Exploring Determinants of Early Childhood Special Educators' Practice Selections for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) can only improve children's outcomes when implemented. There is much to still learn about Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) teachers' implementation of EBPs when it comes to their selection and use of practices to facilitate social communication development for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Understanding what practices teachers consider for use can inform the development of implementation supports at the initial Exploration and Adoption-Decision stages of implementation. To detect malleable determinants of practice selection, this study addressed these aims: (a) identify ECSE teachers' familiarity and current use of EBPs and unsubstantiated practices, (b) identify their practice selections, and (c) determine whether teachers' beliefs predicted practice selections. A web-based survey gathered responses from 222 ECSE teachers related to these objectives. Overall, teachers' familiarity with and current use of EBPs and unsubstantiated practices varied. Most teachers were highly familiar with and often used certain EBPs (e.g., reinforcement), and fewer teachers used others despite familiarity (e.g., discrete trial teaching). Aligned with the Theory of Planned Behavior, the researcher ascertained teachers' beliefs (self-efficacy, attitude, subjective norms) about EBPs. Teachers' had the most positive overall beliefs for naturalistic intervention and least for discrete trial teaching. The researcher used Discrete Choice Analysis, a method of exploring individuals' choices, to investigate teachers' selection decisions, and to find that beliefs predicted their practice selections. Together, these findings suggest that there are individual determinants of practice selection that can be acted on by tailoring preimplementation supports to improve implementation from the start.