The role of interpersonal processes in facilitating school consultation.
Item
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Title
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The role of interpersonal processes in facilitating school consultation.
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Identifier
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AAI3008809
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identifier
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3008809
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Creator
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Berkson, Nancy Beth.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Carol Kehr Tittle
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Date
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2001
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Educational Psychology
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Abstract
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Evaluating teachers' acceptance of interventions developed through consultation has been highlighted in the school consultation research during the last 15 years. Attention has focused on the effects of the type of intervention and behavior problem severity on ratings of acceptance. However, the effects of specific variables, such as empathy of the school psychologist, on teachers' acceptance of interventions have received little attention in the school consultation literature.;This study used a particular methodology, case studies (treatment protocols), in which the two independent variables, the type of intervention (positive, a token reinforcement system, or negative, a time-out procedure) and the presence or absence of empathy in the verbal interactions between teacher and school psychologist were embedded. The case studies included a description of a severe behavior problem, a description of the type of intervention proposed (positive or negative), and a description of the verbal interactions between teacher and psychologist, indicating the presence or absence of consultant empathy. The case studies (treatment protocols) were based on two pilot studies in which they were developed.;The procedures included two data collection periods. During the first data collection, 93 participants (89 female, 4 male) who were regular elementary school teachers from two northeastern suburban public school districts, signed consent forms and completed a demographic form and the Consultant Effectiveness Scale (CES) (Knob Vines, & Kronvey, 1995). During the second data collection two weeks later, participants received the case studies (treatment protocols) and completed the IRP-15. Teachers were randomly assigned to a case, varying on the independent variables (2 x 2 design).;The following hypotheses were tested: First, negative interventions (a time-out procedure) will be rated as more acceptable than positive interventions (a token reinforcement system); second, responses with empathy present in the verbal interactions between teacher and psychologist will be rated as more acceptable than responses which do not contain empathy. Empathy is defined as being nonjudgmental, listening actively, and repeating what the other person says (Rogers, 1975). For both hypotheses one and two, the dependent variable is teachers' ratings of acceptance of interventions, as measured by the Intervention Rating Profile (IRP-15) (Wilt & Martens, 1983); and third, teachers' overall perceptions of the effectiveness of consultants may influence their ratings of acceptance of consultation interventions. The covariate, teachers' perceptions of consultant effectiveness, as measured by the Consultant Effectiveness Scale (CES), was examined for its relationship to the independent and dependent variables.;The results of a 2 x 2 Analysis of Covariance indicated that teachers' acceptance of interventions, as measured by scores on the IRP-15, was not affected by their overall perceptions of consultants, as measured by total scores on the CES, the type of intervention, or perceived empathy of the school psychologist. Discussion focuses on teachers' understanding of the case study methodology and its effect on the participants' ratings of acceptance. An alternative method of videotaped presentations of interactions between teachers and psychologists, depicting empathic and non-empathic responses, is suggested as a more direct and concrete presentation of the desired treatments.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
