Parent involvement in the functional behavioral assessment process: Parent, teacher, administrator, and policymaker perspectives

This study examines parent involvement in the functional behavioral assessment process from the perspectives of parents, teachers, administrators and policymakers. Previous research has considered the potential roles that parents may play in the FBA process, but has not addressed how parent involvement occurs in practice. Legislation in New York State requires parent participation in the educational evaluation process, including FBA. However, very few studies explicitly investigate the roles of parents in evaluations. FBA studies that address the parents' roles primarily depict parents as passive participants (Symons et al., 1998, Umbreit, 1995, Jolivette et al., 2000). Little is known about how parents perceive their roles in the FBA process, and what barriers parents encounter when attempting to participate.; Structured and unstructured interviews with three parent/teacher/administrator cohorts were conducted at three preschool settings to gain an understanding of each stakeholder's respective perceptions. Participant observations and ancillary documents were also collected to provide a rich description of the FBA context. Data analysis identified emergent themes within and across the three cases, using critical theoretical frameworks for understanding. The results of the analysis found an interdependent relationship between the variables of home-school communication, relationship, and parent participation in the FBA process. Parent participation was facilitated by frequent, positive, home school communication, as well as a trusting home-school relationship. In the absence of a positive relationship or home school communication, barriers to parent involvement in the FBA process were apparent: and in one case, insurmountable. Recommendations for both parents and teachers are offered to promote future parent involvement in the FBA process.