Effects of collaborative-consultation-training on selected teacher opinions and perceptions regarding referral, intervention and teaching of at-risk students

This study was designed to assess changes in opinions and perceptions of teachers trained as members of school-based teams in collaborative consultation. Fifty-one teachers, counselors and administrative personnel from 8 elementary and 2 middle schools participated in the study. The participants were administered four pretest and posttest questionnaires which measured teachers' perception about working with each other and at-risk students; attributes of ideal students; and opinions regarding intervention for academic, behavioral and attention problems. An intervention group was trained to use the collaborative-consultation approach and the comparison group used the traditional referral approach. Assignment of the intervention and comparison groups was random by schools. Implementation of the training module was through a 4-hour inservice workshop and six 2-hour sessions. An analysis of variance with repeated measures was applied to pretest and posttest scores on three questionnaires. Scores from the fourth questionnaire were analyzed with descriptive statistics. An important finding from the study was that trained teachers were open to assisting the at-risk student in the regular classroom. No significant differences were obtained regarding characteristics of an ideal teachable student. In summary, there was insignificant evidence to show that trained teachers were more positive about working together to resolve students' learning or behavior problems; however, teachers in the intervention group were more open to assisting the at-risk student in the regular classroom.