I fix supper, in my dreams as I worry and fret about not being able to affect change or a safe learning environment for all my students. 56 Impact on working conditions. The majority of teachers voiced their dissatisfaction with challenging behaviours affecting their working conditions by disrupting the working and learning environment, causing safety concerns in their working environment, and creating a stressful work environment. Teachers reported challenging behaviours caused disruption and chaos in what would otherwise be a more focussed and calm working environment. Time and energy were required to remediate the situations as learning was interfered with and students lost focus, including the student displaying the behaviours. The safety of the student displaying the behaviour was also a concern as was the safety of the other students who were around the student or being left unsupervised so that the teacher could deal with the behaviours. Finally the unpredictability, frequency, and magnitude of the challenging behaviours on a daily basis resulted in a tense learning and working environment. Teachers reported students and parents were also stressed about the outbursts and disruptive challenging behaviours. Teachers expressed their overall dissatisfaction with the working conditions as a result of challenging behaviours and cited considering changing professions or retiring soon. Also teachers reported feeling dissatisfied with their working conditions because dealing with challenging behaviours took a disproportionate amount of time away from doing what they love to do: teach and make a difference in the lives of all students. Impact on student learning. Teachers reported student learning was negatively impacted by challenging behaviours in that time and energy was taken away from instruction, assistance to all students, and the curriculum. Often lessons were reported to be unfinished and certain activities were limited. However, time and energy were required to deal with the challenging behaviours and then re-engage the students back towards the unfinished lesson. In addition, the challenging behaviours in a classroom created an environment that was not conducive to learning. Teachers reported other students had difficulty concentrating/ 57 focussing, showed decreased motivation, were "on edge" much of the time, were stressed, and sometimes imitated the challenging behaviours. In addition, teachers reported other students who really wanted to learn were frustrated and angered by the disruptions and time taken away from learning. The following teacher comments express the impact challenging behaviours have on student learning: "Many students require quiet time to focus , or reflective discussion to really wrap their minds around materials and concepts. The disruptive behaviour directly affects those students negatively and can sometimes create anger for the student who is now disrupted." Another teacher commented, "Learning is non-existent until the child ' s social and emotional needs are met! " Strategies for challenging behaviours. Teachers were asked to provide in plain language the strategies they used for dealing with challenging behaviours. The purpose of the question was two-fold: (a) to determine what strategies teachers were aware of, and, (b) to see if teachers were familiar with the principles of behaviour models (ABA, FBA, PBIS, and RTI) . Results from the quantitative section indicated overwhelmingly (70-81 %) teachers were not familiar with the behaviour models, however, when asked qualitatively to explain what strategies they used; almost all responses indicated their strategies were linked to principles of the behaviour models that had been presented. One teacher reported, "Those acronyms are foreign to me, hopefully we do use some of those strategies out of common sense." All teachers responded with a range of steps, strategies, and approaches used to manage challenging behaviours. An underlying theme was strategies needed to be dependent on the individual situation and the individual student needs. Criticisms of behavioural models included the models provided a one-fits-all model that would not necessarily work for all students. Some teachers reported feeling these models misled school boards into thinking 58 a simple behaviour model would fix all challenging behaviour problems. Consequently, many teachers relied on experience, talking with other teachers and support workers, and 'gut instinct' to deal with behaviours. Many teachers reported using pro-active measures to prepare and set-up their student with challenging behaviours for success. Strategies included greeting the students, having a morning 'check-in,' priming the students before lessons and after breaks, reviewing expectations, using pre-planned seating, creating interactive and engaging lessons, and using picture cues. Often teachers referred to using school or class wide behaviour (PBIS) and calming strategies such as Mind up, Friends for Life, or some other school wide positive behaviour program. Once the behaviour had occurred a wide range of responses were reported. The most common theme found among the responses was speaking with the student one-on-one. The goals for the one-on-one discussions were to determine the behaviour issue as well as the function or antecedent of the behaviour and work together to find a solution. Another common theme was teachers often used some sort of warning or reminder system before a consequence. Teachers reported using verbal and non-verbal cues, counting, using behaviour maps or posters, reminding the student of classroom rules, re-seating, re-directing, ignoring, and/or trying to focus on/reinforce the positive behaviours. Most teachers reported using some sort of consequence or reward system for dealing with a challenging behaviour after the warning. The most common consequence was asking the student to leave or removing the student (to the hallway, timeout, or office). These consequences were followed by contacting the parents and administration for follow-up support in more extreme cases. Other consequences included taking away something meaningful to the student such as a lunch/recess time. 59 Many teachers reported the importance of building positive and trusting relationships with students displaying challenging behaviours as an important strategy. One TOC said lack of pre-established relationships with students was a major challenge of a TOC ' s job. Other teachers mentioned the importance of providing rewards and positive reinforcement for students with challenging behaviours as well. Additional strategies reported included ensuring wellness for the student, such as making sure the student was allowed brain breaks, taught breathing strategies, ensured food and drink were available, and allowed movement opportunities. Many teachers acknowledged behaviours may have stemmed from conditions such as FASD, Autism, ADHD, or dysfunctional home life and attending to sociaVemotional needs in a calm way was important. Teachers also felt it was important for parents, teachers, and administration to all be on the same page and consistent when applying strategies. Still teachers took the time to express the complexities of using the strategies. Many teachers reported these strategies required a lot of time and were difficult in large classes with no extra assistance. Teachers also expressed discouragement as they did not feel prepared or had the knowledge or expertise to deal with the challenging behaviours encountered. Others reported feeling inundated with materials and strategies sent to them and felt overwhelmed in determining what strategies they should use for their particular class or student. Finally, teachers felt the strategies had to be specific to their classroom needs in order to be applicable and suggested models and strategies needed to be constantly reviewed to work with the current problems facing the classrooms. Training for challenging behaviours. As reported in the quantitative results, the majority of teachers did not have pre-service, in-service, or Pro-D training for challenging behaviours. However, those respondents who did take part in training were asked to provide descriptions of the training and share how effective they felt their training was for dealing 60 with current challenging behaviours. Overall most teachers felt the training was not very effective. Common themes emerged: (a) the training was too long ago, (b) the training was too general/theoretical and not specific/practical enough for real and current classroom applications, and (c) there was not enough support to follow through with the suggested approaches . Qualitative results specific to the type of training are in the following sections. Pre-service training. Three themes emerged when teachers described their preservice training: (a) most teachers who had special education courses were Special Education teachers who had elected to take the courses; (b) often the training was general classroom management; (c) frequently the training was mentioned only a little bit in their pre-service education. One person described her university experience in the following way: (Instructors) didn't answer questions regarding classroom management and there was zero course work related to it. We were 100% on our own and it was not like the students (myself and other pre-service teachers) were not clamoring for some help in this area. When asked about the effectiveness of the pre-service training for dealing with current challenging behaviours, a strong majority (78%) responded negatively. Qualitative responses indicated many teachers felt the training and had been too long ago and the current students, families, and behaviours/issues were very different now than they were before. " It was a long time ago, and the behaviours I see now in the classroom are more severe and more common, with more children presenting challenging behaviours." Other comments on the effectiveness of pre-service training were that teachers preferred to use common sense or experience to deal with behaviours and that there was no 61 support to carry out the systems they were taught. Finally, teachers commented that there was too much talk/theory and not enough actual training. In-service training. For those teachers who did receive in-service training, many described a range in the types of in-service they had received: Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Choice Theory Reality Therapy, MANDT training, EBS and FBA strategies, ABA through POPARD, Non-Violent Crisis Intervention, FASD/Autism training, brain development, Client Direct Therapy, and RTI strategies. Other general comments describing the in-service training included reviewing expectations from the school district, describing the training as good but a "shallow overview," and for some, the focus had been on adapting programs rather than helping with actual behaviours. Most teachers (67%) did not find the training effective. Teachers reported the training was too short and not practical in the real classroom as the strategies took a lot of one-on-one time and did not acknowledge the other students in the class. One teacher reported, "(The training) taught us how to deal with a student in crisis but didn't really address how to deal with the poor behaviour of one student while you are still responsible for 29 others." Teachers also reported they did not feel like they had the support to carry out the training presented and their administration would follow through with the training. For the teachers who did find the training effective, reasons included: the training was practical and realistic, the presenter had first-hand experiences and understood the challenging students, and the whole school district was involved so the entire school had the same language to use. Pro-D training. Almost half of the teachers (45%) reported they had participated in professional development training for challenging behaviours. A range of Pro-D training was described: bullying workshops, POPFASD course, Community Building workshops, RTI 62 with a focus on restitution, Attachment Theory, ABA training, bullying workshops, autism workshops, FBA specific to FASD, Boy Smart training, First Nations challenges, conflict resolution workshop, self-regulation training, behaviour management strategies, and information around students with learning disabilities. Teacher comments had a relatively more positive tone than the pre-service and inservice comments. Teachers acknowledged that they had a role in helping students with challenging behaviours and that although there was no getting rid of the problem entirely, training was a helpful tool. Still, other teachers echoed the comments voiced in the previous training sections. Teachers reported the training was too theoretical and not practical or specific to their classroom context. Teachers wanted materials that could be transferred immediately to a classroom. In addition, a common report was the content was too old and not relevant to the current classroom behavioural needs. General comments on training for challenging behaviours. Generally teachers reported behaviours were so varied that training needed to be specific to the student and their needs. Training needed to be current and relevant to the context of today' s classrooms. Teachers also mentioned it was important to build positive, caring, and trusting relationships with the students and approach behaviours calmly. Finally, although some teachers commented they could always use more training even if it was not specific to their individual classroom needs, they felt there was a lack of time and funds for these training opportunities. Resources. The following section outlines comments from teacher reports on resource use. Three types of resources were presented: printed resources (books, pamphlets, ect), on-line resources, and BC Ministry of Education (BC M of E) resources. Teachers showed generally low use of all three resources in the quantitative results and generally reported they did not find the resources effective in helping them deal with challenging 63 behaviours. The following section outlines teacher perceptions on the strengths and limitations of the three resources mentioned. Limitations of resources: Four main themes emerged regarding limitations to resource use: time issues, preference to use other approaches, challenges to the resource format usability, and unawareness of resources available. Many teachers commented they did not have the time to use the resources even though they were available. Teachers cited complex job demands and heavy workloads as limiting the time they had to look for resources. After all their other job requirements, teachers felt too exhausted to look for and through resources: "My time is limited .... much time is needed for lesson planning, preparation, report cards, marking, communicating with parents, planning trips, fundraising, and extracurricular activities ... the list goes on." Many teachers commented they did not use resources because they preferred using their own strategies or "common sense" as they felt they were confident with their own strategies or needed to respond to the individual ' s specific needs in a context specific way. Other teachers felt they needed to talk, see, and hear strategies that were useful in a classroom situation or were known to be successful with specific students or behaviours. These teachers felt other teachers were "experts" in their own rights and working with other teachers was much more useful than resources and preferred this approach. While many teachers acknowledged resources were readily available, they felt there were many challenges to using resources as a support for challenging behaviours. Teachers often felt resources were too general and not relevant or specific to the student or the situations in their classrooms. Other teachers felt many of the resources were outdated. Finally teachers commented that there were too many challenging behaviours in their classrooms and too many resources to choose from leaving them feeling overwhelmed. 64 Lastly, some teachers reported they were unaware of resources that were available. Specifically, many reported they were not aware BC MofE resources existed. Strengths of resources: Although very few commented on the strengths of resources, those that did liked printed and on-line resources. They felt they were able to scan through and pick out areas that were useful to them. They used the resources to refresh their memory on approaches and gain new ideas. One teacher commented that although no resource provided all the solutions, resources were still a tool to provide useful insights. Supports for challenging behaviours. Three sections on supports were provided in the survey for teachers to comment on: school related supports, job demands, and outsideschool supports. The following sections provide the qualitative results of these sections. School Related Supports: Teachers ranked the following supports in order of who they felt would be most helpful for improving challenging behaviours: (1) Administration, (2) Special Education/Learning Support Teacher, (3) District Behavioural Specialists, (4) Other Teachers (collaboration), and (5) District or School Psychologist. These are the rankings of what teachers perceived to be most helpful for supporting the effective management of challenging behaviours, and differ from the quantitative findings of which supports teachers currently viewed were the greatest sources of support (not potential supports). Three themes emerged: (a) proximity, accessibility, and familiarity with specific students and classrooms, and (b) expertise on behaviours, and (c) ability to get more funding for support. Teachers were asked to explain their choices in order to determine what they perceived as valuable support needs. The following sections describe teachers ' perceptions of the supports. Administration. Teachers strongly felt administration held a lot of power and were able to help improve challenging behaviours in two ways: (a) by directly supporting teachers 65 in their approaches to challenging behaviours, and, (b) as they key access point to getting more support or funding for the challenging behaviours in their classrooms. Teachers felt administrators were also helpful because they were in the school, knew many of the students, and could create consistent school wide positive behaviour expectations. Conversely, other teachers reported feeling the administration were often too busy, out of the school, or out of touch with the classroom to be helpful supports. Special Education/Learning Support Teachers. The Special Education/Learning Support Teachers (SpEd/LST) teachers were viewed as very valuable for the following reasons: (a) they usually had some level of expertise around challenging behaviours, (b) they were usually accessible in a timely manner, and (c) they were "in touch" and had a level of understanding/familiarity with the student, teacher, school, and community culture. Teachers however commented on the limitations of SpEd/LST. A common complaint was the SpEd/LSTs were spread too thin because their caseloads were so huge and their time had been cut back. As a result, they were unable to help with challenging behaviours. District Behaviour Specialists. The comments for district behaviour specialists were the most varied. For those teachers who thought favourably of behaviour specialists, their comments were phrased hypothetically. For example, "Don't have a behaviour specialist, but it seems like a good idea." and "Behaviour specialists would have the most suggestions." In these cases, it appeared teachers liked the thought of the behaviour specialist to give expert advice for challenging behaviours. For those teachers who had experienced working with a district specialist, most did not see the behaviour specialists as very helpful. The reasons cited were the behaviour specialists were spread too thin and many teachers had never even seen them. If teachers had, they reported the strategies provided by the behaviour specialists were too far removed from the realities of the current classrooms. Although specific to the 66 student, the reported strategies required too much one-on-one time with one student, which was viewed as unrealistic when teaching classes with 24 to 29 other students in it. Other teachers (collaboration). Other teachers were the fourth preference, although ranked very closely to the third choice, behaviour specialist. Teachers reported they felt learning from other teachers' experiences were invaluable and other teachers had the greatest understanding of the severity and stressfulness of dealing with challenging behaviours in the context of the current classrooms. Other teachers were also relatively more easily accessible and could provide immediate and specific information on specific students. However, some teachers reported other teachers were unfortunately often too busy with their own workload and sometimes unwilling to take the time to share their experiences and strategies. Further, time to meet with other teachers was rarely, if ever, provided. "Having time to meet with another teacher, collaboration time, would be wonderful. ... haven't had any time in 3 years with my grade colleague." School or district psychologist. While teachers reported viewing the psychologists as valuable for diagnosis purposes and expertise on the psychological needs of the students, teachers also reported feeling the psychologists were spread too thin with large caseloads resulting in long wait periods for actual help. Some teachers reported they never or rarely saw the psychologist and viewed them as relatively unavailable or too unfamiliar to the individual student or classroom needs. Job demands. Classroom size and composition issues came up not only in the job demands section of the survey but in almost every other section of the survey as well. Teachers strongly felt large classroom sizes and complex classroom compositions were huge factors affecting the teachers' ability to effectively manage challenging behaviours. Often classrooms had many IEPs as well as many other high needs students without support. Most 67 teachers talked about support in terms of needing educational assistant (EA) or LST time. The following comments are strong portrayals of the realities in today's classrooms. "I have a class of 30 students with 11 IEPs and I don' t even have a full time EA ... ." I have 30 students in a 5/6 split classroom with a full-time TA dedicated to the program of an autistic student. There are three other designated students in my classroom, and 9-10 gray area students with learning issues, anxiety, social emotional and /or behavioural problems. The support TA in my room has a full case load and is unable to attend to other students' needs. I am constantly trying to work with and keep things consistent with each student while trying to achieve and maintain focus on IEP goals. On the impacts of class size: "Too many kids ... Not only is it probably you will have more challenging behaviours, you can't get to all the kids effectively and may even create more challenging behaviours." Learning support time decreases each year but the student needs seem to increase each year. I thought with experience and specialized training teaching would become smoother but it seems there are so many intense and difficult variables beyond the control of the school which significantly impact the learning and tone of our schools." Outside-school supports: Teachers were asked to comment on out-side school supports. Results indicated most teachers did not feel supported by parents/ families/ caregivers or by community resources/specialists. The following sections outline the qualitative comments on the out-side school supports. Parents/families/caregivers. Many teachers had commented on parents in previous sections of the survey, often citing the parents were the root of the student's behaviour 68 problems (not preparing them for school, parents focussing on themselves more than their child). The quantitative results indicated the majority of teachers did not feel sufficiently supported by parents in regards to challenging behaviours. However, teachers seemed to provide a more understanding approach to parents/families/caregivers and challenging behaviours in this qualitative section. Many teachers acknowledged parents were doing the best they could but often were out of energy and resources to help the school support the child. Teachers felt the inconsistencies at home resulted in unchanged challenging behaviours. Some teachers reported feeling sufficiently supported by parents. Community resources/specialists. While one teacher commented outside agencies were fairly involved at his/her school, most felt they were not sufficiently supported by the community resources/specialists. The reported limitations to community resources were: (a) community resources had been downsized and had limited availability, and (b) it took a long time to access services as community resources were often overbooked and understaffed. Once help was provided, many viewed it as inefficient in improving challenging behaviours because the frequency and length of sessions were limited. These limitations to community resources/specialists were noted as having a direct negative impact on students with challenging behaviours. In order for students to be funded on the 1701 list in the severe behaviour category, an outside agency must be involved. When you live in a small community, and outside agencies have experienced huge government cuts, it is impossible to access them in order to receive funding , let alone support. Final recommendations for effectively supporting challenging behaviours. Teachers were given the opportunity to sum up their thoughts on the topic of challenging behaviours and provide general recommendations on what they believed teachers 69 needed in order to effectively support challenging behaviours. The responses were broken up into three categories based on the highest number of responses, a mid-number of responses, and the fewest number of responses. The following section provides information on the recommendations. First, the top recommendations included: improving classroom size and composition, more EA support, and more SpEd/LST and Counselor support. These supports had one thing in common: they were all linked to directly being with the students in the classroom and they had the ability to directly and immediately help students in the classroom. By far, classroom size and composition was overwhelmingly the highest reported recommendation: ... there is such a wide range of learners and abilities and way more emotional needs. It would work well to have a small number, have the classroom space and fewer distractions. I would be more able to differentiate the instruction while providing more one to one support (which I rarely have the time or space to do so in the current class situation). Although EA support had not been a support suggestion provided on the survey, it was overwhelming reported as an essential support for improving challenging behaviours: "Teachers need qualified teaching assistants in every classroom. There are too many challenging behaviours in a large class size to manage by one person alone." The second level of recommendations included needing support from three areas: the administration, other specialists (community resources, psychologists, behaviour specialists), and families. This group of supports were seen as essential but more removed from the classroom. Teachers felt administration could be a greater source of support if they were trained in how to deal with challenging behaviours or if they implemented a systematic 70 school-wide behaviour program that used common strategies and language. Others saw the need for more in-class support and more time for assessments from specialists. Finally, teachers reported families themselves needed parenting support or the school needed more support from the parents. The last theme that emerged was the need for more regular hands-on in-class training and updated resources. Teachers also recommended using training as a way of improving a teacher's understanding of why the behaviours were occurring and subsequently decrease teacher frustration with challenging behaviours. Finally, other responses that did not fit into the grouping but were impactful included teachers suggesting a team based approach (parents, family, specialists, administrators) would be most beneficial. In addition some teachers thought that an alternative environment was a good idea for students with extreme challenging behaviours. Finally, teachers recognized behaviours were a part of the job as was seeking out resource and training. However, they reported needing more time and support to do so in order to manage challenging behaviours. Chapter Summary The surveyed BC teachers ranged in experience, expertise, and educational background; however, they all agreed challenging behaviours negatively impacted their working conditions and the learning conditions of the students. The top four behaviours encountered were: (a) disruption (95%), (b) disrespectful/rudeness (94%), (c) impulsivity (87%), and (d) defiance/non-compliance. Often these behaviours were exhibited multiple times a day and required a disproportionate amount of time and energy with which to be dealt. Despite challenging behaviours having a negative impact on teacher and student well-being, teachers believed the issue of challenging behaviours could improve with more support. 71 Teachers reported trying a variety of strategies to deal with challenging behaviours but reported they were unfamiliar with the names of behavioural models. Although resources were viewed as useful tools, they were reported as relatively ineffective supports as teachers did not have time to search or study them. Teachers reported they required more pre-service, in-service, and Pro-D training to help prepare them for facing challenging behaviours. They felt their training had been too long ago or that there had been insufficient follow-ups and check-ins. Teachers felt training should be specific to the student needs and also be relevant and realistic the context of large classroom sizes and compositions. The teachers surveyed reported in-school supports were the greatest sources of supports but felt they needed more time for collaborating with other teachers, more time from SpEd/LST, as well as district psychologists and behaviours specialists. Teachers felt without more time to consult with these in-school supports, these supports remained relatively ineffective in helping to effectively manage challenging behaviours. Administrators were viewed as an in-school supports that could provide back up to the teachers and advocate for more supports at the district level. Teachers also felt outside-school supports such as families/parents/caregivers and community resources and specialists could be good supports but were also unavailable and/or underfunded to be adequate supports. Finally teachers felt they needed more support in terms of better classroom sizes and compositions. Teachers felt a better adult-to-student ratio would improve their ability to attend to their student needs and help effectively manage challenging behaviours. EAs were also viewed as helping improve the adult-to-student ratios and helping to manage challenging behaviours. Chapter 5 will provide an interpretation and discussion of the results that were presented in this chapter. 72 Chapter 5: Discussion Chapter 1 introduced my exploratory project, its significance, as well as the purpose and guiding research question. Chapter 2 reviewed the literature on challenging behaviours in the classrooms and teachers ' specific support needs. Information from the professional literature indicated the issue of challenging behaviours was a major cause of stress for teachers (Friedman, 1995, 2000; Hastings & Bham, 2003 ; Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008; Naylor & White, 2010; Westling, 2010). However, the study specific to BC (Naylor & White, 201 0) did not delve deeper into the specifics of challenging behaviours such as the types of behaviours and the specific support needs BC teachers perceived as necessary to effectively manage challenging behaviours. Chapter 3 presented the methodologies I used to conduct my exploratory on-line survey study and gather teacher feedback on the perceived supports needed for the issue of challenging behaviours specific to BC classrooms. Chapter 4 reported the results gathered from my research. By determining the types of behaviours that face teachers on a daily basis and asking teachers to describe the significance of challenging behaviours, my results demonstrated challenging behaviours are not only problematic for BC teachers but also are complex and require more specific supports in order to counteract the negative consequences. This chapter will confirm and extend the findings of previous literature as well as interpret and discuss the significance of the results on challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. The issues that emerged from my findings included: (a) addressing the significance of challenging behaviours by considering the variables of size and complexity, (b) discussing the consequential negative effects that are costing students and teachers academically, emotionally, and physically, (c) examining reasons for the inadequate responses to challenging behaviours, (d) determining the support required for improving challenging 73 behaviours as perceived by these BC teachers, and, (e) considering the impact of our current society and its unique characteristics as a factor in the way challenging behaviours are presented and to which they are responded. The following sections will explore these issues in context, specific to my study. Classroom Variables: Complexity and Size I interpreted the results and found challenging behaviours in BC classrooms is a significant problem in two ways: it is large and complex. The teachers I surveyed in three different school districts represented a diverse population as they ranged in their teaching assignments, expertise, experience, and education. Despite the diversity among the teachers, all surveyed teachers indicated challenging behaviours interfered and negatively impacted the working and learning environments. This strong response suggests challenging behaviours appear to be a problem in BC schools and is consistent with findings from around the world (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Westling, 2010). The following section aims to highlight the extensiveness of challenging behaviours. When examining the size and complexity of this problem, it appears teachers are dealing with a multitude of vast and compounded problems. First, there is a wide range and number of challenging behaviours that can appear at any time. This large and diverse problem is multiplied by the fact that often these challenging behaviours are exhibited by more than one student, who may be exemplifying more than one behaviour, numerous times a day. As mentioned by teachers, these behaviours are often persistent, chronic, and ongoing, indicating challenging behaviours are repeated daily and perhaps yearly. Second, dealing with challenging behaviours was reported to take a disproportionate amount of time. With already extremely restrictive time constraints due to heavy workloads and job demands, the large amount of teacher time behaviours require suggests time for other job requirements 74 such as curriculum or individual student attention must be reduced. Third, large class sizes present more students, which often results in more student needs and less teacher attention for each individual student. Finally, complex classroom compositions further exasperate the already complicated problem as there is often more than one student with a challenging behaviour in a class in addition to multiple students with IEPs and many other nondesignated students with academic, social, and emotional needs. This information suggests a wide range and number of other student needs are not being met when a teacher has to deal with challenging behaviours. The reported size and complexity of challenging behaviours indicate the issue is a serious problem in the sample of BC schools surveyed and needs to be addressed. This issue of size and complexity supports the findings of other researchers who found challenging behaviours were a major concern for BC teachers (Naylor & White, 201 0). In a time where the BC government is encouraging teachers to use an instructional model of personalized learning and differentiated instruction where individualized student learning is at the centre of these programs, it would appear that challenging behaviours would impede the success of these programs and goals. Therefore, it would make more sense to acknowledge challenging behaviours as a significant problem in BC schools and respond with better support for this ISSUe. The Effects of Challenging Behaviours Challenging behaviours have negative effects that are costly to both students and teachers. Teachers reported feeling overwhelmed and provided a multitude of examples of how and why they were being affected both mentally and physically. For example, teachers expressed they were not satisfied with their jobs and working conditions. They felt challenging behaviours interfered with their ability to meet the curricular outcomes, instruct, 75 and help other students' academic, social, emotional, and safety needs due to the time and energy requirements challenging behaviours demanded. In addition, they felt more like they were doing "damage control" than doing what they loved to do: teach and make a difference in students' lives. As a result, teachers expressed increased stress, fatigue, exhaustion, anxiety, worry, frustration, discouragement, feelings of loss in knowing what to do, and overall dissatisfaction with their jobs to the point of some teachers considering leaving the profession or retiring early. These findings support earlier studies on the effects of challenging behaviours on teacher well-being (Friedman, 1995; Landers, Alter, & Servilio, 2008; Naylor & White, 2010; Smart & Igo, 2010). Students were also reported to feel stressed, angered, and frustrated by the ongoing disruptiveness of challenging behaviours, tense learning environment, and interference to learning. Student academics were directly affected as there was less teacher time to clarify, support, or enrich the learning of each student or provide certain engaging activities. Finally, the learning of the student displaying the behaviour was also impeded. These fmdings on the negative impacts of challenging behaviours on the student displaying challenging behaviours and other students are consistent with findings from the literature (Dunlap et al., 2006; Westling, 2010; Whitted, 2011). My results suggest challenging behaviours create an unsustainable learning and working environment that interferes with students' abilities to effectively learn and the teachers' abilities to effectively teach. While teachers acknowledged dealing with behaviours was a part of their jobs, the chronic, persistent, and intense nature of challenging behaviours suggest the current state of challenging behaviours go well beyond what a teacher is trained and should be expected to do. There appears to be a normalization that dealing with challenging behaviours is just par for the course, however, when reported to negatively 76 affect the emotional, academic, physical, and safety well-being of teachers and students, then more should be done to correct this problem. Frustration Many teachers are highly frustrated as challenging behaviours appear to be inadequately addressed. As indicated by my findings, the teachers I surveyed felt an apparent lack of support and feelings of solitude in relation to their efforts to effectively manage challenging behaviours. Further, the teachers surveyed reported the issue of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms was getting progressively worse over a number of years. These feelings of frustration are consistent with Friedman's study, which first looked at teacher burnout and challenging behaviours and was published almost two decades ago in 1995. Teachers are advocating for their students as well as for better learning and working conditions. Their first-hand experience and intimate understanding of the complexities and negative effects of challenging behaviours makes it more frustrating for teachers as they feel their issue is not being taken seriously as it continues to remain unresolved and relatively unattended to. As it is often very difficult for students to be designated as a child with moderate or severe behaviour (long documentation requirements, involvement of outside agencies which have already been reported as being relatively underfunded and inaccessible) my study indicates little systemic help is being done to support students. As reported by the teachers surveyed, most of the students displaying challenging behaviours are non-designated or may have a designation in another category other than behavioural. As such, these students are not being provided additional support for their behavioural challenges and as a result, their needs are not being met. To further frustrate the problem, Bill22 was recently (2012) 77 legislated which stripped classroom size and composition language (Bill33) that would have limited the number of students in a class (in intermediate and high school classes) as well as limit the number of students with special needs designations in a class. As a result, there is currently not a maximum number of students that can be in a class (grades 4- 12) or a maximum number of students with IEPs in a class. This new mandated legislation has had serious negative effects leaving teachers feeling frustrated as shown by one teacher' s feedback: "With 10 IEP ' s in a class of26 grade 9's, meltdowns are daily. Who does this serve positively in any way?" This information implies the teachers surveyed are highly frustrated by the apparent disregard to teachers' raised concerns and requests to reduce the student-to-teacher ratio or number of students with special needs in a class so teachers can better attend to and meet the personalized learning and behavioural needs of all students. Therefore, a more active and supportive response is required from the Ministry of Education that specifically and adequately addresses the issue of challenging behaviours in a meaningful manner that would affect all students. Support Needs Teachers face time and energy constraints when balancing working with challenging behaviours, other students, instructing, heavy workloads, and job demands. The situation is complicated as teachers reported feeling they had limited expertise to deal with challenging behaviours resulting in reported low confidence levels. Despite, the negative impact of challenging behaviours on working and learning conditions and teachers' lack of confidence due to limited expertise, teachers reported they believed challenging behaviours could improve with support. These fmdings are consistent with Westling's study (2010) that found American teachers also lacked confidence but maintained an optimistic attitude regarding the 78 improvement of challenging behaviours with more support. My results indicated there are many support needs for the issue of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. The following section provides specific support needs gathered from the sample of BC teachers surveyed in order to more effectively manage challenging behaviours. The support needs can be organized into two areas: (a) improving training and preparation for challenging behaviours, and (b) better supports for dealing with the presented behaviours. Specific recommendations are provided in the following chapter (Chapter 6). Training and preparation. Teachers should be prepared by their educational training programs and employers to face the events and challenges which appear in their daily line of work. My research indicates the teachers surveyed felt they were not adequately prepared or supported by teacher education training programs or by their school boards to deal with challenging behaviours. A majority of teachers reported they did not receive preservice, in-service, or Pro-D on challenging behaviour. In some cases, teachers reported training specific to challenging behaviours was not even an option. For the minority group of teachers who did receive training, most responded they did not view the training as effective. Despite trying a variety of strategies, teachers also reported the behaviours continued to be a challenge. The biggest reasons teachers viewed the training as not effective was because it was too long ago, too theoretical, and too brief. As challenging behaviours are exhibited daily and in a vast range of ways, this reported lack of preparation and training for teachers to deal with challenging behaviours is alarming. Not only does this information suggest why teachers reported low levels of confidence, but also supports why teachers reported feeling stressed, frustrated, and discouraged. Consistent with other literature suggestions and findings (Ford, 2007; Liu & Meyer, 2005; McCann, Johannessen, & Ricca, 2005; Smart & Igo, 2010; Westling, 2010), it 79 is apparent teachers require and would like more training and preparation for dealing with challenging behaviours. Supports. Teachers reported there needed to be improvements to in-school supports, out-side school supports, systemic supports, and resources in order to effectively meet the needs of their students. The following sections outline these areas. In-school supports. Teachers were asked about the effectiveness of other teachers (collaboration), Special Education/Learning Support Teachers (SpEd/LST), behaviour specialists, psychologists, and administration as supports that were seen to have an effect in the school. Other teachers, SpEd/LST, behaviour specialists, and psychologist were all viewed as having expertise either through practical experience in the classroom (other teachers and SpEd/LST) or through their education and training (SpEd/LST, behavioural specialists, and psychologists). However, other teachers and SpEd/LST were viewed as being more "in touch" with the specific students, classroom context, and were more available, while specialist and psychologists were not as familiar with student and classroom specific needs and were relatively inaccessible. Additionally, all four resources were reported as being limited as collaboration time was often not provided, SpEd/LST time had been cut over many years, and district behavioural specialists and psychologist were spread too thinly with teachers reporting they often never even saw them. Finally, administrators were viewed as another source of support that was proximal and familiar with the specific students. Administrators were also regarded as leaders that could implement school wide positive behaviours programs. However, administrators were less viewed as experts and more as a powerful access point to back up the teacher and advocate for more support at the district level (funding). This information suggests supports are in place at schools for improving the issue of challenging behaviours but are inadequate supports as they are largely limited by 80 time, and relatively unavailable, inaccessible, and ultimately insufficiently funded. These findings are consistent with other studies who found teachers were inadequately supported at the school level for dealing with challenging behaviours (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Westling, 2010). Outside-school supports. Teachers are feeling they are unable to effectively meet the needs of students with challenging behaviours alone and need help from other sources outside of the school to do so. The teachers surveyed reported outside agencies such as community resources and specialists for students ' challenging behaviours were relatively inaccessible and unavailable, limited by time and government cut-backs. Further, these surveyed teachers reported families today were either too busy, not involved, or overprotective (helicoptering), and families required some sort of support to help with parenting or the teachers required support from the families to help with the student in school. This information is similar to findings by Westling (2010) and Ford (2007) which suggests students with challenging behaviours are often not being adequately supported outside of school by the community or their families. These fmdings and confirmations imply there needs to be improved teamwork from the schools, community resources, and families . In addition, society as a whole needs to take on a more active role in helping the responsible growth and development of our children and youth with challenging behaviours. As mentioned in an earlier section, there appears to be an apparent unawareness or disregard for students struggling with challenging behaviours by those outside the school environment. Systemic-related supports. Systemic-related supports are viewed as essential to improving the issue of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. Little can be done by teachers to improve challenging behaviours without changing the context of the current classrooms. As mentioned earlier, classroom sizes and compositions were overwhelmingly 81 reported to play a major role in the effective management of challenging behaviours. This information confirms the results gathered by Naylor and White (20 10) and teachers' concerns regarding working and learning conditions in BC. Further, these results imply the teachers surveyed feel a lower student-to-teacher ratio would significantly improve a teacher' s ability to meet the needs of all students. In addition, teachers from the study also strongly suggested increasing the number of EAs available and providing behaviour specific training to the EAs, thereby also indicating more training and an improved adult-to-student ratio would improve the teachers ' ability to effectively manage challenging behaviours. These findings support the findings of Ford (2007) who found Australian teachers found EAs helpful for working with challenging behaviours. In addition, the call for systemic related changes in BC classrooms is supported by Westling (2010) who suggested addressing the issue of challenging behaviours systemically was essential and worth investing into in order to improve this problematic issue. Resources. Resources are helpful supports if teachers are given time to find information useful to the specific current challenging behaviour situations they face. However, without the time to search or learn from them, resources are not a sufficient support to busy teachers. Resources (printed, on-line, MofE) were reported the least effective in comparison to the other supports, mostly due to teachers not having time to access or research/read them. However, many reported resources were still viewed as useful but needed to be specific to the student, practical, relevant and up-to-date, as well as made available. Some of the teachers surveyed reported not knowing MofE resources existed. My results support the findings of other researchers who suggested the need for providing more time for teachers to look up resources and creating resources that are practical, specific, and 82 current (Liu & Meyer, 2005 ; McCann, Johannessen, & Ricca, 2005 ; Smart & lgo, 2010; Westling, 2010). A Changing Society In determining the current specific support needs of BC teachers for managing challenging behaviours, it is important to consider the current cultural context of the students they teach and the current context of the education system in order for teachers to respond effectively. Students growing up in the 21 st Century have many unique characteristics. Students in BC are living in a world of increased technology, social media, virtual applications, and access to immediate information (internet). There are smaller family sizes, less need to wait for information (patience), and less direct human social interaction as relationships are often carried through text or on-line applications. Parenting has also changed with reported less involvement or over-involvement (helicoptering). In other words, the culture of our society has changed since we, as adults, went to school and therefore the behaviours presented in classrooms have changed as well. The education system has also transformed, moving to a system of inclusiveness where for the most part, all students are brought together in mainstream classrooms and teachers are expected to meet the needs of all students and their unique exceptionalities. While this system provides many benefits such as increased acceptance and understanding, it also means there are more individual needs in a classroom that need to be attended to and many of these needs are extremely diverse and complex. In other words, classroom size and composition issues have changed over time and now directly impact how much attention students ' needs are attended to by teachers. What appears to not have changed is that students still want to learn, be accepted, cared for, and be given attention. Due to societal and parenting changes, teachers not only 83 provide curricular content but to also provide mentoring, guidance, counseling, discipline, encouragement, and simple socially expected behavioural etiquette. This information suggests the role of teachers have expanded and more time and support are needed to build trusting and caring relationships to help improve challenging behaviours. In sum, a changing society results in a student culture that has unique behaviours and increased needs that teachers need to be supported with in order to respond to effectively. Teacher time remains relatively the same while student needs and behaviours have increased. The training/preparation for dealing with the current challenging behaviours does not appear to have kept up with changes in society. This information suggests governing agencies need to acknowledge these changes and update their supports to take into account the current context of the culture our students are living in and how that affects a teachers' ability to meet the needs of students within the inclusive education system. This information is consistent with findings from Friedman (1995, 2000) who found responses to challenging behaviours needed to be culture and context specific. Discussion Summary My study confirmed five main findings from professional literature and extended the information gathered to address BC specific applications. First, my results confirmed challenging behaviours are a significant problem in BC classrooms (Naylor & White, 2010) and this finding is consistent with other studies which have determined challenging behaviours in classrooms are a world-wide issue (Ford, 2007; Friedman, 1995; Westling, 2010). Second, the findings of my present study are consistent with those who reported teachers and students are negatively affected by challenging behaviours academically as well as emotionally and physically (Dunlap et al. , 2006; Friedman, 1995, 2000; Hastings & Bham, 2003; Landers, Alter, Servilio, 2008; Naylor & White, 2010; Westling, 2010; Whitted, 2011). 84 Third, my results support the findings of others studies that found challenging behaviours were not adequately being addressed (Friedman, 1995; Ford, 2007; Naylor & White, 2010; Westling, 2010). Fourth, I found consistency with studies that examined and addressed the supports required for improving challenging behaviours as perceived by teachers (Ford, 2007; Liu & Meyer, 2005; McCann, Johannessen, & Ricca, 2005; Smart & lgo, 2010; Westling, 2010). Finally, the findings of my present study are consistent with others who suggest societal changes and cultures play a role in our views and responses to challenging behaviours (Friedman, 1995). 85 Chapter 6: Conclusions Chapter 1 introduced my exploratory study and stated the significance, purpose, and guiding research question for my project which aimed to provide insight into the current realities and complexities caused by challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. Chapter 2 reviewed the literature on the impacts of challenging behaviours on teachers and students in classrooms from around the world. The literature review also established teachers in BC are highly stressed by challenging behaviours. Chapter 3 described the research methods conducted to explore teacher perceptions of the professional support needs they required to effectively manage challenging behaviours. Chapter 4 presented the results from my findings based on teacher responses to qualitative and quantitative questions from the online survey I created. Chapter 5 interpreted and discussed the findings which indicated challenging behaviours were a large and complex problem that has so far been inadequately addressed in BC. This final chapter will provide final conclusions, recommendations, and implications based on my research findings . Conclusions The conclusions of this exploratory study are based on the findings from teachers ' responses and the interpretations discussed and supported by the professional literature. I conclude that the nature of challenging behaviours negatively affect students and teachers in BC classrooms and teachers require specific supports to effectively manage and improve the issue of challenging behaviours. A serious issue in a sample of BC classrooms. The issue of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms appears to have been insufficiently and inadequately supported as reported by the teachers surveyed. As a result, challenging behaviours have resulted in negatively impacting the academic, social, emotional, and physical well-being of students. Teachers are 86 also negatively impacted as they are stressed and frustrated with trying to deal with these challenging behaviours without adequate time provisions, expertise, or support. As a result, their ability to teach the curriculum or meet the needs of other students is decreased, which in tum, also affects a teacher' s emotional well-being and overall job satisfaction. It is not apparent why challenging behaviours have been seemingly disregarded or overlooked. Perhaps the reasons have to do with the way challenging behaviours are presented in our current society. The current behaviours are exhibited as more non-physical, defiant, and disrespectful than outwardly physically aggressive behaviours. However, as reported by the teachers surveyed in this study, the challenging behaviours presented today in classrooms are nonetheless severe, diverse, frequent, and have detrimental effects on academics as well as mental and physical well-being. As a result of the costly effects, this situation needs to be better addressed and supported by those invested in our youth and education. Supports needed for improving challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. Teachers surveyed provided a number of specific support suggestions that can be used to improve challenging behaviours. Increasing one' s expertise and knowledge through more training and better preparation as well as improving the support systems in schools and around the community are seen as key factors to improving challenging behaviours. Systemic related changes, such as improvements to classroom size and composition, increased support personnel, and more to time to effectively manage challenging behaviours were also advocated. Finally, the surveyed teachers indicated challenging behaviours should be regarded in a context-specific manner; that is to say, providing student specific responses that take into account the current cultural contexts of the classroom, school, community, and societal characteristics. 87 The following sections in this chapter will provide recommendations for improving the issue of challenging behaviours in BC classrooms, pedagogical and methodological implications, my personal response to this research project, and a closing summary. Recommendations The purpose of my study was to explore and determine the specific professional support needs of teachers in relation to the effective management of challenging behaviours in a sampling of BC classrooms. The main findings were provided from responses on an online survey that sampled 97 Kindergarten to Grade 12 and specialist teachers in three southeastern BC school districts and indicated improvements in supports and training specific to challenging behaviours must be made. Caution should be used when considering generalizing the findings to the entire teaching population of BC or Canada due to the relatively small and distinct geographic location and sample size used. In addition, the use of an on-line survey inherently had limitations such as participants misinterpreting questions, inadvertently selecting wrong responses, or excluding themselves from the study due to lack of interest or limited technology literacy. However, the findings from my exploratory study still provide valuable information from a diverse sample of BC teachers that should be used for consideration. Future studies could survey the entire teacher population of the province for a better distribution and to identify specific regional support needs within BC. My results indicated teachers are overwhelmed and frustrated when dealing with challenging behaviours. They require more support in order to effectively manage and improve challenging behaviours. Based on the feedback provided by the sample of teachers surveyed in my study, I recommend there should be: (a) improved training and preparation models for BC teachers, and, (b) improved support structures and personnel for challenging behaviours in BC classrooms. 88 Improving the current training and preparation models. Teachers recognize dealing with challenging behaviours is an aspect of their job but feel they need to be more prepared with increased knowledge and understanding of challenging behaviours. By building their personal level of expertise, their level of confidence and ability to effectively manage the wide range of challenging behaviours may improve. Based on my results, I recommend improvements must be made to the current: (a) pre-service training teachers receive in their university and/or college teacher education programs, and, (b) the in-service and Pro-D opportunities provided by school districts for ongoing professional education. I further recommend the following specific recommendations for improving the three areas of teacher training and preparation for the effective management of challenging behaviours: (a) pre-service training should include mandatory courses that explicitly prepare teachers on the specific types ofbehaviours and ways to manage challenging behaviours, (b) in-service training should be provided for all teachers on challenging behaviours, not just special education or learning support teachers, counsellors, or administrators, and, (c) more Pro-D opportunities should be provided for challenging behaviours. The above recommendations for training and preparation models should provide information that is up-to-date and relevant to the context of the 21 st century in order to be effective with the current student generation. I also recommend the content of the information provided in these training models should be practical, realistic, and focussed on student and behaviour specific approaches such that teachers could use the information the next day for a specific student within the context of a large and diverse class. Applying the aforementioned specific recommendations would result in creating more effective supports teachers would view as useable. I also recommend educating teachers with research based strategies and providing in-class opportunities for a hands-on approach whenever possible. 89 By providing training that offers on-going support through regularly scheduled check-ins, feedback, and collaboration time to discuss and reflect, teachers can practice, revise, and build upon the skills they have been taught and increase their confidence to effectively manage challenging behaviours. Improving support structures and personnel. Teachers would be more able to effectively meet the needs of the student exhibiting challenging behaviours and the other students when the structure of the education system and personnel are supportive and in place. Three areas that were identified as teachers requiring professional support from included inschool supports, out-side of school supports, and systemic-related supports. I recommend increased time, availability, accessibility, and ultimately funding for these three areas in the following sections. In-school supports. It became evident to me that teachers involved in this study required support in their classrooms. Teachers recognized they were not successful on their own at managing challenging behaviours and required supports within the school which would be helpful in their classrooms. These supports could be categorized in two ways: (a) staff whose daily jobs were within the school and (b) staff whose jobs were district wide but supported students in the school periodically. For staff whose jobs were in the school, I recommend increasing the time, availability, and accessibility of special education and learning support teachers, counsellors, other teachers for collaboration, and educational assistants. These in-school supports are beneficial for helping teachers effectively manage challenging behaviours as they provide immediate as well as student specific responses due their proximity, familiarity, and pre-established connections with the students and culture of the school/community. In addition, I recommend administration be provided with training specific to challenging behaviours to 90 improve their expertise in this area as well as provide leadership for a school-wide systematic positive behaviour program which would provide consistency and support among staff and for students. A school-wide positive behaviour program could provide responses specific to the school' s culture and could be integrated in the teachers' in-service and Pro-D opportunities. The paraprofessionals who provided in-school supports but did not necessarily work in a specific school were the district psychologist and behavioural specialists. These professionals provide a higher level of expertise on students exhibiting challenging behaviours due to their specialized training. I recommend increasing access time to psychologists so that they are more available to provide direct support to the teacher and they have more time for assessing students. Currently there are long wait lists for assessments, as students often wait over a year to be seen by the psychologist. I also recommend increased time for behaviour specialists in order to improve their accessibility to all teachers and provide more practical and realistic in-class support to the teacher so the strategies provided could be used within the constraints of large class sizes and composition.. Outside school supports. Two recommendations are provided for specific improvements to community resources/specialists and families/parents which were viewed as influential for improving challenging behaviours outside of school. My first recommendation is to increase funding to community resources in order to provide more time and availability to students needing additional behavioural support. Teachers recognize community resources/specialists have experienced funding cut-backs and cannot adequately support students with challenging behaviours without more funding. Second, I recommend more supports should be provided to the parents/families of students with challenging behaviours to provide positive behaviour support at home. Teachers also acknowledge many 91 families struggle with different aspects of life (time, work, money, and other issues) and therefore require outside support. Furthermore, teachers require more support from parents/families to help effectively manage students presenting challenging behaviours at school. Systemic-related supports. Supports that are mandated by the government such as classroom size and composition affect the teachers ' ability to effectively manage challenging behaviours. I recommend the BC government: (a) provides legislation that limits and reduces classroom size for all grade levels, and (b) provides legislation that limits the number of students with IEPs in a class and improves classroom composition. By improving classroom size and compositions, the adult-to-student ratio decreases thereby providing more time and energy to attend to the needs of students with challenging behaviours as well as the needs of all the other students. Recommendation conclusion. The data indicated that teachers felt professionally unsupported and the feedback provided by the surveyed teachers indicated a range of supports were needed to improve their ability to effectively manage challenging behaviours. More supports ultimately require more funding. Governments need to invest in improving this issue which is negatively impacting student learning as well as a teacher's well-being and ability to meet curricular outcomes. Although it takes time to solve a large issue such as this, the specific support recommendations provide many opportunities and starting points for improvements. Teamwork from the community/society, the government, and the school is required to support students with challenging behaviours. As an analogy, one might consider a three legged stool where each leg represents a support: community/society, the government, and the school. The seat at the top represents the student with challenging behaviours who is 92 dependent upon the three legs for support. If one leg is taken away, then the student is immediately less supported and the structure becomes unbalanced and unsafe. If two legs are taken away, then it becomes an almost impossible balancing act to keep the student afloat with one leg. When all three legs are not available, the student will inevitably crash and fall. This analogy suggests without a concerted collaborative effort, the student with challenging behaviours stands little chance of succeeding. Implications My study sheds light on the issues and realities surrounding challenging behaviours in BC classrooms and provides specific recommendations for the professional supports needed by BC teachers to effectively manage and improve this situation. In the following section, both pedagogical and methodological implications will be provided. Pedagogical implications. Ensuring student well-being should be the priority of all those invested in education through the use of student-centred learning. Teachers need to be more supported with pedagogical strategies for dealing with students exhibiting challenging behaviours. Students require special considerations as they are developing both physically and emotionally and responses to challenging behaviours could be helpful or inadvertently hurtful. The pre-established literature (Dunlap et al., 2006; Whitted, 2011) and my results indicated students with challenging behaviours are at a higher risk for increased emotional, social, and academic needs. The use of pedagogical strategies could help to build a caring and trusting relationship between the student and teacher which may in tum be essential for successfully improving challenging behaviours. Responses to challenging behaviours must be pedagogically sound before attempting to work with students exhibiting challenging behaviours. 93 Methodological implications. My study brought up many other implications such as the mental health of teachers, societal responsiveness to children growing up in a fastchanging and technological environment, and families requiring support in raising their children. More standardized surveys need to be done to gain a deeper understanding of these issues. Researchers interested in studying the aforementioned topics need to have a solid understanding of qualitative and quantitative approaches. University courses in research methods as well as qualitative and quantitative statistics should be taken before attempting to undertake an exploratory study using survey methods. Personal Response This exploratory research study has greatly impacted my understanding of teachers, students, and the current education system. My research journey has confirmed teaching is a complex job yet one that can be very rewarding as a teacher can positively impact and change a student's life. I felt teachers were very candid in their responses and appreciated the time they took out of their busy and exhausting schedules to share their experiences. I recommend teachers continue to work towards sharing their experiences in order to support each other and decrease feelings of solitude. Researchers considering embarking on a journey similar to mine should aim to create a simpler and shorter survey so as not to add more work to a teacher's already heavy workload. This study has been a very challenging process as it required immense time, understanding of the research process, and evaluated a wide range of quantitative and qualitative datum. However, gaining a much more in-depth understanding of a topic that is not only personally meaningful to me but to my colleagues as well is rewarding. Graduate students considering researching should carefully select a topic that they are passionate about and can use for personal growth in order to keep them motivated through the research process. 94 The information I have found from my project will be useful for the rest of my career and I hope it will make a difference in the lives of other teachers. The aim of my project was to determine the professional support needs of teachers to effectively manage challenging behaviours in BC. I felt my holistic approach to a specific topic not only uncovered many recommendations but exposed many other implications and complexities that may not have been revealed otherwise. I hope I have provided a voice for BC teachers and have strongly advocated for improvements to the issue of challenging behaviours. Chapter Summary Teachers became teachers because they love teaching and want to help children and youth. In short, teachers want the best for their students and advocate on their behalf for better learning conditions. In addition teachers want to enjoy their work and work environments. They believe the issue of challenging behaviours can improve if they are more professionally supported. Although funding for improvements to education are not limitless, the government needs to recognize that the costs are too detrimental not to invest in. In a time where initiatives for personalized learning and differentiated instruction are at the forefront, then factors such as challenging behaviours impeding student centred learning need to be addressed with the same vigour and support in order to avoid counteracting the goals and success of these initiatives. The governing agencies need to consider the changes that have taken place in society and support teachers in a context specific manner. Teachers are the foundation of student learning and if adequately supported, they will make a difference, help improve the issue of challenging behaviours, and benefit all invested in education. 95 References Abidin, R. R., & Robinson, L. L. (2002). Stress, biases, or professionalism: What drives teachers' referral judgments of students with challenging behaviors? Journal of Emotional & Behavioral Disorders, 10(4), 204-212. American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author. Ames, C.S., & White, S.J. (2011). Brief report: Are ADHD traits dissociable from the autistic profile? Links between cognition and behaviour. Journal ofAutism and Developmental Disorders, 41 , 357-363. doi: 10.1007Is10803-010-1049-0 BC Ministry of Education, Policy Site. (2006). Policy Document: Special Education. Retrieved from: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/policy/policies/special ed.htm. BC Ministry of Education. (20 11 ). BC 's Education Plan. Retrieved from: http: //www.bcedplan.ca/assets/pdf/bc edu plan.pdf BC Ministry of Education. Ministry Service Plan Site. (2012). 2012/13 - 2014/ 15 Service Plan. Retrieved from: http://www.bcbudget. gov. bc.ca/20 12/sp/pdf/ministry/educ.pdf Caselman, T., & Cantwell, J. (201 0). Impulse control: Activities & worksheets for middle school students. Chapin, SC: Y outhLight, Inc. Creswell, J.W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research - Fourth Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Dunlap, G., Iovannone, R., Kincaid, D., Wilson, K., Christiansen, K., Strain, P. , & English, C. (20 10). Prevent, teach, reinforce: The school-based model of individualized positive behavior support. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Dunlap, G., Strain, P. S., Fox, L., Carta, J. J., Conroy, M., Smith, B. J., & ... Sowell, C. (2006). Prevention and intervention with young children's challenging behavior: Perspectives regarding current knowledge. Behavioral Disorders, 32(1), 29-45. Ford, J. (2007). Educational supports for students with disabilities and significant behavioural challenges: Teacher perceptions. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 31(2), 109-127. doi: 10.1080/10300110701704978. Friedman, I. A. (1995). Student behavior patterns contributing to teacher burnout. Journal of Educational Research , 88(5), 281-289. Friedman, I.A. (2000). Burnout in teachers: Shattered dreams of impeccable professional performance. Psychotherapy in Practice, 56(5), 595-606. 96 Gebbie, D.H., Ceglowski, D., Taylor, L.K., & Miels, J. (2012). The role of teacher efficacy in strengthening classroom support for preschool children with disabilities who exhibit challenging behaviors. Early Childhood Education, 40(35), 35-46. doi: 10.1007/s1 0643-011-0486-5 Gresham, F. M., Watson, T., & Skinner, C. H. (2001). Functional Behavioral Assessment: Principles, Procedures, and Future Directions. School Psychology Review, 30(2), 156 -172. Hastings, R. P., & Bham, M.S. (2003). The relationship between student behaviour patterns and teacher burnout. School Psychology International, 24(1), 115-127. Hemmeter, M.L., Ostrosky, M., & Fox, L. (2006). Social and emotional foundations for early learning: A conceptual model of intervention. School Psychology Review, 35(4), 651657. Landers, E. , Alter, P., & Servilio, K. (2008). Students' challenging behavior and teachers' job satisfaction. Beyond Behavior, 18(1), 26-33. Liu, X.S., & Meyer, J.P. (2005). Teachers' perceptions of their jobs: Multilevel analysis of the teacher follow-up survey for 1994-1995. Teachers College Record, 107(5), 985. McCann, T.M., Johannessen, L.R., & Ricca, B. (2005). Responding to new teachers' concerns. Educational Leadership, 62(8), 30-34. MacSuga, A.S., & Simonsen, B. (2011). Increasing teachers' use of evidence-based classroom management strategies through consultation: Overview and case studies. Beyond Behavior, 20(2), 4-12. McKinney, S. E., Campbell-Whately, G. D., & Kea, C. D. (2005). Managing student behavior in urban classrooms. Clearing House, 79(1), 16-20. Moeller, F.G., Barratt, E.S., Dougherty, D.M., Schmitz, J.M., & Swann, A.C. (2001). Psychiatric aspects of impulsivity. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(11 ), 17831793. Morrissey, K.L., Bohanon, H., & Penning, P. (2010). Teaching and acknowledging expected behaviors in an urban high school. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(5), 26-35. Naylor, C., & White, M. (2010). The worklife ofBC teachers in 2009: A BCTF study of working and learning conditions. Vancouver, BC: BCTF Research. Retrieved from BCTF website: http: //bctf. ca/uploadedF il es/Public/Issues/Workl ifeW orkload/2009/FullReport.pdf Province of British Columbia. (2013). Learn and live in British Columbia: Quality education, quality life. Why study in BC? Retrieved from: http ://www.learnlivebc.ca/why_ study.htm 97 Rief, S. (2005). How to reach and teach children with ADDIADHD: Practical techniques, strategies, and interventions- 2nd Edition. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass. Rhode, G., Jenson, W.R., Kenton Reavis, H. (1992). The tough kid book: Practical classroom management strategies. Longmont, CA: Sopris West. Smart, J. B., & Igo, L. (2010). A grounded theory of behavior management strategy selection, implementation, and perceived effectiveness reported by first-year elementary teachers. Elementary School Journal, 110(4), 567-584. Tillery, A., Vmjas, K., Meyers, J., & Collins, A. (2010). General education teachers' perceptions of behavior management and intervention strategies. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 12(2), 86-102. Westling, D.L. (2010). Teachers and challenging behavior: Knowledge, views, and practices. Remedial and Special Education, 31(48), 48-63. doi: 10.1177/0741932508327466 Whitted, K. S. (2011). Understanding how social and emotional skill deficits contribute to school failure. Preventing School Failure, 55(1), 10-1. 98 Appendix A Introductory Participant Letter Dear Colleague, I am a classroom teacher in School District 8 - Kootenay Lake, and I am interested in gathering the perceptions of BC teachers in relation to their experiences with challenging behaviours. I would deeply appreciate your help in exploring the specific challenging behaviours BC teachers encounter and their views on the current preparation, training, resources, and supports BC teachers receive in relation to effectively managing challenging behaviours. As a Master of Special Education student at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) and a classroom teacher, I am interested in research that will benefit students and teachers in BC. Possible benefits from this study may include: highlighting the current impact of challenging behaviours on BC classrooms, addressing the level of effectiveness of current supports, as well as providing recommendations for the improvement of the learning environment and professional supports for BC Teachers. In addition, the information gathered from this study may be used for future research in the area of challenging behaviours. The only possible known risk to participating in this study is the possibility of the teacher participant encountering stress from their frustration at recalling their experiences in teaching students with behavioural issues. Counseling resources teachers can access due to the risks noted include the Employee Family Assistance Program (EF AP) provided to teachers through the BCTF by calling 1-800-667-0993 . As a BC teacher, you were chosen to participate in this research study because of your valuable experiences in BC classrooms. I would appreciate your participation on a short on-line survey. Your participation is voluntary and you can withdraw your participation and the information you may have included from this study at any time. If you choose to withdraw at any time, your data will be destroyed after your request to withdraw. Anonymity and confidentiality for all participants is assured to the best of my ability. Confidentiality will be difficult to ensure due to the nature of the research. Your personal information will only be viewed by me and my project supervisor. Personal participant information will be stored on my personal Fluid Surveys Canada account with a secure password on a secure server. Any saved material on my personal USB or printed hard copy materials will be stored in a locked filing cabinet. At the end of the project period (April, 2013), all materials will be stored for up to five years after the Master of Education degree has been ascertained, for any publications or presentations that may occur. After that time period, all electronic material will be deleted and hard copy material will be shredded. By completing the survey which can be accessed through the link below, you are giving me your consent to participate in this study and allowing your responses to be used for the purpose of this study. If you would like a copy of the research results, please contact me at the information provided below and I would be happy to send you the information. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me or Dr. Andrew Kitchenham, my project supervisor, with the contact information below. Any complaints about the project should be directed to the UNBC Research Ethics Board Office of Research at the contact information below. 99 Thank you very much for your time, help, and insights. I deeply appreciate your participation in this survey study. This survey will take approximately 20 minutes of your time. Please complete the survey by February 12, 2013 using the link below. Sincerely, Kathleen Takeda Master of Education Student University ofNorthem British Columbia (UNBC), Prince George BC Phone: 250-402-3830; takeda(i:D,unbc.ca Dr. Andrew Kitchenham, Professor and MEd (Special Education) Coordinator, UNBC 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9 CANADA Office: TAL Building room 4036 Phone: 250-960-6707; kitchena@unbc.ca UNBC Office of Research 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9 CANADA Phone: 250-960-6735; reb@unbc.ca 100 Appendix B Survey and Quantitative Responses Participant Consent Percentage Count Yes 99% 90 No 1% 1 Response Chart 91 Total Responses 1. Gender Percentage Count Male 21% 19 Female 79% 72 Transgendered 0% 0 Response Chart 91 Total Responses 2. Location (School District): Response Chart School District No. 5 (Southeast Percentage Count 19% 17 60% 55 21% 19 Kootenay) School District No . 8 (Kootenay Lake) School District No. 20 (KootenayColumbia) Total Responses 91 3. What is your current teaching assignment? (You may select more than one). Response Chart Percentage Count 101 Kindergarten 12% 11 Primary 28% 25 Intermediate 24% 22 Middle 12% 11 Secondary 24% 22 Learning Support Teacher 11% 10 Counselor 1% 1 TOC 16% 14 Other, please specify ... 19% 17 Total Responses 90 3. What is your current teaching assignment? (You may select more than one). (Other, please specify ...). See Appendix for responses. 4. What has been your average number of students over the past two years? Response Chart Percentage Count Fewer than 20 students 7% 6 20-24 students 42% 38 25-30 students 37% 33 30+ students 14% 13 Total Responses 90 5. How long have you been teaching? Response Percentage Count 0-5 years 15% 14 6-10 years 20% 18 11-15 years 14% 13 16-20 years 10% 9 20+ years 41% 37 Chart 102 91 Total Responses 6. What is your highest level of certification/education? Percentage Count Bachelor Degree 22% 20 Bachelor Degree + Post-Secondary 41% 37 Master' s Degree 37% 33 Doctorate ( EdD) 0% 0 Doctorate (PhD) 0% 0 Response Chart Certificate/Diploma/Bachelor Degree Tota l Responses 90 1. What type of challenging behaviours do you encounter in your classroom? Check all that apply. Response Verbal Aggression (challenging, Chart Percentage Count 63% 40 59% 37 29% 18 54% 34 94% 59 95% 60 threatening, strong inappropriate language) Physical Aggression (hitting, pushing, kicking others) Self-Injury (harming oneself such as self-cutting, self-hairpulling, selfhitting) Destruction(breaking school property or personal property) Disrespectfulness/Rudeness (lack of manners (inappropriate words/actions), lack of regard to the school/staff (ex. talking back), lack of social etiquette (ex. yawning loudly, passing gas)) Disruption (interfering and 103 interrupting at inappropriate times, clowning around) 87% 55 Impulsivity (acting without thinking) 87% 55 Social Withdrawal (tends to avoid 73% 46 76% 48 Dishonesty 78% 49 Stereotypy (repetitive movements 38% 24 29% 18 Other, please specify ... 13% 8 Other, please specify ... 5% 3 Other, please specify .. . 2% 1 Other, please specify ... 3% 2 Defiance/Non-compliance (not doing as asked, not following rules) and withdraw from participating in activities, avoids contact with peers and/or adults) Passive Aggression (Purposefully aggressive without verbally addressing the behaviour: silent treatment, eye rolling, avoiding work or getting started, tapping, not listening, silently defiant) or acts (ex. hand flapping, body rocking, parts of speech) Illegal behaviour (engaging in behaviours that are against the law such as drugs, alcohol, theft, fraud, vandalism) Total Responses 63 104 1. What type of challenging behaviours do you encounter in your classroom? Check all that apply. (Other, please specify...). See Appendix for responses. 1. What type of challenging behaviours do you encounter in your classroom? Check all that apply. (Other, please specify... ). See Appendix for responses. 1. What type of challenging behaviours do you encounter in your classroom? Check all that apply. (Other, please specify...). See Appendix for responses. 1. What type of challenging behaviours do you encounter in your classroom? Check all that apply. (Other, please specify ... ). See Appendix for responses. 2. Please indicate the number of student(s) per class displaying the challenging behaviours. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 (32%) 15 (30%) 4 (8%) 3 (6%) 0 (0%} 2 (4%) 0(0%) 2 (4%) O(Oo/c 15%) 8 (15%) 7 (13%) 12 (23%) 4(8%) 3 (6%} 2 (4%) 1 (2%) 1(2o/c 105 Designated 3. Please indicate how often you encounter challenging behaviours in a day: Chart Percentage Count 0-2 times/day 17% 11 3-5 times/day 37% 23 6-10 times/day 24% 15 10+ times/day 22% 14 Response Total Responses 63 4. How much time of your day is spent dealing with challenging behaviours? Response Chart Percentage Count 0-5 min 2% 1 6-10 min 10% 6 11-15 min 27% 17 15-30 min 19% 12 30-60 min 35% 22 60+ min 8% 5 Total Responses 63 5. Type of impact on learning environment(check all that apply): Response Chart Percentage Count Disrupts instructional time 97% 61 Takes away individual teacher 90% 57 106 time 90% 57 81% 51 95% 60 84% 53 2% 1 Other, please specify ... 3% 2 Other, please specify .. . 0% 0 Other, please specify ... 0% 0 Increases stress on students in the learning environment Increases emotional toll on students in the learning environment Increases stress on teachers in the learning environment Increases emotional toll on teachers in the learning environment Does not impact learning environment Total Responses 63 5. Type of impact on learning environment( check all that apply): (Other, please specify... ). See Appendix for responses. 5. Type of impact on learning environment( check all that apply): (Other, please specify ...) # Response 5. Type of impact on learning environment( check all that apply): (Other, please specify ... ) # Response 6. Describe a typical disruption from a student with challenging behaviour and how you deal with the disruption. The 53 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 107 7. Describe how ongoing challenging behaviours affect your working conditions The 52 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 8. Describe how ongoing challenging behaviours affect your job satisfaction: The 54 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 9. Describe how ongoing challenging behaviours affect the student learning in your classroom: The 54 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 10. Challenging behaviours impact student learning: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter() 69% 41 Passive() 27% 16 Detractor() 3% 2 Total Responses 59 Mean 0.3 Median 0.0 Variance 0.3 Net Promoter Score 66% 11. Challenging behaviours impact teacher job satisfaction: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter() 56% 33 Passive() 29% 17 Detractor() 15% 9 Total Responses 59 Mean 0.6 108 Median 0.0 Variance 0.6 Net Promoter Score 41% 12. Challenging behaviours impact stress in the learning environment: Percentage Count Promoter 71% 42 Passive 25% 15 Detractor 3% 2 Response Chart Total Responses 59 Net Promoter Score 68% 13. Challenging behaviours impact negative emotions in the learning environment: Percentage Count Promoter 51% 30 Passive 42% 25 Detractor 7% 4 Response Chart Total Responses 59 Net Promoter Score 44% 14. I feel confident in my ability to effectively manage and improve challenging behaviours: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 27% 16 Passive 32% 19 Detractor 41% 24 Total Responses 59 109 -14% Net Promoter Score 15. I feel supported with regards to significantly challenging behaviours in the classroom: Percentage Count Promoter 5% 3 Passive 29% 17 Detractor 66% 38 Response Chart Total Responses 58 Net Promoter Score -60% 16. I believe challenging behaviours can improve with better support: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 61% 36 Passive 31% 18 Detractor 8% 5 Total Responses 59 Net Promoter Score 53% Please provide any comments you may having on the issues of challenging behaviours and impacts on learning, support for challenging behaviours, teacher job satisfaction/confidence, and beliefs towards challenging behaviours. The 29 response{s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 17. How satisfied are you with the effectiveness of the strategies you use to meet the needs of students with challenging behaviours? Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 5% 3 Passive 51% 29 110 44% Detractor 25 Total Responses 57 Net Promoter Score -39% 18. How familiar are you with the principles of applied behaviour analysis (ABA)? Percentage Count Promoter 5% 3 Passive 16% 9 Detractor 79% 44 Response Chart Total Responses 56 Net Promoter Score -73% 19. How familiar are you with the principles of functional behaviour analysis (FBA)? Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 12% 7 Passive 18% 10 Detractor 70% 40 Total Responses 57 Net Promoter Score -58% 20. How familiar are you with the principles of school wide positive behaviour intervention support (PBIS) strategies? Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 11% 6 Passive 19% 11 Detractor 70% 40 Total Responses 57 111 -60% Net Promoter Score 21. How familiar are you with the response to intervention (RTI) model? Percentage Count Promoter 4% 2 Passive 16% 9 Detractor 81% 46 Response Chart Total Responses 57 Net Promoter Score -77% 22. When presented with challenging behaviours, what strategies do you try fuse often? Please describe using everyday language. The 46 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. Please add any comments you may have for behaviour models and strategies. The 16 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 23. Have you received pre-service training for dealing with challenging behaviours? Response Chart Percentage Count Yes 37% 21 No 63% 36 57 Total Responses 24. If you answered yes in Question 23, how long ago was your preservice training? Response 0-2 years Chart Percentage Count 29% 6 112 3-5 years 10% 2 6-10 years 24% 5 10+ years 38% 8 Total Responses 21 25. Please describe the pre-service training you received for dealing with challenging behaviours: The 22 response(s) to this question can be found in the append ix. 26 If you answered yes in Question 23, how effective was the preservice training you received for dealing with the current challenging behaviours you face? Percentage Count Promoter 0% 0 Passive 22% 5 Detractor 78% 18 Response Chart Total Responses 23 Net Promoter Score -78% Comments The 10 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 27. If minimally effective (1-2), why? Response Chart Percentage Count Too long ago 38% 5 Pre-service training was too quick 15% 2 Needs to be ongoing 15% 2 15% 2 feedback/updates Information was too general to apply to a chosen grade level I subject area 113 Inappropriate content for my 15% 2 Information from professor was 0% 0 54% 7 chosen a grade level I subject area outdated Other, please specify ... 13 Total Responses 27. If minimally effective (1-2), why? (Other, please specify... ). See Appendix for Responses. 28. If very effective, (4-5), why? Percentage Count The training was recent 29% 2 Pre-service training was an 29% 2 29% 2 14% 1 Content was appropriate for my 29% 2 Information from professor was 14% 1 43% 3 Response Chart adequate time length to get the information I needed There was ongoing feedback/updates Information was specific to apply to a chosen grade level I subject area chosen a grade level I subject area current Other, please specify ... 7 Total Responses 28.1fvery effective, (4-5), why? (Other, please specify... ). See Appendix for responses. 29. Did you receive in-service training for dealing with challenging behaviours? Response Chart Percentage Count 114 Yes 33% 18 No 67% 37 Total Responses 55 30. If you answered yes to Question 31, how long ago was your inservice training? Percentage Count Within the past two years 38% 8 3-5 years 24% 5 6-10 years 10% 2 10+ years 29% 6 Response Chart Total Responses 21 31. Please describe the in-service training you received for dealing with challenging behaviours: The 18 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 32. If you answered yes to Question 29, how effective has the inservice training been for dealing with the current challenging behaviours you face? Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 5% 1 Passive 29% 6 Detractor 67% 14 Total Responses 21 Net Promoter Score -62% Comments The 8 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 115 33. If minimally effective (0-3), why? Percentage Count Too long ago 18% 2 Workshop was too quick 9% 1 Needs to be ongoing 9% 1 0% 0 Inappropriate content for my 9% 1 Information from professor was 9% 1 55% 6 Response Chart feedback/updates Information was too general to apply to chosen grade level I subject area chosen grade level I subject area outdated Other, please specify ... 11 Total Responses 33. If minimally effective (0-3), why? (Other, please specify... ). See Appendix for responses. 34. If very effective, (7-10), why? Response Chart Percentage Count The training was recent 33% 4 Workshop an adequate time 25% 3 33% 4 8% 1 Content was appropriate for my 25% 3 Information from professor was 17% 2 length to get the information I needed There was ongoing feedback/updates Information was specific to apply to a chosen grade level I subject area chosen a grade level I subject area current 116 50% Other, please specify ... 6 12 Total Responses 34. If very effective, (7-10), why? (Other, please specify... ). See Appendix for responses. 35. Have you taken part in Pro-D (self-selected) training for dealing with challenging behaviours? Percentage Count Yes 45% 25 No 55% 30 Response Chart 55 Total Responses 36. If you answered yes to Question 35, how long ago was your Pro-D training? Response Percentage Count Within the past two years 50% 13 3-5 years 15% 4 6-10 years 27% 7 10+ years 8% 2 Chart Total Responses 26 37. Please describe the Pro-D training you received for dealing with challenging behaviours: The 21 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 38. If you answered yes to Question 35, how effective has the Pro-D training you received for dealing with the current challenging behaviours you face? Response Promoter Chart Percentage Count I 4% 1 117 Passive 32% 8 Detractor 64% 16 Total Responses 25 Net Promoter Score -60% Comments The 9 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 39. If minimally effective (0-3), why? Percentage Count Too long 0% 0 Workshop was too quick 0% 0 Needs to be ongoing 18% 2 27% 3 Inappropriate content for my 9% 1 Information from professor was 0% 0 82% 9 Response Chart feedback/updates Information was too general to apply to chosen grade level I subject area chosen grade level I subject area outdated Other, please specify .. . 11 Total Responses 39. If minimally effective (0-3), why? (Other, please specify... ) See Appendix. 40. If very effective, (7-10), why? Percentage Count The training was recent 62% 8 Workshop an adequate time 54% 7 Response length to get the information I Chart 118 needed 23% 3 31% 4 Content was appropriate for my 38% 5 Information from professor was 54% 7 23% 3 There was ongoing feed backlu pdates Information was specific to apply to a chosen grade level I subject area chosen a grade level I subject area current Other, please specify ... Total Responses 13 40. If very effective, (7-10), why? (Other, please specify... ) See Appendix. Please add any comments you may have regarding PRE-SERVICE, INSERVICE, or PRO-D training/preparation for challenging behaviours. The 10 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 41. Printed resources (books, pamphlets, etc) are readily available to me: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 13% 7 Passive 24% 13 Detractor 63% 34 Total Responses 54 Net Promoter Score -50% 42. Printed resources effectively support my ability to manage challenging behaviours: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter I 2% 1 119 Passive 17% 9 Detractor 81% 44 Total Responses 54 Net Promoter Score -80% 43. I use printed resources to help me in relation to challenging behaviours: Percentage Count Promoter 6% 3 Passive 22% 12 Detractor 72% 39 Response Chart Total Responses 54 Net Promoter Score -67% 44. If resources are available but use is low, why aren't you using them? (Check all that apply). Percentage Count 16% 7 Not easily accessible 21% 9 Books are too big/overwhelming 14% 6 Books are too general 26% 11 Too many books, I don't know how 26% 11 16% 7 35% 15 67% 29 Response Not many resources available at my school library I district resource Chart center to choose a good resource Resources seem out-of-date/not current Strategies provided from resources are not specific to my classroom behavioural challenges I don't have time to read/learn 120 strategies from book I don't have time to search for 49% 21 16% 7 21% 9 resources I don't feel confident in applying strategies from books without talking to someone with more knowledge about behaviour or resources Other, please specify ... 43 Total Responses 44. If resources are available but use is low, why aren't you using them? (Check all that apply). (Other, please specify... ) See Appendix. 45. If your resource usage was low (0-3), please specify your reason(s): (Check all that apply). Percentage Count 14% 4 Resources are not easily accessible 21% 6 Inconvenience {I cannot use at my 34% 10 Books are too big/overwhelming 14% 4 Books are too general 10% 3 Too many books, I don't know how 17% 5 7% 2 34% 10 66% 19 Response There are not many resources Chart available at my school own time, I have to schedule a meeting) to choose a good resource Resources seem out-of-date/not current Strategies provided from resources are not specific to my classroom behavioural challenges I don't have time to read/learn strategies from book 121 I don't have time to search for 55% 16 21% 6 31% 9 resources I don't feel confident in applying strategies from books without talking to someone with more knowledge about behaviour or resources Other, please specify ... 29 Total Responses 45. If your resource usage was low (0-3), please specify your reason(s): (Check all that apply). (Other, please specify... )See Appendix. 46. If your resource usage was high (7-10), please specify your reason(s): (Check all that apply). Response Chart Percentage Count 7% 1 Resources are easily accessible 50% 7 Convenience (can use at my own 57% 8 43% 6 I find resources very helpful 64% 9 Other, please specify ... 14% 2 Many resources available at my school time, I don't have to schedule a meeting) I like the reproducible strategies, I like the range of information 14 Total Responses 46.1fyour resource usage was high (7-10), please specify your reason(s): (Check aH that apply). (Other, please specify... ) See Appendix 47. Online resources (websites, etc) are readily available to me: Response Promoter Chart Percentage Count 23% 12 122 Passive 42% 22 Detractor 36% 19 Total Responses 53 Net Promoter Score -13% 48. Online resources effectively support my ability to manage challenging behaviours: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 4% 2 Passive 23% 12 Detractor 74% 39 Total Responses 53 Net Promoter Score -70% 49. I use online resources to help me in relation to challenging behaviours: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 4% 2 Passive 19% 10 Detractor 77% 41 Total Responses 53 Net Promoter Score -74% 50. BC Ministry of Education resources are readily available to me: Response Chart Percentage Count Promoter 12% 6 Passive 18% 9 Detractor 70% 35 Total Responses 50 123 -58% Net Promoter Score 51. BC Ministry of Education resources effectively support my ability to manage challenging behaviours: Percentage Count Promoter 0% 0 Passive 6% 3 Detractor 94% 47 Response Chart Total Responses so Net Promoter Score -94% 52. I use BC Ministry of Education resources to help me in relation to challenging behaviours: Percentage Count Promoter 0% 0 Passive 2% 1 Detractor 98% 49 Response Chart Total Responses so Net Promoter Score -98% 53. Please comment on the strengths/limitations of any of the resources mentioned: PRINTED, ON-LINE andjor BC MINISTRY OF EDUCATION resources. The 24 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 54. I am sufficiently supported by my administration. Response Chart Percentage Count N/A 0% 0 Strongly Disagree 12% 6 Disagree 27% 14 124 Agree 37% 19 Strongly Agree 24% 12 51 Total Responses 55. I am sufficiently supported by my District Behavioural Specialist. Response Chart Percentage Count N/A 21% 11 Strongly Disagree 33% 17 Disagree 29% 15 Agree 13% 7 Strongly Agree 4% 2 52 Total Responses 56. I am sufficiently supported by my Special Education j Learning Support Teacher. Response Chart Percentage Count N/A 12% 6 Strongly Disagree 14% 7 Disagree 16% 8 Agree 33% 17 Strongly Agree 25% 13 51 Total Responses 57. I sufficiently supported by my School or District Psychologist. Response Chart Percentage Count N/A 25% 13 Strongly Disagree 25% 13 Disagree 17% 9 Agree 25% 13 125 Strongly Agree I 4 8% Total Responses 52 58. I am sufficiently supported by other teachers (collaboration). Percentage Count N/A 2% 1 Strongly Disagree 4% 2 Disagree 10% 5 Agree 50% 26 Strongly Agree 35% 18 Response Chart Total Responses 52 59. What school-related support do you feel would be most helpful for improving challenging behaviour. Rank the top 3 (1 is highest, 3 is lowest): Choice 1 Choice 2 Total Choice 3 Responses Administration 17 (40%) 13 (31%) 12 (29%) 42 District Behavioural Specialists 10 (36%) 7 (25%) 11 (39%) 28 Special Education/Learning 13 (35%) 15 (41%) 9 (24%) 37 District or school psychologist 1 (6%) 8 (SO%) 7 (44%) 16 Other teachers (collaboration) 8 (33%) 8 (33%) 8 (33%) 24 Support Teacher Please specify your reason(s) for your rankings in Question 59: The 40 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 60. I am sufficiently supported with a manageable classroom size. Response Chart Percentage Count N/A I 12% 6 126 Strongly Disagree 33% 16 Disagree 29% 14 Agree 24% 12 Strongly Agree 2% 1 Total Responses 49 61. I am sufficiently supported with a manageable classroom composition. Percentage Count N/A 12% 6 Strongly Disagree 44% 22 Disagree 28% 14 Agree 16% 8 Strongly Agree 0% 0 0% 0 Response Chart so Total Responses 62. Please comment on the current job demands which affect your time/ability to deal with challenging behaviours: The 33 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 63. I am sufficiently supported from familiesjparentsjcaregivers of students with challenging behaviours. Response Chart Percentage Count N/A 10% 5 Strongly Disagree 16% 8 Disagree 37% 18 Agree 33% 16 Strongly Agree 4% 2 Total Responses 49 127 64. I am sufficiently supported by the community resources I specialists. Percentage Count N/A 12% 6 Strongly Disagree 24% 12 Disagree 39% 19 Agree 24% 12 Strongly Agree 0% 0 Response Chart Total Responses 49 Please add any comments you may have on any of the supports mentioned: SCHOOL-RELATED, SYSTEMIC, andjor OUTSIDE SCHOOL SUPPORTS for challenging behaviours. The 18 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 65. Please share your experiences and/ or recommend what you believe teachers need in order to effectively support challenging behaviours: The 39 response(s) to this question can be found in the appendix. 128 Appendix- Qualitative responses are not included.