Evaluating the Effects of Arabic‐Medium Behavioral Skills Training on Parenting Program Facilitators in the United Arab Emirates

Four Arabic-speaking parenting-program staff in the United Arab Emirates took part.

Researchers used behavioral skills training (BST) to teach three skills: giving clear instructions, praising parents, and using role-play.

They met face-to-face, spoke Arabic, and practiced until each skill hit a large share correct.

Every facilitator mastered all three skills after four to seven short BST rounds.

Most kept the skills two weeks later, and all said the training was useful and respectful of their culture.

Wheatley et al. (1978) did almost the same thing 47 years ago with foster grandparents in the U.S. The old study and this new one both used BST and multiple-baseline designs, showing the method works across time and culture.

Laske et al. (2022) taught public speaking with remote BST and got the same strong gains. Their remote success seems to clash with Maliki’s face-to-face approach, but both hit high fidelity—so BST works either way; you can pick the mode that fits your setting.

McGuire et al. (2025) trained bilingual grad students in English first, then had them coach Spanish-speaking caregivers. Like Maliki, they showed language-matched coaching boosts adult skills, extending the idea to a two-step cascade model.

If you run parent groups in Arabic, BST in Arabic gives you a ready script to bring local staff to mastery fast. You can copy the three-skills package next week, check maintenance with a quick probe, and feel confident the facilitators will deliver the program with fidelity.