Investigating Knowledge of Applied Behavior Analysis Strategies Among Teachers and Teacher Assistants of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder in Private Special Education Schools in Kuwait

Abstract

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a critical evidence-based framework for developing effective interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In Kuwait, where the majority of students with ASD are enrolled in private special education schools, the ABA competency of the instructional workforce remains largely unexamined. This cross-sectional quantitative study investigated the knowledge of ABA strategies among 328 teachers and teacher assistants at private special education schools in Kuwait. The sample of the study totaled 328 special education teachers and teacher assistants selected from 32 special education schools providing ABA services to students with ASD.Using an adapted and translated Arabic version of the Behavior Management Survey (Randozzo, 2011), participants were evaluated across five key domains: Basic Principles, Measurement, Skill Acquisition, Antecedent Interventions, and Behavior Reduction. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Mann‒Whitney U test, the Kruskal‒Wallis H test, and the chi‒square test. The results indicated significant disparities in knowledge across domains (p<.001), with participants demonstrating relative strengths in Basic Principles (M=62.3%) and Skill Acquisition (M=56.3%) but exhibiting critical deficiencies in Measurement (M=46.0%), Antecedent Interventions (M=43.3%), and Behavior Reduction (M=49.8%). Notably, participants who held formal ABA certifications (RBT, BCaBA, or BCBA) scored significantly higher across all the domains (p<.001), with median scores up to three times higher than those of noncertified staff. These findings reveal a substantial gap in procedural ABA knowledge within Kuwait’s private special education sector and underscore an urgent need for systematic professional development and policies that support formal certification to ensure high-quality educational outcomes for students with ASD.