Research
2009-2010 Funded Project
What Do Preschool Teachers Perceive as the Factors Affecting Referral Decisions for Young Children with Severe Behavior Problems?: A Pilot Study
Susan Kingsley, doctoral student in the Ph.D. in Education; Early Childhood, Intervention and Literacy program, will be working with teachers in Head Start classrooms in Orange County Schools and in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City schools to investigate and describe factors that teachers perceive as affecting their referral decisions for young children with severe behavior problems. These factors include teacher characteristics such as beliefs, perceptions, knowledge and skills about severe behavior problems in young children, and systems issues such as lack of coordinated systems for identification and referral, inconsistent eligibility for and inadequacy of services available for young children with severe behavior problems.
Approximately fifteen preschool teachers who have experience working with young children with severe behavior problems will participate in one to two 45 to 60 minute interviews. Participants will be given two case studies of young children with a severe behavior problem and asked what would happen to the child in their classroom and program if the child’s behavior did not improve. Open-ended and semi-structured questions will be used to allow participants to respond at the level of depth with which they are comfortable. Researcher impressions of the interview will be recorded as field notes.
Specific research questions guiding the study include:
- What do preschool teachers perceive are the most significant personal factors (concerns, beliefs, education and knowledge level) influencing their identification and referral decisions?
- What do preschool teachers perceive are the most significant program factors (referral systems, eligibility and availability of services) influencing their identification and referral decisions?
- What do preschool teachers perceive are other factors that influence their identification and referral decisions?
