The effectiveness of video model teaching in teaching dental examination behaviours to students affected by intellectual disability

The aim of this study is to determine whether video modelling instruction is effective in teaching the behaviours that three primary school Year 1 pupils aged 8–9 with a diagnosis of intellectual disability should exhibit during dental examinations, and whether these behaviours are maintained in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th weeks after the instruction ended, and whether they generalised to different settings and materials. The study employed a multiple baseline design from single-subject research methods, and the model was repeated across participants. Baseline, intervention, baseline, follow-up, generalisation, and social validity data were collected using forms developed by the researchers. After the teaching sessions were completed, follow-up sessions were held in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th weeks to determine the level of maintenance of the behaviours acquired by the participants. In addition, the participants' ability to generalise the behaviours they learned to different environments and materials was also evaluated. In the study, social validity data were collected through interviews with participants' parents and teachers before and after the teaching; these data were examined using descriptive analysis techniques to determine the social acceptability of the application. The data obtained from the teaching sessions were evaluated using graphical analysis methods. The research findings show that participants acquired the targeted dental examination behaviours through video modelling instruction and maintained these skills in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th weeks after the instruction ended. It was also determined that participants could demonstrate the behaviours they learned in different social environments and with different materials, i.e., they generalised. Social validity findings revealed that participants' parents and teachers had positive views of the application, finding the method both effective and feasible. Accordingly, it was concluded that video modelling instruction is an effective, sustainable, and socially acceptable method for teaching dental examination behaviours to individuals with intellectual disabilities.