The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to explore current paraprofessional training programs offered to support paraprofessionals working with students with disabilities (SWDs), including both pre-service and in-service training. Specifically, this study evaluated training offered by local school districts within Southern…

High-quality professional development can lead to increased and sustained implementation of evidence-based practices. This study examined the effects of practice-based coaching paired with scripted supports on a paraeducator's use of shared book reading strategies. Indirectly evaluated were impacts on the expressive and receptive vocabulary…

Background: Implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools is fraught with challenges. Even when EBPs are initiated, deterioration of implementation efforts often hinders their long-term success. School leadership behaviors can influence teachers' EBP implementation. Our study tested an implementation strategy called Helping…

Paraeducators play an important role in the education of students with significant disabilities. They can best contribute to improving student outcomes when they are skilled in using evidence-based practices. Tiered training is a practical and promising solution for how teachers can train teams of paraeducators to use evidence-based practices.…

Many schools use paraprofessionals to implement and monitor interventions. Though paraprofessionals are cost-effective, many questions remain about the training and skills they need to implement a wide array of school-based interventions. In this study, we compare paraprofessionals' (i.e., undergraduates) implementation of the Group-Academic…

This study examined the lived experience of teachers and mental health paraprofessionals implementing the Jesse Lewis Choose Love curriculum in an alternative school setting. Social emotional learning curriculum implementation within the unique structure of alternative schools is important to investigate in order to better understand the unique…

Background: This study examined whether Motivational Interviewing (MI) follow-up calls improved the extent to which a specific therapeutic technique (Key Word Sign) presented in training was retained and implemented by staff supporting people with an intellectual disability.Method: Thirty-eight residential support workers who attended Key Word…

This study examined the effects of practice-based coaching with scripted supports designed to support paraeducators and speech-language pathology assistants (SLP-As) as they implement evidence-based shared book reading strategies with preschoolers with language delays. A single-case, multiple baseline across behaviors was employed. Five U.S.…

Intervention fidelity is crucial in ensuring efficient and quality support for students in need. Some coaching strategies have evidenced positive impacts on intervention fidelity and virtual coaching has been emerging in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, current literature is still limited in examining the effects of…

Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based practice for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that can be implemented by practitioners in school settings. However, few studies have explored effective and sustainable training approaches to support paraeducators in their implementation of FCT. The purpose of this study…

This study examined the effects of practice-based coaching with scripted supports designed to support paraeducators and speech-language pathology assistants (SLP-As) as they implement evidence-based shared book reading strategies with preschoolers with language delays. A single-case, multiple baseline across behaviors was employed. Five educators…

Schools have continued to rely on paraeducators to assist special education teachers and other professionals in the provision of special education and related services. Although paraeducators often support students with extensive support needs (ESN) in a range of school environments, the subset of intervention studies focused on paraeducators who…

Existing approaches for training paraeducators rely heavily on intensive one-to-one coaching and may not be feasible in practice. In this study, we test a tiered training model in which all paraeducators first received group training, and then coaching was provided only for the subset who did not meet performance criteria after group training.…

The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services (PDC-HS) has been used to assess variables contributing to undesirable staff performance. In this study, three preschool teachers completed the PDC-HS to identify the factors contributing to four paraprofessionals' inaccurate implementation of error-correction procedures during discrete trial…

This case study describes the actions and processes of implementing Behavior Support Coaching for Paraprofessionals (BSC-P) with a kindergarten teacher and paraprofessional to support the implementation of behavior support plans with three students in a high-poverty elementary school. BSC-P consists of eight, 40-min coaching sessions using direct…