Consumer Behavior Analysis Approach to Teacher Choice of Reading Interventions

The use of Evidence-based Practices (EBPs) in schools is heavily emphasized in educational research and policy; however, many teachers do not use EBPs for reading instruction and intervention. Previous research on the limited use of EBPs in classrooms has primarily focused on teacher characteristics, such as their attitudes or beliefs toward these practices. As an alternative to this view, this study applied a behavioral economic approach to understanding teacher choice (i.e., EBPs over other alternatives, such as interventions with a base of limited empirical support; low-value practices [LVPs]). Hypothetical Intervention Choice Tasks were developed and used to evaluate how both utilitarian reinforcement (UR; evidence of effectiveness) and informational reinforcement (IR; support from the verbal/social community) contingencies influence small-group reading intervention choices (Tier 2). Study participants were teachers who have provided Tier 2 supplemental reading intervention for school-age students. Study participants were recruited using a Qualtrics® panel. Results indicated that teachers demonstrated substitutability of EBPs for reading intervention with alternatives regardless of whether those alternatives had evidence of efficacy. Results of this study contribute to the limited body of literature on the ecological factors that influence teacher choices regarding the consumption of EBPs for reading.