Training school psychologists to conduct culturally informed Functional Behavior Assessment interviews

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• School Psychology
• Cultural Psychology

Background:

• Exclusionary discipline disproportionately affects minority students.
• Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs) are an alternative, but cultural factors are often overlooked.
• School psychologists need training in culturally humble practices for FBAs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of high-intensity (behavioral skills training) versus low-intensity (self-training) on school psychologists' FBA interview skills.
• To assess psychologists' ability to conduct interviews with cultural humility.
• To evaluate interview quality and protocol adherence after training.

Main Methods:

• A study compared behavioral skills training (BST) with self-training for school psychologists.
• Participants conducted simulated FBA interviews with caregivers.
• Interviews were assessed for adherence to protocol and quality of delivery before and after training.

Main Results:

• Self-training ensured adherence to the FBA protocol.
• Behavioral skills training significantly improved the quality of interview delivery.
• Neither training method was explicitly detailed in terms of cultural humility outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Behavioral skills training is more effective than self-training for enhancing the quality of FBA interviews.
• Targeted professional development is crucial for school psychologists to implement culturally informed practices.
• Future research should further explore effective training methods for cultural humility in school psychology.