Problem Ownership, Causal Attributions, and Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Teachers' Referral Decisions

Fifty-five elementary teachers were presented with 12 vignettes describing chronic, persistent classroom behavioral problems. Teachers were interviewed regarding their perceptions of the causes of students' problems, their control over the problem, their self-efficacy for resolving the problem on their own, and their choice of intervention: child referral, consultation, or handling the problem without assistance. Two series of discriminant function analyses (DFAs) were applied to determine how well intervention choice could be predicted by (a) ratings of the importance of six causal factors, or (b) teachers' perceptions of control over the problem and self-efficacy for resolving the problem. Seven of the 12 DFAs for the second function were significant, with self-efficacy consistently predicting teachers' choices to attempt to resolve the problem on their own rather than to seek assistance through consultation or referral. Generally, teachers' self-efficacy, perceptions of control, and attributions did not predict teachers' decisions to seek consultation or to refer the child. More experienced teachers selected referral more often than less experienced teachers. Implications for consultation practice and research are offered.