Consultant attributions revisited: The relationship to teaching experience to consultant attributions

Attribution theory recently has been applied to school psychology practice in general and to school-based consultation in particular. Previous research has shown that consultants characteristically attribute responsibility for consultation outcomes, and particularly for failed consultations, to teacher consultees. However, these attributions may be a function of differential experiences. In this study, we hypothesized that the teaching experience of school psychologists is related to causal attributions of consultation outcome. A randomly selected national sample of school psychologist practitioners completed a questionnaire concerning reasons for successful and unsuccessful consultation outcomes. Results of the study showed that the teaching experience of school psychologists may mediate attributions of causality in consultation.     

Interdisciplinary Collaboration Supporting Social-Emotional Learning in Rural School Systems

In this article we illustrate the roles of school psychologists, administrators, social workers, teachers, and parents in school reform by describing the adoption, initial implementation, and formative evaluation of an evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) program within several rural Midwestern school districts in a geographically large county. As part of a countywide initiative aimed at improving children's mental health services, an interdisciplinary team collaborated to select and implement a universal school-based curriculum addressing SEL objectives. Professionals in the county's special education cooperative lead the reform effort, general education teachers deliver the curriculum, and school psychologists and school social workers have served as trainers and consultants to educators and building administrators. An ecological model of organizational consultation informs these efforts. We illustrate this model by describing its application to the collaborative school-based initiative addressing SEL objectives. We also discuss implications for future consultation research, training, and practice.     

LANGUAGE IN CONSULTATION: THE EFFECT OF AFFECT AND VERB TENSE

This study was an exploration of school consultation interactions between instructional consultants and consultees. Of specific interest was how consultants (n = 18) and consultees (n = 18) used verb tense and emotion words during the problem identification and analysis instructional consultation stage, similarities and differences in communication patterns, and whether verb tense and emotion words were related to perceptions of collaboration, consultee outcomes, or client outcomes. Data provided mixed support for study hypotheses. Among the findings, consultants’ past tense verb use negatively correlated with the consultation relationship (r = ?.62, p = .01), consultees’ present tense use correlated with better consultee outcomes (r = .49, p = .05), and positive emotion word use by consultees was correlated with better consultee outcomes (r = .54, p = .05). Implications of these and other findings are explored in the context of interpersonal communication during school consultation.     

An approach to investigate anxiety and hostility in consultee-centered consultation

This paper presents an approach to investigating affect in the process of consultee-centered consultation. The anxiety and hostility of three consultants and consultees was assessed from an intensive analysis of their verbal behavior during consultation. Comparisons to normative data suggested that the anxiety and hostility expressed by consultees was high, relative to that expressed under more neutral conditions, and a relationship was observed between consultee anxiety and consultation outcome. It was concluded that this provides a potentially productive direction for future research in consultation.     

The Process of Fostering Consultee Development During Instructional Consultation

This investigation examines how the process of instructional consultation (IC) supports consultees' problem-solving and fosters change in how the consultees understand pertinent work problems. The setting was a mid-Atlantic elementary school's Instructional Consultation Team, and the participants were 13 case manager consultants and 5 teacher consultees. A micro-ethnographic research approach was used and 4 primary sources of data collected: interviews, direct observations, consultation documents, and IC training documents. Analysis of the data uncovered 4 general themes related to the participants' problem-solving and evolving understanding of the work issues. In the discussion, the question of how IC is a constructive process that promotes consultees' development is considered.     

Advances in the Theory and Practice of Rational-Emotive Behavioral Consultation

This article provides an overview of the current theory and practice of rational-emotive behavioral consultation (REBC). Its purpose is to highlight for psychological and educational consultants the crucial role of consultee extreme, negative emotional reactions to adverse events in the consultation process. It is proposed that unless these emotional reactions are addressed in consultation, the effectiveness of consultation may be minimized. This article discusses the nature of irrational beliefs of consultees and reviews research that supports their relation with consultee emotionality. A variety of REBC techniques that consultants can use to encourage consultees to reduce their extreme emotions are presented. Consultants can teach consultees to identify and dispute irrational beliefs that are hypothesized to underlie extreme levels of anger, anxiety, and self-downing. A review of available research that examines the effects of REBC techniques including their use in staff development and parent education is presented.     

Assisting Parents of Bilingual Students to Achieve Equity in Public Schools

This article provides school-based consultants with an overview of the English language learner (ELL) student population and common programs available to ELL students (such as English-only programs, pull-out English as a second language [ESL], content-based ESL, transitional bilingual programs, maintenance bilingual programs, and two-way or dual language bilingual education programs). Past and current research examining bilingual education programs and guidelines and recommendations for the application of bilingual education knowledge to consultative practice with school personnel and culturally and linguistically diverse parents are discussed. Because of the paucity of research regarding school-based consultation related to bilingual education issues, guidelines and recommendations are presented within the larger framework of multicultural and cross-cultural consultation. Recommendations for future research regarding school-based consultation related to bilingual education issues are provided.     

Micro-Analysis of Consultant and Consultee Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors

The verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors of consultants and consultees were examined in this study. The problem identification interviews (Bergan, 1977) of two consultants and 20 consultees were videotaped as they discussed school problems being experienced by the consultees. A modified version of the Message Process category of Bergan's (1977) Consultation Analysis Record was employed to measure verbal behavior. Nonverbal behaviors (Facial, Voice, and Body) were assessed as either positive, negative, or neutral following the coding scheme employed by Gottman, Markman, and Notarious (1977). Consultant and consultee verbal and nonverbal behaviors were coded each 10 sec using a system of momentary time sampling. Preliminary mapping of consultation communication behaviors are presented. A more complex behavior code is suggested to better understand the nature of communication interactions during consultation sessions. Limitations of the' current study are examined and results are discussed in terms of implications for consultation practice and future research.     

Families and Children With Special Needs: Professional and Family Partnerships. By Tom E. C. Smith,Barbara C. Gartin,Nikki L. Murdick,and Alan Hilton. Upper Saddle River,NJ: Pearson. 2005, 288 pp

The goal of this case study was to describe the cross-cultural consultation experiences of school psychology graduate students as they progressed through a semester-long school-based consultation course. Graduate students enrolled in a consultation course completed both quantitative and qualitative assessment measures. The course instructor used these tools to adapt course components to students' expressed cross-cultural needs. Highlighted themes from the data included the importance of continual cross-cultural competency development in school psychology training programs. Other questions raised from the case study included how to extend a practitioner's cross-cultural development beyond formal training.     

Meeting the Challenges of the Future: Integrating Public Health and Public Education for Mental Health Promotion

The 2002 Future of School Psychology Conference called for reform of current models of professional school psychology, including a paradigm shift toward a public health model of practice. This article explores the role of school psychologists in efforts to achieve an integrated public health and public education model for delivering comprehensive school-based mental health services. Building on expertise as psychological and educational consultants, school psychooogists can play a unique role in facilitating the necessary systemic reform and capacity building for comprehensive mental health service delivery. This revised role requires redefining school-based consultation to include consultation for capacity building, and rethinking professional preparation to ensure expertise in public health models, inter-agency and interdisciplinary collaboration, participatory action research, and comprehensive service delivery.     

Multicultural Consultee-Centered Consultation: When Novice Consultants Explore Cultural Hypotheses With Experienced Teacher Consultees

Using case study qualitative methodology and naturalistic inquiry, this study investigates how beginning consultants use multicultural consultee-centered consultation (MCCC) to explore cultural hypotheses with experienced teachers. The study involves the conceptualizations and detailed records of 3 ethnically diverse novice consultants who hypothesize cultural issues in the problem situation and use MCCC with teachers of diverse students ages 6-12. Grounded in the multicultural consultation framework (Ingraham, 2000), analyses focus on consultation stages, communication processes, factors associated with success and failure, and their relationship with co-constructing problem definitions with consultees. Results of within-case and cross-case analyses illustrate the complexity of practicing and studying MCCC and suggest several issues that may influence multicultural consultation outcomes. Specific questions for future research are identified.     

Teaching Consultation Skills Using Interdepartmental Collaboration and Supervision with a Mixed-Reality Simulator

Individualized consultation is defined as one person (consultant) working with another person (consultee) to benefit a third (client). Learning how to be a consultant is a process with developmental stages ranging from novice to expert. The current study focuses on an integrated skills-based training experience for those in the novice stage. This training experience consisted of three parts: (a) interdepartmental collaboration, (b) use of a mixed-reality simulator, and (c) direct supervision from faculty. Specifically, consultants (graduate school psychology students) worked with consultees (undergraduate, preservice special education students) to benefit virtual clients (avatar students in a virtual classroom). The respective faculty provided supervision to both the consultants and consultees. Quantitative results found that both preservice school psychologists and preservice special education teachers rated the experience positively. Qualitative data found that improvements could be made to provide both more time with the simulator and a broader range of collaborative experiences.     

Implementation of School-Based Management: A Multi-Perspective Analysis of the Case of Hong Kong

The implementation of school-based management reform is a complicated process involving changes not only in structures and political relations but also in social interactions and cultural elements at both school and system levels. The lack of multi-perspectives in the analysis of school reforms sets a tight limitation on the understanding and implementation of school-based management. This paper aims to apply the structural perspective, the human resource perspective, the political perspective, and the cultural perspective to review and analyse the case of Hong Kong in implementing school-based management. It is hoped that the analysis of the Hong Kong case can provide an useful illustration of the application of multi-perspectives to support development of school-based management and draw useful implications for school reforms in both local and international contexts.     

Implementation of School-Based Management: A Multi-Perspective Analysis of the Case of Hong Kong

The implementation of school-based management reform is a complicated process involving changes not only in structures and political relations but also in social interactions and cultural elements at both school and system levels. The lack of multi-perspectives in the analysis of school reforms sets a tight limitation on the understanding and implementation of school-based management. This paper aims to apply the structural perspective, the human resource perspective, the political perspective, and the cultural perspective to review and analyse the case of Hong Kong in implementing school-based management. It is hoped that the analysis of the Hong Kong case can provide an useful illustration of the application of multi-perspectives to support development of school-based management and draw useful implications for school reforms in both local and international contexts.     

A Solution-Focused Consultee-Centered Consultation Model to Dismantle White Privilege: Applications in a Teacher Education Program

ABSTRACT

Our increasingly diverse society has resulted in concomitant pressure on teacher education programs to prepare graduates to work with PK-12 students who may differ from them on important sociocultural dimensions such as race and ethnicity. The purpose of this article is to advance the use of a conceptual model, the solution-focused consultee-centered model of consultation. This model has been used by a school psychologist with teacher education faculty to dismantle white privilege in primarily white students who will teach students of color in urban, low-income settings. This article describes the consultation model, addresses the factors that impinge upon the functioning of consultants and consultees from entry to termination, explicates facilitating factors and barriers to success, and concludes with a case scenario that highlights applications of the model in one teacher education program.     

Using Teleconsultation to Develop Independent Skills of School-Based Behavior Teams in Functional Behavior Assessment

ABSTRACT

The Iowa Department of Education (DE) has a history of partnering with the Biobehavioral Service (BBS) at the Center for Disabilities and Development to consult with educational teams in Iowa schools regarding students exhibiting challenging behavior. In 2009, the DE requested that BBS consultants improve behavior assessment skills of school-based behavior teams across the state. One aim of the DE was to develop school-based behavior teams who could independently conduct the full range of behavior assessments (i.e., indirect assessment, direct assessment, and experimental analyses). The BBS consultants worked with challenging behavior teams from eight Iowa Area Education Agencies, teaching them to independently design, conduct, and interpret a variety of behavior assessments (e.g., preference assessments, functional analyses). A three-stage teleconsultation model was developed during consultation visits to support and evaluate the independent assessment practice of consultees. The stages included in-person consultation, onsite teleconsultation, and remote teleconsultation. Consultees expressed satisfaction with the use of teleconsultation during the third stage of the model. Additionally, the use of videoconferencing addressed some of the barriers to conducting team-based behavior assessments in the school setting by creating observation and assessment rooms for team members. Consultees continue to use this method as they independently assess the behavior of students.     

The influence of gender on the likelihood of using soft social power strategies in school consultation

The social power typology developed originally by French and Raven in 1959 and revised by Raven in 1965 and 1992 was applied to study school consultation. Specifically, we investigated how the gender of school psychologist consultants and teacher consultees influence how likely consultants are to use soft power strategies, identified as those drawing on expert, referent, informational, legitimate dependency, and legitimate position power. A modified version of the Interpersonal Power Inventory was mailed to 1,000 Nationally Certified School Psychologists. Results obtained from 352 respondents indicated that, when consulting with female teachers: (a) male psychologists are more likely to use expert power than the other four soft strategies combined, and (b) female psychologists are less likely to use referent power than the other four soft strategies combined. Findings suggest that consultant gender plays an important role in determining influence strategies used by school consultants. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A 30 Year Perspective On Best Practices for Consultation Training

This article uses the author's 30 years of teaching consultation as a basis for developing suggestions for those providing training in this field. The article addresses questions about what the content of training should be, how consultation training can link theory to practice and how to respond to persistent challenges to training (e.g., freedom versus constraint, multicultural consultation, and when consultation training should be offered within a preservice curriculum for developing school-based consultants). The training suggestions derive from a model of consultation and consultation training that is based in constructivism and seeks to enhance feelings of empowerment and long term implementation of consultation on the part of the trainee. The article proposes a practitioner-researcher model in which practicing consultants view themselves as researchers who collect data and share information about their practice with other school-based consultants. These shared practices are used to inform the knowledge base and are used as a basis for contributing to the scholarly literature. Finally, this article proposes directions for researching the process and outcome of consultation training that cut across all of the issues raised in this article.     

论校本课程发展的文化取向

校本课程发展是指校本课程从形成到实施并在实施中不断修正完善的过程,也是指以校本课程实践为学校改革的切入点,带动学校课程改革并形成学校文化的整个过程.校本课程发展的文化取向是针对技术取向的弊端提出采的,强调课程本身的文化品性.主张校本课程实施是一种文化再生的过程.校本课程能够承载学校的观念文化、改善学校的制度文化和行为文化,注重学校内部对校本课程的评价,关注校本课程实践过程本身的多重发展价值和积极意义.文化取向下的校本课程发展要求站在学校文化更新的高度来开展各项工作,采取以校本课程彰显学校特色、让教师充分参与校本课程实践、使校本课程多样化和结构化等实践策略来促进学校文化的更新.