An evaluation of the three step consultative model of service delivery within an educational psychology service.

This study is an evaluation of the author's use of the Three Step Consultative Model of service delivery within an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) in the East Midlands. The first step of the model involves selective assessment and! or observation. The second step entails providing usually the teacher with initial feedback. The third step involves having a consultation (Wagner, 2000) with the teacher to develop agreed actions! to develop thinking about the child's needs. This study focused on evaluating a unique model, as it incorporated a consultation step (Wagner, 2000) as part of standard professional practice. The use of this model is mainly offered when a teacher requires support to clarify a child's special educational needs (SEN) and! or to more effectively meet the child's needs. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Three Step Consultative Model in supporting teachers' active involvement in order to be able to better manage the needs of children. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Much of the data was analysed (by hand) using a grounded theory approach (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). A small number of responses required basic quantitative analysis and the outcomes of this are presented as averages and percentages (in tables, graphs and pie charts). The findings are grounded in the views of teachers who experienced each step of the Three Step Consultative Model. The author made a decision to use Pidgeon and Henwood's (1996) term of focused concepts as well as Glaser and Strauss' (1967) term of middle range theories and combined them to coin the emerging concepts as 'middle range theoretical concepts'. (See section 3.14.1, Grounded theory analysis, Chapter Three - Methodology.) The fourth middle range concept to have emerged, that captures the essence of the main outcomes was "supporting teachers' active involvement" The outcomes of the research suggest that combining ii steps one, two and three by using the Three Step Consultative Model is an effective way of supporting teachers to change their practice. Step three is a particularly important element, so much so, that an extra follow-up step (e.g. step four), similar to the third step would serve the function of continuing to support teachers' active involvement to make changes to their practice in order to be able to better manage the needs of children. Wagner's model of consultation (Wagner, 2000), consultation based on Roger's principles (Rogers, 1959) and the behaviourall eco-behavioural models of consultation together help to explain how teachers are able to change their practice, in order to be able to better manage the needs of children. So, the Three Step Consultative Model seems to need multiple aspects of existing models to provide middle range theoretical concepts consistent with the reactions of the teachers evidenced in this study. The implications of the findings for the author's EPS, schools and the local authority (LA) are discussed.