Teachers and Challenging Behavior

Seventy teachers (38 special education and 32 general education teachers) completed a questionnaire using Likert-type scales to describe several traits and conditions about themselves and students with challenging behavior. Results indicated that most teachers did not use many effective strategies or receive sufficient support, and viewed challenging behavior as having an adverse effect on them and their students. Still most believed most challenging behavior was learned and could be improved. Although they felt they had learned about how to deal with “most” challenging behavior through experience, most did not perceive their professional preparation to be adequate. Regression analysis demonstrated that inservice and preservice preparation were predictive of confidence and the number of strategies used for addressing challenging behavior.