Consultation and Coaching to Increase the Uptake of Evidence-Based Practices: Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

Traditional approaches to school consultation involve a voluntary, collaborative relationship between a consultant and teacher consultee to develop interventions for students with special needs, often over long periods, with ongoing problem solving and performance feedback. However, with the advent of multi-tiered systems of support, school consultation has evolved into a strategy to support the systemic adoption of evidence-based practices (EBPs). With this shift, consultants increasingly fulfill the role of coach, moving beyond traditional collaborative relationships to address the professional development needs of consultees. Consequently, researchers examining school consultation have moved beyond questions of feasibility and acceptability and have entered a new era of implementation science. This special issue of School Mental Health examines contemporary applications of school consultation and coaching in support of EBP implementation. The five original research articles in the special issue advance the literature in this developing field.

School mental health professionals’ training, comfort, and attitudes toward interprofessional collaboration with pediatric primary care providers

“…Further, as indicated by participants in this study, such training could occur in the context of professional development opportunities, as well as workshop and seminars, among other methods. Moreover, considering the literature pointing to the value of ongoing coaching in supporting the subsequent implementation of learned material, such training should not be limited to a single training session and be supplemented with continued support to the SMH professional (Schultz, Arora, & Mautone, 2015).…”

Relationship Between Systems Coaching and Problem-Solving Implementation Fidelity in a Response-to-Intervention Model

“…Coaching not only involves the traditional activities of school-based consultation, but also includes a specific focus on the ongoing professional development needs of educators (consultees) at all levels of the educational system. Coaches facilitate educators' professional learning to increase their capacity to adopt and implement evidence-based practices with fidelity (Aguilar, 2013;Ravthon, 2008;Schultz, Arora, & Mautone, 2015;van Oorsouw, Embregts, Bosman, & Jahoda, 2009). Researchers argue that ongoing professional development is required to build the knowledge, skills, and beliefs necessary to implement and maintain any innovation (Forman et al, 2013;Hall & Hord, 2015;Learning Forward, 2011), including RTI (Forman & Crystal, 2015;Kratochwill et al, 2007;O'Conner & Freeman, 2012).…”

“…Coaching in the form of sustained follow-up support to educators after training has been linked to application of new practices with fidelity (Kretlow & Bartholomew, 2010;Kretlow, Cooke, & Wood, 2012;Schultz et al, 2015). The intensive nature of effective job-embedded coaching models has led to great interest in coaching to build capacity for innovative practices (Brown, Stroh, Fouts, & Baker, 2005;Denton & Hasbrouck, 2009;Neufeld & Roper, 2003;Shultz et al, 2015).…”

“…Coaching-including systems coaching-has been suggested as a mechanism to facilitate the implementation of RTI with fidelity (Erchul, 2015;Forman & Crystal, 2015;George & Kincaid, 2008;March & Gaunt, 2013;O'Conner & Freeman, 2012;Schultz et al, 2015;Sims et al, 2015). Defining what is meant by RTI fidelity; however, is not straightforward.…”

“…School psychologists are positioned to support ongoing coaching due to their content expertise in multitiered frameworks, systems change, and professional development principles (e.g., Dowdy et al, 2015;Eagle, Dowd-Eagle, Snyder, & Holtzman, 2014;Maras, Thompson, Lewis, Thornburg, & Hawks, 2015;Nantais et al, 2014;National Association of School Psychologists, 2010). School psychologists also possess skills in collaborative consultation with educators and in data-based decision making (National Association of School Psychologists, 2010) that are critical elements of coaching (Denton & Hasbrouck, 2009;Erchul, 2015;Schultz et al, 2015) and of RTI (Batsche et al, 2005;Fletcher & Vaughn, 2009). …”