Acceptability of Behavioral Interventions Used in Classrooms: The Influence of Amount of Teacher Time, Severity of Behavior Problem, and Type of Intervention

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Abstract
This article explored factors related to teacher judgments that an intervention is either acceptable or unacceptable for use in typical classroom environments. The acceptability of various interventions was assessed by having 180 preservice and student teachers read case studies involving a classroom intervention and then judging the acceptability of the intervention according to five factors — whether the intervention was considered generally acceptable, whether it posed undue risk to the child, whether it required excessive teacher time, whether it had negative effects on nontarget children, and whether it required such high levels of teacher skill that the typical teacher could not implement it. The major outcomes of the study included: (a) the determination that acceptability of a classroom intervention is not a unitary concept, rather it embodies five components; (b) the construction of a reliable instrument for assessing the acceptability of classroom interventions; and (c) the finding that various interventions differ markedly in their acceptability. Results are discussed in terms of relevance to developing interventions that are effective and yet can be utilized by regular classroom teachers.