ABSTRACT
Although proactive strategies will help physical educators prevent a large number of behavioral issues from occurring in the first place, it is likely teachers will still encounter misbehaviors within their classes. The first step in managing student misbehavior is to determine why these misbehaviors are occurring. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) suggests four reasons, or functions, of behavior. Understanding the four functions of behavior will help teachers recognize why specific misbehaviors are occurring in their classes. This chapter discusses these four functions (i.e., access, attention, escape, and sensory stimulation) and how to systematically determine which of the functions is associated with the specific misbehavior; this process uses a set of tools derived from ABA called a functional behavior assessment (FBA) and the chapter discusses how to use the FBA process specifically within physical education.
