Teacher perceptions of classroom interventions for children with ADHD: A cross-cultural comparison of teachers in the United States and New Zealand

Abstract

This investigation compared United States and New Zealand teachers' perceptions of classroom interventions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants read one of six vignettes describing a child with symptoms representative of ADHD. The number and type of symptoms were consistent across all vignettes. Next, teachers read a description of the daily report card, response cost technique, classroom lottery, and medication interventions and rated their acceptability using the Behavioral Intervention Rating Scale (BIRS; Elliott & Von Brock Treuting, 1991). Cross-cultural differences were observed for both behavioral and pharmacological interventions based upon teacher nationality. Teachers in the U.S. perceived both types of interventions as more acceptable, effective, and to have more timely effects than teachers in N.Z. An interaction was also demonstrated between student gender, nationality, and intervention preference. Implications of these results for school practice are discussed.