Unrestricted Learning Opportunities for Trainees in Behavior Analysis: A Survey of Current Practices
Clinics already have the tasks—what trainees lack is protected time to do them.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Liddon et al. (2024) sent an online survey to BCBA supervisors across the United States.
They asked what unrestricted activities clinics offer and what stops trainees from doing them.
The goal was to see why many students still struggle to earn the unrestricted hours required for certification.
What they found
Almost every clinic said they give trainees chances to design programs, analyze data, and write reports.
Despite good intentions, daily clinic pressures often pull students back to direct therapy.
The block is not willingness; it is real-time demands like staff shortages and billable-hour quotas.
How this fits with other research
Bayley et al. (2023) ran a similar survey in Australia and heard the same story: plenty of tasks on paper, but time and distance get in the way.
Deochand et al. (2024) show that supervisor shortages cluster in certain regions, backing the claim that workforce gaps squeeze trainee opportunities.
Together the three studies form a chain: more certificants (Deochand et al., 2016) want quality hours, yet day-to-day logistics keep saying "not now."
No contradiction here—just different angles on one bottleneck.
Why it matters
If you supervise, stop blaming your calendar and start protecting small daily slots for unrestricted work. Assign one data analysis task each morning, let the trainee run the team meeting, or hold a remote case-review hour. Tiny protected blocks add up to the hours they need and the skills our field demands.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Individuals seeking certification as a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA) by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) must meet certain eligibility requirements. In addition to passing the BCBA examination, such requirements include completion of a master’s degree, behavior-analytic coursework, and supervised practical fieldwork. In accruing fieldwork hours, trainees must be provided with the opportunity to complete unrestricted activities. The BACB defines unrestricted activities as “. . . those that are most likely to be performed by a BCBA,” and requires that 60% of fieldwork hours are comprised of these activities (BACB, 2022b). Fieldwork hours may be accrued across a number of different host sites (e.g., hospital units, schools, community locations), with each host site having different day-to-day responsibilities affecting how these opportunities are provided. Therefore, exploration of the provision of these opportunities and the barriers to providing these opportunities is warranted. The current study sought to determine the current practices involved in provision of opportunities to gain fieldwork experience hours towards BCBA certification; in particular, practices related to unrestricted fieldwork activities. Results indicate that, although unrestricted learning opportunities are often provided to trainees, contingencies present within the day-to-day operations of a clinical environment can be hampering. A discussion of the implications of these barriers and potential solutions are included.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2024 · doi:10.1007/s40617-024-00931-3