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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to many students receiving remote instruction. As educators support students’ learning and behavior from a distance, school psychologists can utilize the...

Randomized control trials (RCTs) are commonly regarded as the ‘gold standard’ for evaluating educational interventions. While this experimental design is valuable in establishing causal relationshi...

Students with disabilities continue to perform below peers without disabilities in writing. To address the need for improving written expression for students with learning differences, schools are ...

Although high levels of intervention implementation are more likely to lead to improved student outcomes, educators struggle to maintain high implementation levels over time. School psychologists m...

The role and deployment of teaching assistants (TAs) (paraprofessionals) have changed significantly over the past decade; TAs in England hold greater responsibilities in terms of their wider role in classrooms and, specifically, in relation to their support for children with literacy difficulties in a primary school context. The impact of their role has been both questioned and challenged; nevertheless, in relation to literacy support, their role is widely valued by schools, and evidence exists that there is a positive impact on attainment. This paper reports on a case study of an early literacy intervention implemented by TAs which, it is argued, provides a positive model of TA deployment and literacy intervention implementation. It is also argued that this model of intervention offers a scaffold to the TAs themselves, who are then far better placed to scaffold the literacy learning of children with individual needs.

Evidence-based practices are rarely translated into school settings. The literature examining the science-to-practice gap provides possible explanations, although these explanations are not supported with empirical evidence. Variables affecting behavior intervention implementation, such as lack of teacher training, lack of time, lack of resources, teacher stress level, and lack of administrative support, were examined in this preliminary study as possible explanations. Surveys were collected from 67 elementary teachers. Results regarding possible barriers to implementation indicate that the majority of respondents rated the severity of 12 of 19 barriers as extremely serious. Barriers rated as extremely serious were related to resources, training, and educator variables. In addition, significant correlations were found between job stress and the severity ratings of barriers related to lack of time, training, and support. Understanding these variables may provide important information to aid in the translat...

Reviews of treatment outcome literature indicate treatment integrity is not regularly assessed. In consultation, two levels of treatment integrity (i.e., consultant procedural integrity [CPI] and intervention treatment integrity [ITI]) provide relevant implementation data. Specifically, assessment of CPI and ITI are necessary to conclude (a) consultation is functionally related to consultee implementation behavior and (b) intervention implementation is functionally related to student outcomes. In this article, study characteristics and the presence of treatment integrity at both levels are examined in 21 studies utilizing Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, a model of consultation that includes multiple consultees. Results indicate that in approximately half of studies, CPI, ITI, or both are assessed and, when reported, treatment integrity is moderately high across both levels. However, there are distinct differences in the assessment and reporting of these levels of treatment integrity. Limitations and imp...

The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of adapting the Classroom Check-Up (CCU) coaching model to bolster teacher implementation of a universal evidence-based social–emotional and classroom management intervention, PATHS to PAX. This paper includes a description of the intervention and a rationale for supporting implementation with the CCU coaching model. Findings from a feasibility test and initial pilot study are provided. Implications for school-based intervention implementation are also discussed.

Intervention integrity or adherence describes qualities of carrying out an intervention plan and in research is fundamentally linked to experimental validity questions addressed by measurement of independent and dependent variables. Integrity has been well described in conceptual writing but has been a continuing thorny subject in research and practice with some possibility of misunderstandings. In consultation practice, in contrast to research, adherence questions may be best viewed as a triage situation in that teams examine risks and costs of decisions and plan for sufficient intervention implementation checks accordingly. Furthermore, in consultation practice the measurement of intervention adherence is not necessarily needed for internal validity arguments if internal validity evidence is a key characteristic of prior research used in problem solving. However, adherence estimates remain critical for many aspects of decision making. As much thought and resources may be dedicated to the measurement of ...

Early childhood intervention and habilitation services for children with disabilities operate on an interdisciplinary basis. It requires a common language between professionals, and a shared framework for intervention goals and intervention implementation. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the version for children and youth (ICF-CY) may serve as this common framework and language. This overview of studies implemented by our research group is based on three research questions: Do the ICF-CY conceptual model have a valid content and is it logically coherent when investigated empirically? Is the ICF-CY classification useful for documenting child characteristics in services? What difficulties and benefits are related to using ICF-CY model as a basis for intervention when it is implemented in services? A series of studies, undertaken by the CHILD researchers are analysed. The analysis is based on data sets from published studies or master theses. Results and conclusion show that the ICF-CY has a useful content and is logically coherent on model level. Professionals find it useful for documenting children's body functions and activities. Guidelines for separating activity and participation are needed. ICF-CY is a complex classification, implementing it in services is a long-term project.

This study examined teachers' implementation of treatment plans following consultation. Interventions were implemented for 45 elementary school students referred for consultation and intervention d...