Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

DOI 10.1007/s10643-011-0486-5

The Role of Teacher Efficacy in Strengthening Classroom Support

for Preschool Children with Disabilities Who Exhibit Challenging
Behaviors
Deborah H. Gebbie Deborah Ceglowski
Linda K. Taylor Jill Miels

Published online: 20 October 2011

 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011

Abstract Challenging student behaviors are a prominent

factor in the development of teacher stress and burnout.
When classroom-based teachers of preschool children with
disabilities were surveyed to identify their training needs in
one North Carolina county, the most frequent request was
how to address behavior challenges of preschool children
with disabilities. This study examined how instructional
support to teachers of preschool children with disabilities
and challenging behaviors affected three teachers classroom practices. The teachers received training and mentoring in classroom behavior management strategies and
engaged in an online community of learners discussion
group. Interviews and interactions from an online learning
community were used to disclose whether the participants
had implemented effective intervention strategies in their
classrooms following the training. Teachers felt more
competent in managing challenging behaviors after the
online interaction with their colleagues. Teachers online
interactions were a highly effective way to impact teacher
efficacy. Therefore, special education preschool programs
should consider providing more opportunities for the
teachers to build their own learning communities to interact
and support one another.
Keywords Preschool
Special needs

Challenging behavior
Community of learners

D. H. Gebbie
Fairview Elementary, 9414 Machado Drive, Indian Trail,
NC 28079, USA
D. Ceglowski
L. K. Taylor (&)
J. Miels
Teachers College 216, Ball State University, Muncie,
IN 47306, USA
e-mail: lhuber@bsu.edu

Challenging student behaviors are a prominent factor in the

development of teacher stress and burnout. Stressed
teachers were found to spend more than 20% of time in
negative interactions and only 5% of time in positive
interactions with children who had challenging behaviors,
thus contributing to the ongoing cycle of ensuing challenging behaviors (Alvarez 2007; Stormont 2002). Data
from the National Prekindergarten Study during the 2003
and 2004 school year indicated that 10.4% of state-funded
prekindergarten teachers across the nation expelled at least
one preschooler from their program. This rate was 3.2
times higher than the rate for kindergarten through twelfthgrade children. Expulsion is the most severe disciplinary
action that can be given because it means that the child can
never return to that school. Not unexpectedly, teacher
stress was related to higher rates of expulsion even when
class size and child age were controlled (Gilliam 2005).
When classroom-based teachers of preschool children
with disabilities were surveyed to identify their training
needs in one North Carolina county, the most frequent
request was how to address behavior challenges of preschool children with disabilities. The need for similar
training regarding working with children that exhibit
behavior challenges has been recognized in the field of
early childhood. Teachers view children with behavior
problems as more challenging to work with than children
with any type of disability (Alvarez 2007). Several issues
related to addressing the challenging behaviors of preschoolers in a classroom setting include not only teacher
training, but also teacher perceptions, teacher stress and
support (Alvarez 2007; Gilliam 2005). These issues are
discussed in more detail below.
The purposes of this study were to: (1) institute training
and social support mechanisms for early childhood teachers responsible for working with children exhibiting

123

36

challenging classroom behaviors and (2) to determine how

the training and social support mechanisms impacted the
teachers efficacy and practices regarding management of
challenging classroom behaviors. The training and social
support mechanisms involved sharing online resources and
facilitating the building of a supportive learning community to guide the interaction of the three participating
preschool teachers who taught three- and four-year-old
children with developmental disabilities.
The authors identified three areas of pertinent literature
related to the study. These areas include the significance of
challenging behaviors, teacher efficacy, and professional
development support for teachers in early childhood education classrooms.

Literature Review
Significance of Challenging Behavior
Children with disabilities have more than three times the
incidence of behavior problems as typically developing
children (Hemmeter et al. 2006). Challenging behavior is
defined as any repeated pattern of behavior or perception
of behavior that interferes with or is at risk of interfering
with optimal learning or engagement in prosocial interactions with peers and adults (Powell et al. 2007, p. 83).
Challenging behaviors may include: persistent noncompliance; problems regulating emotions; inability to form
relationships with adults or peers; and difficulty engaging
in learning activities (Fox and Lentini 2006). Challenging
behaviors exhibited during the preschool years are the best
predictor of school dropout, gang membership, adult
incarceration and early death (Whitted 2011). Behaviors
that are not changed by the third grade can become chronic
conditions that cost more to treat (Ibid). No less disturbing
than the serious problems previously mentioned, are
ongoing behavior problems that will negatively impact a
childs success in school. When compared with children in
other disability categories, children with chronic behavior
problems were more likely to have the lowest grade point
average, fail one or more times in school and have a higher
drop-out rate, starting a negative cycle of failure that leads
to other problems (Dunlap et al. 2006).
Teacher Efficacy
When children do exhibit challenging behaviors in the
classroom, teachers are directly responsible for providing
appropriate interventions. The effectiveness of the intervention is largely dependent on the skill and comfort level
of the teacher. A part of this skill and comfort level
involves teacher efficacy, or the teachers perception of his

123

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

or her ability to have a positive impact on the management

of a childs behavior. Studies have indicated that teachers
with high self-efficacy will use more positive interventions
such as praise and reinforcement while teachers with low
self-efficacy use more authoritative or restrictive methods
when dealing with challenging behaviors (Brophy and
McCaslin 1992; Jordan et al. 1993). Teacher efficacy also
affects the level of persistence teachers use when dealing
with difficult situations (Almog and Schechtman 2007).
Possible solutions to increase teacher efficacy include
training, peer support groups and reflection on teaching
practices (Almog and Schechtman 2007; Gilliam 2005;
McLaren 2007; Strain and Joseph 2004).
While training may help increase teacher efficacy,
studies have shown that there can be a gap between teacher
knowledge gained in training and actual classroom practices (Almog and Schechtman 2007; McLaren 2007; Strain
and Joseph 2004). More research is needed to establish
whether strategies such as peer support and reflection of
teaching practices are effective methods of increasing
transfer of learning from educational training to classroom practices (McLaren 2007). Peer interactions may
increase teacher efficacy by providing support, validation,
and guidance; however, establishing program features that
enhance positive relationships among adults continues to
be a challenge (Odom and Wolery 2003).
Professional Development Support
Professional development for teachers has been one of the
primary ways of enhancing practice, taking graduate level
classes is traditionally seen as the other method. The
organization, Learning Forward, formerly known as the
National Staff Development Council, has indicated in their
purpose statement that, every educator engages in effective professional learning every day so every student
achieves (website). The work of this organization and
others has established a different view of quality professional development that is sustained, intensive, and
focused. It is not a 1 day or short-term workshop (ESEA
2001). Guskey and Yoon (2009) published a research
synthesis identifying practices that seem to translate into
more effective teaching for learning. Pertinent to this study,
they identified an urgent need for just-in-time, jobembedded assistance as teachers work through the difficult
tasks of adapting knowledge to their unique classroom
contexts. In addition, these authors urge that professionals
recognize that effective professional development requires
considerable time, and that time must be well organized,
carefully structured, purposefully directed, and focused on
content or pedagogy or both (p. 499). A final point from
Guskey and Yoon also indicate that follow-up with participants is equally important as the initial professional

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

development content presented. The design of this current

study offers many of these effective strategies.
Online learning communities may be one solution to
help teachers to utilize both peer support and reflection
practices. Online learning communities refer not only to
gathering information via the internet, but also to building
a supportive group of teachers that help each other construct knowledge by writing about their situations and then
responding to each others posts or emails with comments,
ideas or suggestions. Lock (2006) indicated a need to
develop online learning communities that build interdependence and interinfluence as teachers wrestle with
issues and collaborate with others in addressing mutual
issues and topics (p. 674). This process involves not only
self-reflection of teaching strategies, but also helps teachers take ownership of their learning. The format should
include a monitor or facilitator to ensure that suggestions
offered from teachers are, in fact, effective research-based
strategies.

Methods and Approaches of Study

Qualitative Research Methods and Theory
Methodological theories used in this study are interpretive
interactionism (Denzin 2000) and portraiture (LawrenceLightfoot and Davis 1997). Denzin explains that the current
practice of interpretive interactionism includes in-depth,
intimate stories of problematic everyday life lived up
close (p. 901). Lawrence-Lightfoot and Davis (1997)
created the art and science of portraiture, a process that
blends narrative with quotations from research participants.
In utilizing the portraiture approach, the researcher develops a text that includes both narrative description and
quotations from participants. The aim is to provide a portrait based upon interviews, observations, and field notes.
The portraiture is based upon the qualitative methods
mentioned previously but weaves them into a narrative that
is more coherent and story like than those found in most
methodology sections of qualitative research articles. Thus
in the methodology section, the authors use this portraiture
approach to provide a coherent narrative about each of the
three teachers experiences.
Lawrence-Lightfoot and Davis (1997), state that the
purpose of portraiture is to present cases in which the
reader will discover resonant universal themes (p. 14).
Thus each qualitative study has unique features yet these
are tied to the local, national, and international contexts so
that the case speaks both of its uniqueness and tie to larger
systems and practices. The aim of this work is to develop
theoretical, not statistical generalizablity; that is, how do
these interviews with teachers help us to understand the

37

experiences of other early childhood teachers who work

with children exhibiting challenging behaviors? It is not a
predictive model but rather a descriptive model (Hillebrand
et al. 2001). This is a more complex process concerned
with developing concepts, understanding phenomena and
theoretical propositions that are relevant to other settings
and other groups of individuals (Draper 2004, p. 645). By
providing the interview results the authors provide a
framework to understand some of the processes used by
other early childhood teachers.
Participant Selection
Initially, all of the preschool special education teachers in
one North Carolina county were contacted via email and
invited to participate. Purposeful selection was used to
select teachers for the study. Five teachers responded that
they needed additional support for working with children
with challenging behaviors and wanted to participate in the
study. All five teachers participated in the study, however,
for the purposes of this paper, three teacher responses were
selected to represent a variety of experiences ranging from
years taught to type of classroom. Participation in the study
involved: answering questions related to classroom behavior management practices; attending training on behavior
management strategies for young children; actively implementing at least two strategies presented during the
training; and regularly interacting with members of their
supportive online learning community for 4 weeks.
Participants
The first teacher, Mary, held a bachelors degree with a
double major in English and Spanish; she was fluent in
both languages. Mary had recently obtained certification to
teach Birth to Kindergarten and was planning on finishing
her masters degree in Child and Family Development
during the coming school year. Mary had worked for
2 years as an assistant in a state-funded preschool classroom that included children with disabilities. The
20072008 school year was her first experience as a certified lead teacher in a public school. This was also her first
experience as a lead teacher in a class of children with
disabilities. Marys class included 11 children with disabilities and no typically developing children.
The second teacher, Ruth, was a lateral entry teacher
with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology. At the time of the
study, Ruth was working on her Birth to Kindergarten
certification and then planned to pursue her masters degree
in Child and Family Development. Ruth had worked as a
teacher assistant for 3 years; 1 year in a part-day inclusive
preschool and the next 2 years in a specialized Applied
Behavior Analysis classroom for children with autism. This

123

38

was Ruths first year as a lead teacher in an Exceptional

Childrens preschool classroom. Her classroom included
seven children with disabilities and two typically developing children.
The third teacher was more educated and experienced
than the others. Susan had a Bachelor of Science degree in
Cross-Categorical Handicaps, a Master of Education in
Severe Handicaps and a Birth to Kindergarten add-on
certification. She had worked for 16 years in the infanttoddler program, primarily in a home-based environment.
In addition, she had taught in a special education preschool
setting for the last 4 years. Her class included 14 children
with disabilities and three typically developing children.
Procedure
Data collection primarily involved conducting teacher
interviews before and after the training, strategy implementation and interaction in the supportive learning community. Using a semi-structured interview format with
open-ended questions, each of the three teachers was
interviewed individually. Interview questions included: (1)
What strategies do you currently use to manage challenging behaviors? (2) How effective do you feel when working with children with challenging behavior? (3) Do you
feel you need additional supports to address the needs of
children with challenging behaviors? In the extensive oneon-one interviews that occured both before and after the
training, strategy implementation and interactive online
support, the research interviewer first listened to the participating teachers biggest behavior challenges in the
classroom and then responded by offering suggestions of
strategies to try. While exchanging ideas and strategies, the
participating teacher either replied that the suggested
strategy was a good idea and she was willing to try it, or if
she did not think the strategy would work, the interviewer
and teacher would problem-solve to develop additional
strategies that the teacher thought might work for individual behaviors. Interviews following the implementation
of strategies provided an opportunity to discuss successes
as well as further problem-solve if the child was not
showing adequate improvements. The interviews were
conducted after school, lasted one or more hours and were
audio-taped to provide for easy transcription. Interview
responses were compared to determine the impact on teacher perceptions or behavior management strategies.
Training on Positive Behavior Supports
The teacher training and materials for this project incorporated the principles of the Pyramid Model developed by
the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional
Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI) and the Center

123

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning

(CSEFEL). The model provides early childhood professionals with a framework for the interventions and supports
needed by all children. The importance of building positive
relationships and creating supportive classroom environments was central to the training. Additional training topics
included: the importance of teaching social competence,
the impact of teacherchild relationships on school success,
the importance of nurturing for early brain development
and the lifelong impact of persistent challenging behaviors.
The materials for the teacher training sessions were
available online. The teachers were directed to read
handouts from The Center for Evidence-Based Practice:
Young Children with Challenging Behavior that included:
Linking social development and school readiness to
behavior (Smith 2005), and Facts about young children
with challenging behavior (TACSEI 2004). In addition,
teachers read, Building positive teacherchild relationships (Ostrosky and Jung 2011) and Acknowledging
childrens positive behavior (Timm and Doubet 2007).
Teachers read and discussed portions of an online
training module Promoting childrens success: Building
relationships and creating supportive environments,
(Hemmeter et al. 2003). The teacher training addressed the
concept of creating supportive environments. Environmental supports highlighted in the training included
teaching classroom rules, developing appropriate visual
schedules and supports, teaching social skills such as
problem solving and rotating developmentally appropriate
materials to increase interest and engagement. Visual
supports from the presenters classroom were shared at the
training. Some of these included: a picture schedule of
daily activities, a picture mini-schedule for circle time as
well as ifthen choice cards. Most of these support
materials were teacher-made using a digital camera, regular printer paper, a laminating machine, and construction
poster paper which was available to all schools in the
county. The teacher participants were reminded to use a
local early childhood resource center to provide interesting,
new materials to rotate in the classroom. During the
training, teachers utilized online resources from The Center
on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early
Learning (CSEFEL 2011). The principal investigator created a chart or menu of support strategies as a teacher
reference. The participants could scan the menu for strategies that they wanted to try in particular situations. The
menu included Internet addresses with a list of the
resources available on all of the sites.
Following the training period, participants had 2 weeks
to plan and prepare the materials needed to implement two
behavior management strategies in their classrooms. The
participants were asked to select strategies that were new to
them and that they felt might work with children in their

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

classes. During the 2 weeks of planning, the teachers were

introduced to the concept of supportive online learning
communities. For the next month the teachers were asked
to interact with each other about their experiences with
using the strategies that they were implementing. Through
this online learning community, the teacher participants
engaged in sharing information about how strategies were
working and using one another for feedback, suggestions,
and venting. The online learning community interactions
were used as one data source to explore how teachers
felt in implementing the selected behavior management
strategies.
Data Analysis
Audiotapes from the pre- and post interviews were transcribed
and coded. Interactions from the online learning community
were collected and coded. The emerging themes and subthemes helped describe the teachers perceptions of managing
challenging behaviors. The coded data from the interviews
and learning community interactions helped establish whether
teacher efficacy increased after implementing new behavior
management strategies and interacting with colleagues. Three
themes emerged: (1) Characteristics of children with challenging behaviors; (2) Behavior management strategies used
in the classroom prior to and after the training, mentoring, and
on-line community discussions, and (3) The positive impact of
training, mentoring, and on-line community discussions on
teacher efficacy.

Findings
For each of the teachers, a description of the following will
be provided: (1) the behaviors of children before the project and changes in their behavior during the study; (2) the
teachers behavior management strategies prior to training
followed by the changes to their strategies during the study;
and (3) teacher efficacy and supports prior to the training
and interacting as well as after training and interacting.
Beginning Teacher: Mary
Behaviors Before the Project
Mary said that most of her children were challenging but
that three out of the eleven children had really, really
challenging behaviors.
I have children who run around the classroom or try
to run outside when they dont want to do something.
One child throws himself on the ground and throws
screaming fits when we transition from one activity to

39

another. Another child throws himself against the

floor or anything nearby simply for the fun of it. He
thinks it is very funny, even when it hurts him.
When asked to be more specific about the disruptive
behaviors, Mary said her children were
pretty aggressive they will attack the other children and yell. One child yelled, talked street-talk,
and frequently ignored teacher directions. She felt
like the children exhibited the behaviors because it
was fun, like a kind of game because the child who
initiates the behaviors watches wrestling at home.
His peers would then respond to his actions and get
involved in the wrestling behaviors.
Mary said that the most difficult behavior to manage was
when this child had tantrums on the floor because when she
picked him up, he threw himself back down again.
Changes in Behaviors
In response to the late interaction in the community, Mary
shared:
I have seen progress with my working for cards and I
have also been assigning more helper roles to my
children with challenging behaviors. I used to just have
helpers during circle time, but seeing how successful
the helper strategy has been for everyone, I decided to
expand it. I found different little tasks throughout the
day for my children with challenging behaviors to help
me with. This strategy has worked very well. The
children do like to help each other, they feel useful, and
it keeps them occupied while we are transitioning from
one activity to another.
Behavior Management Strategies: Prior to Training
The primary time Mary had challenging behaviors was
during transitions between activities. Marys strategies to
address the behaviors were, as she described, very disruptive and included redirecting, ignoring the behavior and
time-out to think. She also used seating arrangements and
transition activities or songs to distract them. Mary had rules
posted, but just told the children the rules as they broke them.
She said it was hard having children at such different levels
and that she did not know how to review the rules with
children who had such a variety of language abilities.
Changes in Strategies
Mary said that she started using the ifthen idea but was
using verbal prompts without the visual support card for a

123

40

child who acted out for attention. She felt like he could
understand the verbal choices without visual supports. She
let him earn activities that he enjoyed such as walking
with her to do errands, watering the plants or turning the
lights on and off. Mary felt that the strategy worked when
he came to school calm. However, on other days when he
came into school bouncing off the walls and doing
everything he can to pick an argument with you or make
you chase him around the room, the ifthen verbal
choice did not work. In the online learning community, she
said that she felt good about the strategy because it worked
about half the time, which was better than anything else
they previously tried.
The second strategy Mary implemented was a logical or
natural consequence of removing a child from the group
when he jumped on peers like a wrestler. Mary removed
the child and gave him a designated place to sit away from
the group to calm down. She chose this natural consequence because she felt like he was getting over-stimulated
when all the children were close together in the same area.
For example, the child would pounce on his peers when
they were lining up and putting their coats on at their
cubbies to go out of the classroom. Mary said she did not
treat the removal as a punishment, but rather as a place to
calm down. She wrote that it worked well because before
they used to just repeat over and over for him to stop or
try to redirect him. We also tried assigned seats, but he is
an equal opportunity hitter. Removing him from the group
until he gets control of himself has worked better.
Teacher Efficacy and Supports: Prior to Training
and Interacting
Prior to implementing new strategies, Mary felt that her
classroom was under control but that it took a lot of
energy to keep it that way. Although she frequently used
redirection of behaviors, she did not feel like redirection
worked well in the situation of lining up and putting on
coats because the children were all crowded together in
such a small space. Mary sought and received support from
her assistants and co-workers but still welcomed good
advice and strategies. In the initial interview when Mary
was asked what supports she needed, she said It would be
great to have parent support, but Im not holding out for it
because I havent seen it. If parents would continue doing
what we do in the classroom that would be great. Otherwise, just hearing from more experienced teachers to see
what they do.
After Training and Interacting
Mary initiated an interaction with the online learning
community to share an idea with the group about an

123

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

effective strategy she heard mentioned in a different

workshop offered through the schools. The idea was related
to the information on nurturing that was provided in the
training for this project. Marys interaction was:
When this child has behaviors in the morning, I tend
to be strict on him the rest of the day because I
assume that he will lose control the rest of the day.
The presenter told us that this is a common mistake.
Children need to know that they can reset after a
misbehavior. I have discovered some of his routines and now try to head off the behavior. For
example, in the morning he wont clean up and wash
hands for breakfast. He prefers to run around the
room, waiting for us to chase him. Before, I used to
call him from the sink and issue my instruction. I now
go to his center, talk to him a little about the activity
he is working for and guide him towards the sink.
Sometimes this heads off the behavior.
In her final interview, Mary said,
Overall, Im pleased with how the new strategies
have worked in the classroom. I think Ive
improved a lot. Its a learning process. I am still
learning a lot about working with challenging
behaviors, but I find a lot of these strategies very
promising.
She felt that what helped her most was hearing what
methods worked for other people. Mary said she would like
to continue to be able to interact with the online learning
community in order to have other teachers to go to and ask
questions.
Lateral Entry Teacher: Ruth
Behaviors Before the Project
Ruth reported that there were two children in her classroom
with challenging behaviors. She described one child: He is
very, very disruptive during circle time. Thats the hardest
time for him. A lot of just screaming, looking for attention
and inappropriate jumping up and down or rocking his
chair back and forth. He also makes loud noises and spits.
The other child disrupted center time when he was upset.
Ruth said:
The smallest things just set him offif someone
takes something from him, or even simple directions
will usually set it off. If were doing art and he has
glue and hes squeezing a whole pile of it, Ill say
ok, enough glue. Thats itthat could set it off.
Then he will just start flipping chairs over, clearing
off the shelves, throwing toys, pulling bins out. So

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

thats hard during centers if theres a group of kids

playing and hes throwing stuff around and then hell
lay on top of it. So then were trying to get him to
clean up and hes walking all over everyone else in
the center. Thats hard when I have kids that are
playing.
She said on average this happened about five or six
times per day, but there were days when this occurred
1315 times in 1 day.
Changes in Behaviors
During the final interview Ruth said that the child with the
most challenging behaviors actually improved quite a bit
since I last talked with you. Ruth said:
In circle he likes to see his friends being the helper
and doing all the different things. The helper hands
out ribbons or rhythm sticks and he enjoys that
interaction with peers. So I think that just seeing
other kids involved in the front at circle time helped
him a lot.
Regarding the visual support of a helper calendar, Ruth
said:
I like this strategy because it has cut down on some
behaviors at circle time, especially my one that I was
having major issues with screaming at circle. He likes
to see his friends helping, which I think makes circle
time a little more interesting for him. He has also
started participating in more activities!
Ruth made another visual support so that her children
could communicate if they needed to go to the bathroom or
not. She made visual support cards with a picture of a toilet
and another picture of no potty with a big X over it. She
started this visual support strategy because she had a few
children who had tantrums at bathroom time. Ruth said the
choice cards made a HUGE difference:
He completely eliminated his tantrums because it
used to be a struggle every single time he went to the
potty. Most of the time hell pick that he needs to go
to potty, but he knows that if he doesnt have to go he
can pick no potty and thats it. Nothing else is said
about it.
Behavior Management Strategies: Prior to Training
At the beginning of the study, Ruth used a class-wide
behavior management system where all the children had
gold medal necklaces that they wore. If the children were
listening and doing what they needed to do they kept

41

their gold medal. If they did not follow the rules they lost
their necklace. Ruth gave rewards like stickers and little
treats a couple of times a day for the children that kept their
medals. Regarding the child with challenging behaviors,
Ruth said, Sometimes he loves necklace. Hell stop what
hes doing if you tell him youll take his necklace. Other
times he could care less about it. Hell rip it off and throw it
at you. Although Ruth felt that the gold medal system
worked on some days, she felt that time out and removal
from the activity worked better to calm the child down.
For the child that jumped up and down in circle time,
Ruth blocked off the circle area by pulling a shelf over to
limit movement. She also moved him to a different area
when he was screaming. Ruth said:
Weve tried a lot of ignoring the behaviors. Sometimes it helps; sometimes it just makes it worse.
Well remove him from the situation and hell just
keep kicking and screaming and crying. So I havent
found anything that I think really, truly works for him
yet.
Changes in Strategies
Ruth chose several visual support strategies to implement
in her classroom. The first was a helper of the day calendar
where Ruth wrote a childs name on each day of the week.
She felt that she did not need a photograph of each child
beside their name because the children could all read their
names. Ruth said that having the names on a calendar also
gave them the opportunity to talk about yesterdays helper,
todays helper and tomorrows helper. This strategy helped
with behaviors at circle time for several reasons. First of
all, it helped to shorten the circle length because the group
sang hello only to the helper instead of having each child
come up. Ruth said:
They all loved this and talk about it all the time. My
children also go as far as the following week to see
who the helpers will be. It does not bother them at all
that they only get to help once every 2 weeks. They
are so excited about whoever is the helper of the day.
The second strategy was the I am working for card.
The child got to choose from two items at home (a pet ferret
and riding his truck outside) if he earned stickers for the five
spaces on the card during the day. She chose this because she
felt like the added visual would help him. Ruth explained:
Hes done well with that, and he knows if hes not
getting it. Hell go outside and tell mom, I had a bad
day. He understands and we just started it. I cant
tell you how effective its going to be yet, but I think
it will help him after he learns a couple of times that

123

42

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

Im really not going to get the activity when I get

home.
Ruth also added rules to her classroom. She said:
I did the rules after I talked with you and they really
like those. I was going to wait on the Board Maker
pictures and then you suggested doing the kids pictures with a digital camera, and they really like that a
lot. They look at it and say thats me!
However, Ruth said that even though the children repeat
the rule, We dont scream in the hall, they do it anyway.
She said, I think Im going to start taking the picture of
the rule with us in the hall as a visual to show them and see
if that will help.
Teacher Efficacy and Supports: Prior to Training
and Interaction
During the initial interview Ruth said that she previously
sought support from her mentor and the school psychologist.
Ruth said that the psychologist had not observed, but after
listening to the strategies Ruth already tried, the psychologist
said, Ok, it looks like youre doing a good job. The psychologist suggested posting rules in the classroom, but Ruth
had not posted them yet because she was waiting on a Board
Maker CD so she could put a symbol with each rule. Because
she continued to have children with challenging behaviors
she felt like there may be other strategies that she was not
aware of to help her address the behaviors.
After Training and Interacting
Ruth was the first person to initiate online conversations
about questions she had regarding strategies mentioned in
the training. Ruth continued to initiate interaction in the
online learning community and responded to other participants questions with suggestions. When asked how
effective she feels, Ruth said:
I think for the most part I have a handle on some
behaviors, but again these difficult behaviors that just
keep presenting themselves. I know that it takes
awhile for things to straighten out, but when I cant
figure out whats causing it, its frustrating sometimes. I think during this study it was nice to talk to
other teachers, just to know that there are other
people having these difficulties, too. Just getting ideas
from other teachers was helpful. Its so nice to be able
to talk to other teachers about whats going on.
Ruth still plans on implementing additional strategies
such as a mini-schedule for circle time. Ruth ended the
interview by saying:

123

Its hard because most of us are the only preschool

teachers at our school. Sometimes you just feel like
you have to deal with it and theres no one else that
understands whats going on at your school. There
are so many teachers with great ideas.
She would like to continue sharing ideas and interacting
with other preschool teachers either at the monthly preschool meetings or in the learning community.
Experienced Teacher: Susan
Behaviors Before the Project
Susan reported that the challenging behaviors in her
classroom included a child that screamed and fell to the
floor if anything was asked of him and another child who
gradually got louder and louder if he was not getting
enough attention. During the first interview Susan said:
This child is probably one of the hardest kids Ive
ever worked with. He comes in and says, backpack
cubby and he falls to the floor, sticks his fingers in
his mouth, sucks them and looks at you for attention.
He will lay there and wait for someone to come and
literally pick him up and put him at the table. He will
make a choice and play with toys in a center, but if
you ask him what color is this? or say, put this
together, he falls to the floor and sucks his fingers
and screams. Hes very bright as far as knowing his
colors and shapes and numbers. He was tested and he
has characteristics of Pervasive Developmental
Disorder.
Susan had another child who always wanted to be first
and would have tantrums if he was not in front. She said:
He about knocked down a little girl trying to get on
the bus first. Weve taken a break from rotating
helper jobs because if this child wasnt door holder
every week, every day, every door, he would fall out.
Hes a big boy. Someone had to carry him back from
the cafeteria one time because he wasnt the door
holder.
Changes in Behaviors
In a late interaction in the learning community, Susan
wrote:
The helper of the day has been beneficial. My kids
enjoy the helper shaking their hand and it has been a
great way to see if they recognize the print of their
friends first name. No one has really been counting it
down, but they do get excited if they are next.

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

In the final interview Susan explained:

What we do is get peers involved in centers. If a child
is saying, help, please well tell him to ask a friend
to help. The other day we were telling him to ask a
friend and before we knew it the friend was helping
him and they were face-to-face. It was really good.
Behavior Management Strategies: Prior to Training
and Support
Susans strategies at the beginning of the study included
removing the child to a crying room, using a time-out
chair, giving positive reinforcement and trying to anticipate
behaviors. When asked if Susan felt like removing him
from the room was working, she replied:
It works as far as being able to continue things here
without him right here screaming. Weve gone
through letting him sit in circle and letting him
scream and he falls to the floor. Then everyones
looking at him instead of looking at what Im trying
to do.
Susan then discussed how she also provided positive
reinforcement including praise and attention prior to
receiving training and support from this project. Susan
lifted her arms excitedly, demonstrating how she swung her
students up in the air when they accomplished a new skill.
She said:
We also do a lot of positive reinforcement for good
behaviors. We pick them upscoop them up. They
all really respond [positively] to that.
The school psychologist observed Susans child with
challenging behaviors and recommended a class-wide
reward system using stars. If the children stayed in their
center and were a good friend they earned a star. Once
they earned three stars they got a stamp on their hand. The
children had the opportunity to earn at least two stamps per
day. Susan said, That worked for awhile. Its just hit or
miss for one child. So mostly its removing him and talking
to him about being happy and sad and showing him happy
and sad pictures. Susan also made a referral to the
occupational therapist, who determined that he did not
have sensory issues that were contributing to the behaviors.
Changes in Strategies
The first new strategy Susan used was the visual support of
a helper chart aimed to assist the child who had tantrums
because he always wanted to be first. The helper chart was
made by placing each childs picture around the edge of a

43

laminated poster board. A clothespin was clipped on the

helper for the day and then moved to the next childs
picture the following day. The children could see whose
turn it was that day, who the helper would be the next day
and how long it would be before they were the helper
again. This helped alleviate arguments about whose turn it
was. On the chart this particular child was the helper on
the second day and he handled it when it was not his turn.
A second strategy that Susan used was trying to be
more positive and look for things to really praise because
she said the teachers really had a hard time finding positive
things to say about one child in particular. She described
him as, the one that falls to the floor and screams with
simple directions such as wash your hands or come
here. We were going to make a picture schedule but we
havent made it yet. A couple of weeks later Susan made
a visual support card with a picture of push and a line
through it to mean no push for a child that randomly
pushes friends.
Susan showed pride in her ability to make positive
changes in her classroom when she initiated conversation
in the learning community about an idea that she felt was
successful. She put up a bulletin board called Spotted
Being Good. She gave the children small paper pictures of
ladybugs when they showed good social skills, such as
being a good listener or nice friend. She wrote the positive
behavior on the ladybug, posted it on the bulletin board and
made a big deal about it to the class. Finally, Susan printed
a social story about hitting and nose picking. The day she
read the story she reported that there was less pushing and
nose picking, which showed her sense of empowerment in
her ability to implement changes that had a positive impact
in her classroom. Other new strategies that Susan tried
included: posting and repeating rules daily so the children
knew the expectations, giving choices so the children felt
they had some control, and involving peers to help. Susan
described all of these strategies as successful and was
willing to share her ideas with her peers, suggesting that
her teacher efficacy improved enough to support other
teachers.
Teacher Efficacy and Supports: Prior to Training
and Interacting
During the initial interview, Susan felt that her strategies
were not very effective and she needed support to come
up with more strategies to try. She had previously sought
support from the school psychologist and the occupational
therapist, but was looking for more ideas to prevent
behaviors. Susan felt that if a child was screaming or
crying during circle time, it was very disruptive. She
said:

123

44

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

The other children just ignore him in center time

because theyre used to it. As long as hes not hitting
or slinging toys, they just say youre hurting my
ears. Its disruptive if were doing circle and theyre
screaming. Even if we take them outside, you can still
hear them. Thats probably the hardest part of that.
During the first interview, Susan replied, How effective are the strategies? Half and half. I feel like were
always trying to come up with new strategies that work.
After Training and Interacting
In the last interview Susan said, The screaming at circle
time is not really disruptive. The children all kind-of ignore
him. After using the new visual support strategies, Susan
felt like the helper chart and positive comments to children
were both working. However, she wrote in conversation on
the learning community that the child who screamed did
not improve with positive attention or helper of the day, so
she wrote that she was going to try a visual support that had
picture cue steps of what to do in a center to see if that
made a difference. In the final interview, Susan said:
I need to do more visual supports. My assistants
helping me to make more. Right now were working on
making visuals to show how to playthe steps to show
what to do in a center. Like heres two blocks, then five
blocks stacked. I think were pretty effective. I only
have one that weve tried a lot with and its still not
working so Ive got the psychologist and autism specialist coming to see if they have suggestions.
Susan was interested in continuing to interact and share
ideas with other teachers in the learning community.

Discussion
Teacher efficacy or a teachers perception about his or her
ability to have a positive effect on a childs behavior is a
critical aspect to the effectiveness of behavioral interventions in the early childhood classroom. As indicated earlier,
teachers consistently feel that they do not receive sufficient
training in how to meet both the emotional and learning
needs of young children (Alvarez 2007; Guralnick 2001).
However, a teachers efficacy can be increased through
training, practice and provision of social supports. Increasing
teacher competence and efficacy through training and social
supports not only contributes to the alleviation of teacher
stress, but also positively impacts teaching practices
(Hastings and Bham 2003).
This study confirmed that even experienced teachers
can benefit from ongoing training and an awareness of

123

resources. In addition to learning or reviewing effective

strategies, gathering the teachers together for training gave
them the opportunity to explore the concept of supportive
online learning communities where they can interact, ask
each other questions, give advice or share ideas.
Throughout the training the teachers indicated that none of
them were familiar with the plethora of resources readily
available online. However, after being exposed to these
resources, the teachers later used social stories from the
websites and one teacher used the problem-solving cards as
an intervention.
When teachers build a history of positive experiences,
their efficacy is increased (Lamorey and Wilcox 2005;
Massengill Shaw et al. 2007). Furthermore, teacher efficacy can be improved by observing a colleagues successes, which the supportive online learning community
facilitated. When the teachers who participated in the
project saw improvements in the behaviors of their children, they felt more empowered to expand the use of the
intervention strategies. An example of this occurred when
one teacher used helpers not only in circle time, but
incorporated the strategy throughout the rest of the day.
After talking about this in the online learning community,
all of the teachers said that they planned on making and
using more visual support strategies.
Even more crucial to increasing teacher efficacy is
interacting with colleagues who have similar experiences
(Bagdi and Vacca 2005). Because the special education
teachers often felt somewhat isolated as the only preschool
teacher at their school, they benefited from the forum of the
online learning community. This was especially beneficial
for the first-year beginning teachers who had not yet
developed contacts with other preschool teachers. Even if
their children continued to exhibit challenging behaviors,
they felt that it was helpful to know that they were not the
only teacher experiencing those challenges. Interacting
with the online learning community also offered the
teachers the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and
see how strategies were effectively implemented in other
classrooms.
The participants all indicated the benefits of interacting
with colleagues through the online learning community. At
least two of the teachers had previously sought support
from staff at their schools. However, those professionals
had limited experience teaching preschoolers with challenging behaviors. This project gave them the opportunity
to reach out to other preschool teachers and also provided
them with accessible online tools to help identify information for addressing the needs of children with challenging behaviors.
Future research is needed to address whether teachers
should continue to use the online interaction format to
share new strategies for working with children who exhibit

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

challenging behaviors. Also, additional research should

address whether the increased level of efficacy is maintained after training and interaction.

Limitations
While this study indicated positive results, there were a
number of limitations that may lead to further exploration
in future studies. The researcher visited each teacher in her
classroom during the interview phase and provided individual consultations based on teacher report of students
needs. Because the researcher was also a full-time teacher,
it was not possible to observe actual child behaviors and
teacher responses for the purpose of data collection as well
as to provide more specific behavior support strategies.
Most of the classrooms were reverse mainstream classes in
which there were a higher number of children with disabilities than typically developing children. Fully inclusive
classes have been shown to provide more appropriate role
models, resulting in fewer inappropriate behaviors (Odom
2000).
Other limitations included the short amount of time
involved in the study and the small number of teachers
participating. The combination of teachers located in different school sites and the short amount of time made
follow-up group training and support not possible for this
project. Furthermore, information regarding teacher efficacy was based on teacher report rather than observable
measures such as a rating scale (Podsakoff and Organ
1986).

Conclusion
The findings of this study suggest that, social supports from
co-workers with similar experiences are a critical factor for
increasing teacher efficacy. And, since teacher efficacy
plays such a strong role in classroom learning experience,
addressing the efficacy of teachers should be an administrative priority. Special education preschool programs
could strengthen their programs by providing opportunities
for their teachers to build learning communities where they
can interact, learn and support one another.
Online learning communities can be instrumental in the
implementation of new classroom strategies by creating the
opportunity for teachers to learn about different behavior
support strategies from other teachers who have actually
used them. When teachers are members of communities
where they are valued as partners and colleagues they can
give and receive knowledge (Lieberman 2000). Teachers
should be encouraged to explore information on newer
strategies and then bring that information to the online

45

learning community. Through conversation with colleagues, teachers could continue to develop and refine their
use of the strategies. Subsequent sharing with the community would enable a larger group of teachers to benefit
from individual experiences.
The best intentions are often overshadowed when the
routine of running a classroom consumes a teachers time.
Having the option of turning to an online learning community for information might be an effective and efficient
way to help teachers handle difficult classroom situations.
Finally, staying engaged in an online learning community
of colleagues who share similar experiences could lessen
the isolation that many teachers feel when they shut their
classroom doors. More studies are needed to determine if
the forum of online learning communities to promote
reflection and ongoing support through peer interactions
are effective in building teacher efficacy and improving
teacher intervention strategies (Lock 2006).

References
Almog, O., & Schechtman, Z. (2007). Teachers democratic and
efficacy beliefs and styles of coping with behavioural problems
of pupils with special needs. European Journal of Special Needs
Education, 22(2), 115129.
Alvarez, H. K. (2007).The impact of teacher preparation on responses
to child aggression in the classroom. Teaching and Teacher
Education, 23(7), 11131126.
Bagdi, A., & Vacca, J. (2005). Supporting early childhood socialemotional well being: The building blocks for early learning and
school success. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(3),
145150.
Brophy, J. E., & McCaslin, M. (1992). Teachers reports of how they
perceive and cope with problem students. Elementary School
Journal, 93(1), 367.
Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations on Early Learning.
(2011). Retrieved from http://www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/modules.
html.
Denzin, D. (2000). The practices and politics of interpretation. In
N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative
research (pp. 897922). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Draper, A. (2004). The principles and application of qualitative
research. The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 63(4),
641646. Retrieved December 31, 2010, from ProQuest Nursing
& Allied Health Source (Document ID: 1453293081).
Dunlap, G., Strain, P. S., Fox, L., Carta, J. J., Conroy, M., Smith, B.,
et al. (2006). Prevention and intervention with young childrens
challenging behavior: Perspectives regarding current knowledge.
Behavioral Disorders, 32(1), 2945.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Washington, DC, 2001).
Retrieved from: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/
107-110.pdf.
Fox, L., & Lentini, R. H. (2006). You got it!: Teaching social and
emotional skills. Young Children, 61(6), 3642.
Gilliam, W. S. (2005). Prekindergarteners left behind: Expulsion
rates in state prekindergarten programs. FCD Policy Brief
Series No. 3. New York: Foundation for Child Development.
Guralnick, M. (2001). Social competence with peers and early
childhood inclusion: Need for alternative approaches. In

123

46
M. Glarnick (Ed.), Early childhood inclusion: Focus on change
(pp. 481502). Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes.
Guskey, T. R., & Yoon, K. S. (2009). What works in professional
development? Phi Delta Kappan, 90, 495500.
Hastings, R. P., & Bham, M. S. (2003). The relationship between
child behavior patterns and teacher burnout. School Psychology
International, 24(1), 115127.
Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M., & Joseph, G. (November, 2003).
Module 1: Promoting childrens success: Building relationships
and creating supportive environments. Retrieved from http://
csfel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/training_preschool.html#mod1.
Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M., & Fox, L. (2006). Social and
emotional foundations for early learning: A conceptual model
for intervention. School Psychology Review, 35(4), 583601.
Hillebrand, B., Kok, R., & Biemans, W. (2001). Theory-testing using
case studies a comment on Johnston, Leach, and Liu. Industrial
Marketing Management, 30(8), 651657.
Jordan, A., Kircaali-Iftar, G., & Diamond, P. (1993). Who has a
problem, the student or the teacher? Differences in teachers
beliefs about their work with at-risk and integrated exceptional
students. International Journal of Disability, Development and
Education, 40(1), 4562.
Lamorey, S., & Wilcox, M. J. (2005). Early intervention practitioners
self-efficacy: A measure and its applications. Early Childhood
Research Quarterly, 20(1), 6984.
Lawrence-Lightfoot, S., & Davis, J. H. (1997). The art and science of
portraiture. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Lieberman, A. (2000). Networks as learning communities: Shaping
the future of teacher development. Journal of Teacher Education, 51(3), 221227.
Lock, J. (2006). A new image: Online communities to facilitate
teacher professional development. Journal of Technology and
Teacher Education, 14(4), 663678.
Massengill Shaw, D., Dvorak, M. J., & Bates, K. (2007). Promise and
possibility-hope for teacher education: Pre-service literacy
instruction can have an impact. Reading Research and Instruction, 46(3), 223254.
McLaren, E. M. (2007). Partnering to encourage transfer of learning:
Providing professional development follow-up supports to Head

123

Early Childhood Educ J (2012) 40:3546

Start teachers. Retrieved from ProQuest Digital Dissertations
(AAT 3259156).
Odom, S. L. (2000). Preschool inclusion: What we know and where
we go from here. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education,
20(1), 2027.
Odom, S. L., & Wolery, M. (2003). A unified theory of practice in
early intervention/early childhood special education: Evidencebased practices. Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 164173.
Ostrosky, M.M., & Jung, E.Y. (2011). Brief 12: Building positive
teacherchild relationships. Retrieved from: http://www.vander
bilt.edu/csefel/briefs/wwb12.html.
Podsakoff, P., & Organ, D. (1986). Self-reports in organizational
research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management,
12(4), 531544. doi:10.1177/014920638601200408.
Powell, D., Fixsen, D., Dunlap, G., Smith, B., & Fox, L. (2007). A
synthesis of knowledge relevant to pathways of service delivery
for young children with or at risk of challenging behavior.
Journal of Early Intervention, 29(2), 81106.
Smith, B. (2005). Linking social development and school readiness to
behavior. Retrieved from: http://www.challengingbehavior.org/
do/resources/documents/rph_social_dev_school_rediness.pdf.
Stormont, M. (2002). Externalizing behavior problems in young
children: Contributing factors and early intervention. Psychology
in the Schools, 39(2), 127138.
Strain, P. S., & Joseph, G. E. (2004). Engaged supervision to support
recommended practices for young children with challenging
behavior. Teaching Early Childhood Special Education, 24(1),
3950.
Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for
Young Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.challenging
behavior.org.
Timm, M., & Doubet, S. (2007). Brief 22: Acknowledging childrens
positive behaviors. Retrieved from: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/
briefs/wwb_22.pdf.
Whitted, K. S. (2011). Understanding how social and emotional skill
deficits contribute to school failure. Preventing School Failure,
55(1). 1016.