Francesco Sulla, Ph. D., Doctor Europaeus, graduated with a Ph.D. in Psychology from Parma University (Italy) in 2015. I am currently assistant professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at Foggia University in Italy, where I also teach ABA interventions for pupils with autism and intellectual disabilities in a postgraduate course for trainee special needs teachers. During my doctorate, I conducted research on the effects of teacher contingent approval on pupils' social and academic behaviour collecting data both in Italy and the UK for a cross-cultural comparison. I have also been visiting lecturer at the University of Iceland and I am collaborating in the design of studies aiming at investigating the existing rate of teacher approval and disapproval in Icelandic classes as well.
My most recent publications on this topic are:
Sulla, F. & Rollo, D. (2023). The Effect of a Short Course on a Group of Italian Primary School Teachers’ Rates of Praise and Their Pupils’ On-Task Behaviour. Education Sciences, 13(1), 78.
Apter, B., Sulla, F., & Swinson, J. (2020). A review of recent large-scale systematic UK classroom observations, method and findings, utility and impact. Educational Psychology in Practice, 36(4), 367-385.
Pálsdóttir, B., Sigurðardóttir, Z.G., Sulla, F. (2019), Áhrif jákvæðrar og neikvæðrar endurgjafar á námsástundun og félagslega hegðun nemenda [The effects of positive and negative feedback on students’ on-task and social behavior]. Sálfræðiritið – Tímarit Sálfræðingafélags Íslands, 24. árg. 2019 bls. 23–35
In August 2019, I was invited speaker at the EABA International Summer School in Latvia.
From 2008 to 2011, I was a trainee CABAS® (Comprehensive Application of Behaviour Analysis to Schooling) teacher, specialising in education and rehabilitation of children with intellectual/learning disabilities and autism. From 2016 to 2021, I worked as school psychologist in a middle school and also supported families through social services delivering home-based parent training on the management of challenging behaviours