PDF Applied behavior analysis based interventions in public ...

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APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS BASED INTERVENTIONS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: UNDERSTANDING FACTORS THAT HINDER ADOPTION, IMPLEMENTATION AND

MAINTAINANCE

A thesis presented by

Lincoln Z. Kamau

to School of Education

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education

in the field of Education

College of Professional Studies Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts June 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................6 DEDICATION................................................................................................................8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................9 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................12

Problem of Practice..............................................................................................12 Significance of the Problem.................................................................................15 Research Questions and Hypothesis ....................................................................17 Theoretical Frameworks ......................................................................................18 The Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) Theory .........................................................19 The DOI Theory and ABA-based Interventions for ASD ...................................23 Definition of Terms..............................................................................................26 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................28 Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) .....................................................................28 Current Treatment of Autism...............................................................................30 Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) ......................................................................35 ABA-Based Autism Programs in Public Education ............................................37 Factors that May Hinder the Adoption of ABA-based Programs in Public Education ..............................................................................................................................39 Characteristic Factors Within the Innovation Itself .............................................40

3 Characteristics of the Resources System Factors.................................................42 Intended-user Characteristics...............................................................................44 Inter-element Factors ...........................................................................................48 Literature Review Conclusion .............................................................................50 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................52 Research Questions ............................................................................................52 Research Design and Tradition ............................................................................52 Site and Participants.............................................................................................56 Data Collection ....................................................................................................57 Data Storage.........................................................................................................60 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................60 Trustworthiness ....................................................................................................65 Internal Validity ...................................................................................................66 External Validity..................................................................................................67 Positionality Statement ........................................................................................68 Protection of Human Subjects .............................................................................69 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................70 CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS ......................................................71 Research Questions ..............................................................................................71 Data Collection and Results.................................................................................71 Participants Contact .............................................................................................73 Interviews .............................................................................................................73

4 Specific Methods .................................................................................................74 Coding .................................................................................................................75 Reporting the Findings.........................................................................................76 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......92 Statement of Problem...........................................................................................92 Factors With the Innovation Itself .......................................................................94 Characteristics of the Resource System Factors ..................................................95 Intended- User Characteristics ............................................................................96 Inter-element Factors ..........................................................................................98 Limitations of the Study......................................................................................101 Implications for Education Practice....................................................................102 Future Directions ................................................................................................108 Final Words..........................................................................................................109 REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................111 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................125 Appendix A: "Protecting Human Research Participants" Certificate.......125 Appendix B: Request for Consent ...................................................................126 Appendix C: Semi-structured Interview Questions Table ...........................128 Appendix D: Selected Controlled and Single-subject Studies of ABA as an Intervention for ASD...............................................................................130 Appendix E: Interview Protocol ......................................................................139

5 Appendix F: Sample Data and Methodology of Data Coding used in this Study ..............................................................................................................................143 Appendix G: Factors in literature that hinder the adoption of ABA-based interventions in public schools. .......................................................................150 Appendix H: IRB Application and Approval ................................................153

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