CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Behavior analysis and behavior modification have grown rapidly since inception. In 1925, John B. Watson, an early visionary in the field of psychology, published Behaviorism while at John Hopkins University, a very radical and innovative work in its time (Manubay, 2003). During the 1950s, behavior analysis gained many prolific and skillful practitioners. Following a plethora of successful human laboratory studies in the early ‘60s, behavior analysis was applied in natural settings to solve important social and learning problems. As the field advanced in the ‘70s, many specialty areas formed and established roots in the fields of pre-school education, public education, penology, and organizational management. Behavior analysis became known as applied behavior analysis or behavior modification (Kazdin, 1978). The discipline, applied behavior analysis, finally earned its place as Division 25 in the American Psychological Association. The Association of Applied Behavior Analysis was also formed as an international professional organization.
What is behavior modification? According to Leonard Ullmann & Leonard Krasner (1965), behavior modification is the application of the results of learning theory and experimental psychology to the problem of altering maladaptive behavior. The focus of attention is overt behavior, and, in terms of both the development and change of behavior, no distinction is made between adaptive and maladaptive responses. Moreover, behavior modification occurs when one induces a change in an organism’s behavior by systematic manipulation of the environmental context in which that behavior occurs. The contemporary behavior modification focuses on behavior, learning and current determinants. It basically assumes that behavior is potentially predictable and lawful, that learning can alter behavior, that the dysfunctional behavior reflects the same mechanisms as functional behavior and that the Current behavior patterns are maintained by current circumstances. Behavior modification focuses on well-defined target behaviors. It gives substantial attention to description of the behavior and environment. Moreover, it emphasizes on assessment and evaluation. Direct approach such as evaluation and consultation is used but the responsibility is placed on client to implement and choose. Finally, one of the unique characteristics of behavior modification is its technological orientation. The promises of behavior modification, since its widespread growth in education in the mid-sixties, continues to be realized. In American preschool education setting, behavior modification has been effectively implemented to improve student conduct, teacher performance, academic quality and productivity. It has also been used to improve various adaptive social and emotional behaviors. Behavior modification has been contributing toward making American educational system more effective and satisfying to students and school personnel, as well as to the parents.
In preschool education, behavior modification has progressed through a series of stages and growing pains, just as the field has in other areas of application. Alongside this progress are various issues that have resulted to many trends. Many of these relate to the zeitgeist of the times: issues of humanism (Thoresen, 1973), issues of consumerism (Braukmann et al., 1975), and issues that relate to history and function have emerged.
Behavior modification assumes that observable and measurable behaviors are good targets for change. All behavior follows a set of consistent rules. Methods can be developed for defining, observing, and measuring behaviors, as well as designing effective interventions. Behavior modification techniques never fail (Goldstein & Mather, 2001). Rather, they are either applied inefficiently or inconsistently, which leads to less than desired change. All behavior is maintained, changed, or shaped by the consequences of that behavior.
According to Goldstein and Mather (2001), all children function more effectively under the right set of consequences. “Reinforcers” are consequences that strengthen behavior and “punishments” are consequences that weaken behavior. Students’ behaviors are managed and changed by these consequences of classroom behavior. Consequences of behavior are directly related to the events that either come immediately before or after them. To manage behavior through consequences they suggest that the problem must be defined, usually by count or description, design a way to change the behavior, identify an effective reinforcer, and apply the reinforcer consistently to shape or change behavior.
The effective use of behavioral and cognitive strategies in the classroom may appear daunting even to experienced teachers. However, changing the teacher’s behavior and strategies is often the most efficient and effective means of improving all types of classroom behaviors, both disruptive and nondisruptive. The building block of emotions and behavior likely contains the largest and most diverse set of problems encountered in the classroom. Problems of emotions and behavior can be effectively managed and changed in the classroom by first understanding the problems and seeing the world through the eyes of the preschool students, and, by then developing and using a set of intervention strategies on a regular basis (Goldstein & Mather, 2001)
Focus of the Study
The behavior modification technique is often used in mental health and other areas of application such as the training of employees in a company or in the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. It is also adapted to cater the needs of those who have mental and behavioral disorders. The effectiveness of behavior modification technique is manifested in the educational system. It is used to harness the students’ gain of academic skills.
In this light, this study will focus on the determination of an effective behavior modification technique in American preschool setting. This study will also focus on how the application of behavior modification is applied by the teachers. Moreover, both the children with or without mental and behavioral disorders are considered in this research. To make a concrete picture of this, the researcher will present a case study on how North Texan childcare providers and preschool handle the children using behavior modification.
Statement of the Problem
This researcher finds the necessity for a study that specifically tackles how the behavior modification is used in the preschool. Specifically, this study intends to investigate if preschool teachers use the behavior modification effectively. It will try to understand how this technique works for children, especially those with mental and behavior disorder. Moreover, this study will try to answer the following queries:
What are the factors that affect the effective/ineffective implementation of behavior modification in preschool?
How does behavior modification affect the children?
What are the characteristics of behavior modification that make it effective/ineffective?
Are there better alternatives other than behavior modification?
Research Question
Do childcare providers use effective forms of behavior modification? What type of discipline should a child care provider use? Do childcare providers use effective forms of behavior modification in the classroom?
Hypothesis of the Study
This paper will work on the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: It is hypothesized that childcare providers in North Texas do not use effective forms of behavior modification.
Hypothesis 2: It is hypothesized that childcare providers do not use effective forms of discipline.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine how behavior modification works in preschools in North Texas. It aims to understand the different ways to minimize behavior problems by using effective behavior modification. This study also aims to determine if childcare providers in North Texas are actually using behavior modification in their classroom. Literatures show that most teachers are not trained to use behavior modification. Therefore the need to train them should be applied.
Moreover, this study aims to make recommendations on how to improve the teaching techniques of preschool teachers. Teachers spend a good deal of time dealing with inappropriate, disruptive behavior. Oftentimes attempts to modify student behavior are unsuccessful due to time constraints, inconsistent implementation, and a lack of understanding of the principles of behavior modification. In this study, the basic premises of methods of behavior modification which will help teachers approach their students’ behavior will be tackled.
Significance of the Study
This study will be a significant endeavor in promoting behavior modification technique in handling preschool children. This study will be helpful to the teachers for this will be a guide for them when they employ the behavior modification. By analyzing the current effective trend in disciplining children, preschool administrators will be benefited by this study. Moreover, this research will design techniques and suggest recommendations to educators on how to develop and administer behavior modification plans in a consistent and more effective manner, to further improve the children’s behavior and academic skills.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE
What is Behavior Modification?
There are many different methods and philosophies of dealing with “inappropriate,” “abnormal,” or “undesirable” behavior. Behavior modification is one of these. It is different from other methods and philosophies in that it focuses only on observable, describable, and measurable behaviors, as opposed, for example, to psychoanalytic theory which focuses on finding the underlying cause (i.e., childhood trauma) of behavior (McConnell, 2003). Behavior modification, based on behaviorist principles, operates on the tenets that behavior is controlled by antecedents, events which occur before a behavior is exhibited, and by consequences, that is, events which occur after a behavior is exhibited. These antecedents and consequences can be changed in order to increase or decrease the chance that a given behavior will continue to be exhibited. Finally, behavior, appropriate as well as inappropriate, is learned.
Behavior modification techniques aim to manipulate the antecedents and consequences of behavior so that the likelihood of appropriate behavior is increased and inappropriate behavior is decreased. Proactive behavior modification, interventions which avoid the utilization of aversive consequences, also involves teaching new and more appropriate skills (positive programming). The reason for this is the belief that all behavior is learned. If one is trying to reduce an inappropriate behavior, an appropriate behavior must be taught as an alternative.
Examples of behavior modification which can be used to increase behavior include praise and approval, modeling, positive programming, shaping, token economy, self-monitoring, and shaping. On the other hand, methods which can be used to decrease behavior are include extinction, reinforcing incompatible behavior, relaxation, self-monitoring, and shaping. There are many different types of behavior modification techniques that one can use, but the most common are systematic desentisitization, aversion therapy and behavioral shaping.
Behavioral Modification in Classroom
The development of behavior modification in the classroom shares much in common with other areas of behavior modification application. Paralleling the development of behavior modification in the field of mental health (Ayllon, 1963) many early classroom studies were directed toward the reduction of ‘noxious’ behaviors. The elimination of disruptive (Madsen, Becker, & Thomas, 1968; Thomas, Becker, & Armstrong, 1968), unpermitted, out-of-seat (Englehardt , Sulzer, & Altekruse, 1971), and other behaviors that interfered with ongoing classroom routines were frequently targeted for change. It appeared that educators eagerly embraced procedures that would ease their difficulties in managing students who interfered with classroom learning.
But Bijou (1981) began to question the value of selecting only noxious target behaviors as the target of behavioral change inside the classroom. He felt that it would be more advisable to look more closely at those behaviors that are often specified as the goals of school curricula: academic performance and personal and social development. Bijou (1981) believed that noxious behaviors would fall when academic skill performance was increased. A shift toward promoting students’ acquisition of positive, adaptive, constructive behaviors might conceivably accomplish both the problems of academics and behavior.
Apparently, recognition of this point was shared by others. Winnett and Winkler (1972), taking issue with the social organization of classrooms that may tend to foster disruptive behavior and questioning the arbitrary targeting of certain classes of behavior as inappropriate, also suggested instead the targeting of skills such as productive social behaviors. Literature by Birnbrauer at al. (1965) Brigham, & Sherman (1968) and Baer et al. (1968), for example, indicated that behavioral procedures could effectively promote classroom productivity, language development, and social skills.
Because of this shift of targets for behavioral change, the area of academic performance is benefited. The language skills has been selected for the students with seriously delayed functional speech (Wheeler & Sulzer, 1970) and reading, language, social studies, arithmetic, science, and spelling for those who have difficulties in any of these (Campbell & Sulzer, 1971; Sulzer et al., 1971; Sulzer, Hunt, & Loving, 1972). Later a number of behavioral procedures were combined to teach handwriting (Burnett et al., 1973). In each case, Bijou (1981) found that the immediate, consistent reinforcement of short academic tasks appropriate to the students’ repertoires resulted in the students’ effective acquisition of the skills.
In order to test whether or not misconduct would fall by the wayside when academic skill performance was increased, Sulzer et al. ( 1971) collected data on untreated conduct behaviors. These were derived from a list generated by the class members which included nonpermitted out-of-seat, shouting, hitting, and throwing objects. The study found that with the use of behavior modification technique, academic productivity and accuracy rose and disruption decreased, although the proportion of teacher attention remained relatively constant. This effect was also demonstrated by Ayllon and Roberts (1974) who found that when academic performance was reinforced, there was an accompanying decrease in disruption. Similarly, Hay, Hay, and Nelson (1977) found a decrease in off-task behavior under those conditions.
The study of Bijou (1981) shows that a few trends have emerged in the area of selecting target behaviors. The first trend is the increasing emphasis on the direct targeting of those behaviors that are of most critical concern in education: academic and behaviors that lead to social and self-enhancement. The second trend is that more efforts are beginning to be directed toward the prevention of problem behaviors through the identification and management of ecological conditions.
After the determination of the target, the next issue is: who is to be treated? Scanning the behavior modification literature in the field of mental health, one might note a gradual shift away from identifying the patient with deviant behavior as the client. The role of client is now assumed by others such as staff, parents, or members of the community (Hunt & Azrin, 1973). Similarly, in educational settings, changes in client specification are evolving in parallel form. One notes instances in which it is not the student per se who is the recipient of “treatment” but rather the instructional staff like teachers, tutors, proctors, and even the physical environment (Krantz & Risley, 1977; Twardosz, Cataldo, & Risley, 1974).
In the early 80’s, a survey of recent and current applications of behavior modification in education suggested that studies of the controlling properties of behavioral consequences had been very heavily emphasized. In many of the early studies in the field, the management of consequences had been the primary intervention strategy. In a sense, this very heavy emphasis on behavioral consequences is surprising, because the roots of the practice of behavior modification in the classroom initially stemmed from B. F. Skinner’s work on programmed instruction (Bijou, 1981).
Antecedents were managed through the presentation of small bits of instructional stimuli and contained sufficient prompts to maximize the likelihood that the student would provide the correct answer. Prompts were faded until correct answers were apt to be forthcoming in the absence of any extraneous prompts or until they were under control of the critical stimuli.
An empirical approach to the development of programmed instruction was advocated, based on the assumption that “the student is always right.” If errors were committed or recently acquired responses were lost, it was assumed to be the fault of the program, not the student. Holland and Skinner (1961) developed according to the guideline that essentially all students who studied the text should respond correctly to almost every item. Many modifications of the materials were conducted until that goal was achieved.
The early to mid-sixties witnessed a flurry of research on programmed instruction. Investigated were such questions as the necessity for overt student responding (Stolorow & Walker, 1962) and other relevant variables. Many empirically based instructional programs were designed and much consideration given to antecedent stimuli. But many other programs were not submitted to such rigorous testing. Unfortunately, many of those untested programs failed to deliver the promise of superior instruction, so the publication wave of programmed instructional packages soon crested and began to ebb.
Filling the widening gap left by the waning of programmed instruction, another instructional technology, incorporating many of the same principles of behavior as programmed instruction, the personalized system of instruction (PSI) was advocated by Keller (1968). This system is analogous in many ways to programmed instruction. However, the bits of information presented to students are usually selected from already available texts, supplemented by study questions. Usually, following the preparation of answers to a number of study questions, students take a quiz covering the concepts contained in the unit. Afterward, performance is reinforced via immediate feedback.
Why behavioral antecedents have tended to be neglected in favor of consequences in the classroom management literature is difficult to explain. Perhaps the field was reacting against “traditional” education methods, with its emphasis on texts, lectures, rules, and instructions. Or perhaps it was a fascination with the operant conditioner’s discovery of the critical necessary importance of consequential events. Maybe it was an outgrowth of some of the early behavior modification studies of seriously deviant child behavior: such as severe tantrums (Williams, 1959) or the extremely maladaptive behaviors of autistic children (Wolf et al., 1964).
Perhaps studies such Madsen et al’s (1968) that showed that rules alone, in the absence of behavioral consequences, accomplished little, although many other researchers showed that the management of reinforcing or aversive consequences alone could accomplish a great deal. At any rate, there have been proportionally few studies in the behavior modification journals, on curriculum designed according to behavioral principles (although literally hundreds of behaviorally based curriculum items now exist) on the nature of instructions, conditions of modeling, and ecological variables.
With such a heavy emphasis placed on the consequences of behavior, much attention has focused upon the specific nature of the consequential event to be delivered. Aside from the work on programmed and personalized instruction, early educational applications of behavior modification principles, as mentioned previously, involved students with severe deficits or maladaptive behaviors.
One trend that has characterized a segment of the research in classroom applications has been to arrange consequences contingent upon the behavior of a group of students. Although interventions are still often directed at individual students, particularly when their behavior is very atypical in comparison with their classmates, group contingency programs have flourished (Banish, Saunders, & Wolf, 1969). Group contingencies are particularly appropriate to classrooms, because classes are composed of groups of students, and implementing a program with a group is natural and practical. Although in one instance (Axelrod, 1973) group contingencies have generated threats from fellow students, in most cases they are a powerful means for achieving change and no negative side effects are found (Switzer et al., 1977).
The positive results of group contingencies have been replicated in several of the recent studies. But in the study of Ulman and Sulzer-Azaroff (1975), it is found that group contingencies are not quite so effective as individual contingencies in promoting accuracy of arithmetic performance. However, the group contingencies resulted in higher percentages correct than no reinforcement.
It appears that group contingencies will continue to be used and studied in classroom settings. Methods for promoting positive and reducing negative side effects should continue to be explored.
Preschool Teachers and Child Care Providers
Childcare workers spend most of their day working with children. However, they do maintain contact with parents or guardians through informal meetings or scheduled conferences to discuss each child’s progress and needs. Many childcare workers keep records of each child’s progress and suggest ways that parents can increase their child’s learning and development at home. Some preschools, childcare centers, and before- and after-school programs actively recruit parent volunteers to work with the children and participate in administrative decisions and program planning.
In the early 90’s, despite numerous and long-standing research to indicate that behavioral procedures can produce large gains in academic skill development, the techniques are seldom used in regular education (Axelrod, Berry, & Moyer, 1990). This could be a major problem when a consultant believed a behavioral intervention is required. Possible reasons for this situation include bias on the part of journal editors, the pervasive influence of psychodynamic psychology, and the association of the behavioral approach with nonhuman research and back wards of hospitals.
Education in the United States today is facing a great challenge. Technological advances and the increasing complexity of modern society mean that students need to leave school with the academic skills to meet the increasing demands of an ever-changing world. Teachers are faced with the difficult task of providing instruction that will give students the ability to meet these demands. Thus, educational and psychological consultants need to help teachers identify and use the most effective strategies available to solve and prevent student learning problems (Axelrod, Berry, & Moyer, 1990).
In some instances, this requires instruction based on behavioral principles. Unfortunately, regular classroom teachers seldom base instruction on such principles despite a well-developed and verified system of effective classroom instruction derived from behavioral principles. If educational and psychological consultants are to make use of behavioral interventions effectively, they need to understand why such interventions have been ignored.
Most childcare workers perform a combination of basic care and teaching duties. Through many basic care activities, childcare workers provide opportunities for children to learn. For example, a worker who shows a child how to tie a shoelace teaches the child while also providing for that child’s basic care needs. Childcare programs help children learn about trust and gain a sense of security.
Young children learn mainly through play. Recognizing the importance of play, childcare workers build their program around it. They capitalize on children’s play to further language development, improve social skills and introduce scientific and mathematical concepts. Thus, a less structured approach is used to teach preschool children, including small group lessons, one-on-one instruction, and learning through creative activities, such as art, dance, and music.
Interaction with peers is an important part of a child’s early development. Preschool children are given an opportunity to engage in conversation and discussions, and learn to play and work cooperatively with their classmates. Childcare workers play a vital role in preparing children to build the skills they will need in school. Childcare workers in preschools greet young children as they arrive, help them remove outer garments, and select an activity of interest. When caring for infants, they feed and change them. To ensure a well-balanced program, childcare workers prepare daily and long-term schedules of activities. Each day’s activities balance individual and group play and quiet and active time. Children are given some freedom to participate in activities in which they are interested.
Before introducing a behavior modification, several things must take place. First, it must be established that there is, indeed, a behavior problem. Factors which may influence or cause a student’s behavior, such as a medical condition, language difficulties, or cultural differences, must be investigated. Additionally, input from other staff and from parents is necessary in establishing which behavior is problematic. Second, a functional analysis needs to be completed in order to establish which antecedents and consequences are supporting the behavior (or which antecedents and consequences are needed in the case of promoting behavior). Third, it must be determined whether the target behavior is of priority to justify intervention. For example, while pencil tapping may be an annoying behavior, it probably does not warrant implementation of a token economy. In deciding whether a behavior necessitates intervention, you will need to look at its frequency (how often it occurs as compared to peers), the intensity at which the behavior is exhibited, and the rate at which the student is able to learn new behaviors.
There are many ways to modify a child’s behavior. The suggestions for behavior modification are to increase consequences that are rewarding the behavior. Negative reinforcement have always been misused as a synonym for punishment. Negative reinforcement is something good; while punishment is something bad. Reinforcement is a reward. (Presentation of something good or removal of something bad.) Punishment is the opposite of reinforcement. Punishment is the least effective way of controlling behavior. The purpose of punishment is to reduce undesired behavior. If a child has been rewarded consistently for good behavior, then it will soon make the child aware to repeat the behavior. Teachers should use consistency. Children will often discriminate between people who use effective methods of behavior modification.
There are many factors to take into consideration when dealing with children with behavioral problems. The biological factors of the child can determine the disposition and temperament that a child displays. In different childcare centers, there are quite of few aggressive behaviors displayed by children. Another problem that can affect a child is environmental. The different setting that a child is required to be in can predetermine how a child will act. Each child will act out his feeling in different ways. There are also other factors to consider: dyslexia and attention deficit disorder can also affect how a child behaves in class.
Definition Antecedents are the events which occur before a behavior is exhibited.
Aversion therapy is a technique used to break bad habits. In aversion therapy an unpleasant stimulus is paired with the bad habit. Repeating this process results in the extinction of the bad habit.
Behavior Analysis is a science concerned with the behavior of people, what people do and say, and the behavior of animals. It attempts to understand, explain, describe and predict behavior.
Behavior Modification is, in layman’s term, rewarding the good and ignoring the bad behavior.
Behavioral shaping is used to change or shape a behavior in response to rewards known as positive reinforcements. This technique is often used by parents to change a behavior of their child, but it can also be used for adults. There are many variations of strategies that can be used to implement the behavioral shaping technique. However, the basic strategy behind behavioral shaping is similar in all variations. The first step is to observe the behaviors and record them. You can record these undesired behaviors using a method called charting.
Consequences are events which occur after a behavior is exhibited.
Systematic desensitization is used to over come some type of fear or anxiety over a certain stimulus. The person is asked to either imagine the anxiety-producing situation or deal with the real-life situation at a gradual pace until anxiety is virtually diminished. Occasionally, there is a relaxation training used with systematic desensitization whenever the anxiety-producing stimuli are present; this process is called reciprocal inhibition. It helps to increase the likelihood of a relaxed response to the feared stimulus.
CHAPTER III METHODS AND PROCEDURE
This chapter shall discuss the research methods available for the study and what is applicable for it to use. Likewise, the chapter shall present how the research will be implemented and how to come up with pertinent findings.
Method of Research to be Used
There are three kinds of research methods, correlational, experimental and descriptive. (Walliman and Baiche, 2001) The correlational kind of research method is used due to ethical problems with experiments. Moreover, it is also used due to practical problems with experiments. Moreover, inferring causality from correlation not actually impossible, but very difficult. This mode of study is widely applicable, cheap, and usually ethical. Nonetheless, there exist some “third variable” issues and measurement problems. The correlational research refers to studies in which the purpose is to discover relationships between variables through the use of correlational statistics (r). The square of a correlation coefficient yields the explained variance (r-squared). A correlational relationship between two variables is occasionally the result of an outside source, so we have to be careful and remember that correlation does not necessarily tell us about cause and effect. If a strong relationship is found between two variables, using an experimental approach can test causality.
On the other hand, the experimental method is the only method that can be used to establish cause-and-effect relationships. (Creswell, 1994) That is, it is the only one that can be used to explain the bases of behaviour and mental processes. In this method, the subjects are split into two (or more) groups. One group, called the experimental group gets the treatment that the researcher believes will cause something to happen (this treatment is formally called the independent variable). The experimental and control groups are compared on some variable that is presumed to reflect the effects of the treatment, or outcome. This is formally referred to as the dependent variable.
And lastly, the descriptive research method uses observation and surveys. In this method, it is possible that the study would be cheap and quick. It could also suggest unanticipated hypotheses. Nonetheless, it would be very hard to rule out alternative explanations and especially infer causations. Thus, this study will use the descriptive approach. This descriptive type of research will utilize observations in the study. To illustrate the descriptive type of research, Creswell (1994) will guide the researcher when he stated: Descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. The purpose of employing this method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the cause/s of particular phenomena. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.
The research described in this document is based fundamentally on quantitative research methods. This permits a flexible and iterative approach. During data gathering the choice and design of methods are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This allows investigation of important new issues and questions as they arise, and allows the investigators to drop unproductive areas of research from the original research plan.
This study basically intends to investigate the way preschool teachers in North Texas handle the children using behavior modification technique. Specifically, the study intends to determine if they are using it effectively. The study wants to know how this technique allows the teachers create an environment that caters the needs of the children. Moreover, this study tries to identify the factors that affect the effectivity of behavior modification to children, and to their teachers as well.
The primary source of data will come from a questionnaire and interviews conducted by the researcher in selected preschools in North Texas. The respondents of the study will come from the children and the teachers.
The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from Psychology, journals, books and related studies on behavior modification, behavior analysis, models of educational instructions and the American educational system.
For this research design, the researcher will gather data, collate published studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from social science journals; and make a content analysis of the collected documentary and verbal material. Afterwards, the researcher will summarize all the information, make a conclusion based on the null hypotheses posited and provide insightful recommendations on the dealing with organizational management.
Respondents of the Study The general population for this study will be composed of selected teachers in selected preschools in North Texas. The object is to find out if they are effective in employing behavior modification technique. Instruments to be Used
To determine the level of effectivity of the use of behavior modification, the researcher will prepare a questionnaire and a set of guide questions for the interview that will be asked to the intended respondents. The respondents will grade each statement in the survey-questionnaire using a Likert scale with a five-response scale wherein respondents will be given five response choices. The equivalent weights for the answers will be:
Range Interpretation
4.50 – 5.00 Strongly Agree
3.50 – 4.00 Agree
2.50 – 3.49 Uncertain
1.50 – 2.49 Disagree
0.00 – 1.49 Strongly Disagree
Validation of the Instrument
For validation purposes, the researcher will initially submit a sample of the set of survey questionnaires and after approval; the survey will be conducted to five respondents. After the questions were answered, the researcher will ask the respondents for any suggestions or any necessary corrections to ensure further improvement and validity of the instrument. The researcher will again examine the content of the interview questions to find out the reliability of the instrument. The researchers will exclude irrelevant questions and will change words that would be deemed difficult by the respondents, to much simpler terms.
Administration of the Instrument
The researcher will exclude the five respondents who will be initially used for the validation of the instrument. The researcher will also tally, score and tabulate all the responses in the provided interview questions. Moreover, the interview shall be using a structured interview. It shall consist of a list of specific questions and the interviewer does not deviate from the list or inject any extra remarks into the interview process. The interviewer may encourage the interviewee to clarify vague statements or to further elaborate on brief comments. Otherwise, the interviewer attempts to be objective and tries not to influence the interviewer’s statements. The interviewer does not share his/her own beliefs and opinions. The structured interview is mostly a “question and answer” session.
Statistical Treatment of the Data
When all the survey questionnaire will have been collected, the researcher will use statistics to analyse all the data.
The statistical formulae to be used in the survey questionnaire will be the following:
1. Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire.
n
% = ——– x 100 ; n – number of responses
N N – total number of respondents
2. Weighted Mean
f1x1 + f2x2 + f3x3 + f4x4 + f5x5
x= ——————————————— ;
xt
where: f – weight given to each response
x – number of responses
xt – total number of responses
The researcher will be assisted by the SPSS in coming up with the statistical analysis for this study.
Appendix
The Principal
The researcher is conducting a study on the effectiveness of behavior modification in education, specifically in the preschool setting. To enable the researcher to make the necessary conclusions and recommendations for this study, it would be very much appreciated if you answer all the items in the questionnaire.
Information given will be treated in strictest confidence.
Thank you.
Part 1. Personal Data
Direction : Please fill up in all the necessary information about yourself. Don’t leave any item unanswered.
a. Age ________
b. Sex
Male ( ) Female ( )
c. Civil Status
Single ( ) Married ( ) Separated ( ) Widow/Widower ( )
d. Educational Attainment
Elementary ( ) High School ( ) College ( ) Graduate ( )
e. Position ____________________
f. Length of Service in the School: ____________
Part 2. Determining the Effectiveness of the Behavior modification Technique
Directions: Encircle the number that best corresponds to your answer.
5 - Strongly Agree
4 - Agree
3 – Uncertain
2 - Disagree
1 - Strongly Disagree
1. I often place children in time-out when misbehaving.
2. I reward the good behavior and not the bad.
3. I make sure that the environment the children are in meet the needs of the child.
4. Children are often more “jumpy” after lunch.
5. When a child acts out in class I scold him or her in front of everybody.
6. As a teacher, I try to adjust the environment the child is in. (ex: temperature)
7. I really don’t mind if children get out of their seats.
8. I know my students well.
9. I treat the children equally.
10. I know how behavior modification works.
5 4 3 2 1
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11. It makes me angry when children shout at me.
12. I praise the children when they recite in class.
13. I do not scold the children when they do things like cursing.
14. I talk to my students’ parents.
15. I criticize the children’s works.
16. I am always prepared in class.
17. Dealing with the children is a tiring activity.
18. I try to hide my anger by smiling.
19. I scold a child only when he/she is alone.
20. I talk to the children with their parents if there are problems.
21. I encourage competition in class.
22. I go outside the classroom when the situation is unbearable (children throwing papers at each other, etc)
23. I do tutorial works on my students even outside the class.
24. I tell my students that what they have done is bad.
25. I tell my students that what they have done is good.
5 4 3 2 1
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5 4 3 2 1
Part 3. Problems and Solutions
Directions: List down your concerns and suggestions regarding the application of behavior modification in disciplining preschool children.
What are the most common problems you’ve encountered with regards to disciplining the children?
a. ______________________________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________________
What solutions would you suggest to solve these problems you’ve mentioned?
a. ______________________________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________________
Bibliography
Axelrod, S. (1973). Comparison of individual and group contingencies in two special classes. Behavior Therapy, 4, 83-90.
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