Poster #83 - Supporting Students with Challenging Behavior in South Africa: A Survey of Teacher Practices and Self-Efficacy

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Education, Schooling

Integrative Statement

Apartheid left in its wake political tensions and social unrest, which translated into high levels of violence in many South African communities. As a result, children were exposed to frequent violence and police brutality throughout apartheid and in apartheid’s aftermath (Hickson & Kriegler, 1996). In South Africa, the current rate of children experiencing violence and abuse increased by 16% between 2008 and 2010, resulting in 57,000 cases of child abuse. Furthermore, though corporal punishment has been outlawed, 17% of children experience corporal punishment in schools (Girma, 2011). Children’s exposure to this violence whether direct or indirect can have a negative impact on their cognitive and psycho-social development. Children exposed to violence have higher rates of psychological disorders and are more likely to have behavioral problems inside and outside of school (Walker, 2011).

In response to relatively high rates of challenging behavior in classrooms in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, the Western Cape Education Department rolled out a Behavior Support Pathway in 2006 to improve systems of support in classrooms and schools for students with challenging behavior. In partnership with the Western Cape Education Department, we conducted a survey of teachers in the Western Cape related to perceptions of students with challenging behavior and teachers’ perceived self-efficacy in working with this population of students. Specifically, this survey study aimed to answer the following research questions:

1. What are teachers’ perceptions of students with challenging behavior?
2. What are teachers’ perceived self-efficacy in addressing the needs of students with challenging behavior?
3. What supports are in place for students with challenging behavior in schools in the Western Cape?

This survey targeted schools in urban, rural, suburban, and township locales serving students from a representative sample of income quintiles and racial and ethnic backgrounds. As of August 15, 2018, 378 respondents have completed the survey. Data collection is ongoing to increase the number of respondents and improve the representativeness of the sample. When data collection concludes in November, 2018, data will be analyzed in aggregate and will also be analyzed to investigate potential differences in results across different types of schools (e.g., locale, income quintile, racial and ethnic makeup).

Survey questions include measures of teacher burnout in relation to students with challenging behavior, estimates of prevalence of students with both internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, and knowledge of and perceived self-efficacy in implementing evidence-based practices in working with this population of students. Preliminary analyses of results indicate that across current respondents, approximately 24.2% of students display externalizing behavior problems and 14.1% of students display internalizing behavior problems that would place them in an at-risk category for a behavioral disorder based on a modified portion of the Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD; Walker, Severson, & Feil, 2014). This poster presentation will provide an overview of the final results of this survey and highlight implications for future practice and research related to positive behavior supports in South Africa and in similar contexts globally.

Authors

• Alyssa Van Camp, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• Joseph Wehby, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University
  Non-Presenting Author