An Evaluation of the Impact of Staff Training on Teaching Staff’s Knowledge of the Defining Criteria for Learning Disability and the Management of Challenging Behaviour

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate whether staff training improved knowledge about the defining criteria for learning disability, knowledge about the management of challenging behaviour, attributions about challenging behaviour and confidence in working with children with a learning disability and challenging behaviour in teaching staff from mainstream primary school settings. In addition, the study aimed to investigate if staff training improved teaching staff’s attitudes towards the inclusion of children with a learning disability and challenging behaviour in mainstream settings. A further investigation into whether the number of years experience of teaching children with a learning disability positively affected their levels of confidence in working with and knowledge about children with a learning disability and challenging behaviour.

METHOD: A within subjects design was used to investigate the impact of a half-day training event on the above factors in a group of 40 teaching staff from mainstream primary school settings. A questionnaire devised for the purposes of assessing the study’s hypotheses and the Impact of Inclusion Questionnaire (IIQ) were employed in this study and completed by participants prior to training, immediately after training and one-month following training.

RESULTS: Staff training was shown to significantly improve knowledge about the defining criteria for learning disability immediately after training and at one-month follow-up. Training, however, did not significantly improve knowledge about challenging behaviour immediately after training although some significant differences were found at follow up. Significant differences in the types of answers provided at each time point were found in a number of areas related to knowledge about challenging behaviour. Training did not significantly change attitudes towards the inclusion of children with a learning disability and challenging behaviour in mainstream settings and did not significantly improve confidence about working with children with a learning disability and challenging behaviour. No significant relationship was found between experience of teaching children with a learning disability and confidence about working with children with a learning disability and challenging behaviour, knowledge about the defining criteria for learning disability or knowledge about managing challenging behaviour. CONCLUSION: A half-day training event about learning disability and challenging behaviour significantly improved knowledge about the defining criteria for learning disability but had little impact on increasing knowledge about challenging behaviour in a group of mainstream teaching staff. Teaching staff demonstrated very limited knowledge about learning disability prior to training and demonstrated negative attributions about the causes of challenging behaviour in children with a learning disability, the latter of which was not improved by training. Training also failed to improve attitudes towards inclusion and possible reasons for the current study’s significant and non-significant results are discussed. The clinical and ethical implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for further research are outlined.