Faculty & Staff

Faculty

Kwang-Sun Cho Blair, PhD

Kwang-Sun Cho Blair, PhD, BCBA-D

Professor

Phone: 813-974-2129
Fax: 813-974-6115
Office: MHC 2336

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View 2024 Curriculum Vitae


Research Interests:

Functional behavior assessment and intervention; family-centered intervention; positive behavior support; teacher training and classroom-based intervention; development of assessment instruments


Dr. Blair is a Professor and Board Certified Behavior Analyst in the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Program of the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of South Florida, specializing in functional behavior assessment and intervention, teacher and parent training, early intervention, and assessment development. Dr. Blair received her Ph.D. in special education and minor in psychology from the University of Arizona in 1996, with a focus on emotional and behavioral disorders and contextual-based functional behavior assessment-based intervention in early childhood education settings. After earning her Ph.D., she was a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Arizona in 1997 and served as faculty of special education at Konju National University, South Korea from 1998-2006. During her professional career as an educator and researcher in South Korea, she was privileged of serving on the Advisory Board of the Korea Ministry of Education and working with politicians and government agencies to improve early intervention polices and services for young children with disabilities. 

Dr. Blair has published numerous research articles on school-based and family-centered interventions to improve outcomes for children with varying disabilities and those at-risk for disabilities due to behavioral challenges. She values the empowerment and capacity building of natural change agents, collaborative team-based intervention design and implementation, and systems change. Currently, Dr. Blair is the principal investigator for a research grant funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. The project aims to develop and pilot test a virtual coaching model (ePTR Coach) for implementing a team-based functional behavior assessment and intervention process in public school settings for children with behavioral challenges. In addition, Dr. Blair directs or co-directs three training grants (Project EBAS, Project iSED, and Project MABAS) as the principle or a co-principal investigator, funded by the Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) or the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), U.S. Department of Education. These grants focus on preparing school-based behavior analysts, school psychologists, and social workers to collaborate in supporting classroom teachers to address the needs of children, both with and without disabilities, who require intensive individualized behavior interventions and mental health supports. Previously, Dr. Blair directed two more OSEP-funded training grants (Project TSBA and Project ABA). Both projects aimed to prepare school-based behavior analysts to provide ABA services to children with disabilities with a focus on the provision of multi-tiered positive behavioral interventions and supports as well as evidence-based practices in autism. 

Dr. Blair has served as a vice president for the Korean Association for Behavior Analysis and Korean Association for Early Childhood Special Education. Currently, she serves on the editorial boards of Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, Remedial and Special Education, Journal of Behavior Analysis and Support, Korean Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, and Korean Journal of Special Education, as a guest associate editor for Behavior Analysis in Practice and Behavioral Sciences, and as a reviewer for Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Journal of Early Intervention, Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Behavioral Disorders, Behavior Modification, Behavioral Interventions, and several other journals.  

 Current Research

Project ABA: Preparing Related Services Personnel in Applied Behavior Analysis for Children with Autism

Project ABA is a 5-year $1.06 million grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs
(H325K140309), which aims to prepare highly qualified behavior analysts to contribute to evidence-based practices (EBP) in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for children with autism. All students accepted in the ABA Master’s Program are eligible to apply to participate in Project ABA.

Download Project ABA Brochure
Download Project ABA Flyer
Download Project EBAS Brochure
Download Project EBAS Flyer

PI: Kwang-Sun Blair
Funder: U.S. Department of Education