Consultants' and consultees' perceptions of the skills and characteristics important to the effectiveness of special education consultation in British Columbia

• Main Author: Strong, Heather Kristine
• Other Authors: Bachor, Dan G.
• Format: Others
• Language: English; en
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: consultation skills; Consultant Effectiveness Scale (CES); relationship-building skills; interpersonal skills; content skills
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1828/12799

The purpose of this study was to replicate a study on consultation skills, done by Knoff, Hines, and Kromrey (1995) while expanding the sample base to include teaching assistants and parents. The Consultant Effectiveness Scale (CES), a questionnaire consisting of 75 consultant skills and characteristics, was used to survey the perceptions of 75 consultants and consultees (18 consultants, 23 teachers, 17 teaching assistants, and 17 parents) regarding the degree to which they believed each skill was important to the effectiveness of consultation. Results were examined for differences across groups, for consistency with the factor structure obtained by Knoff, Hines, and Kromrey (1995), and to determine the impact of demographic variables. A follow-up telephone interview was conducted with 2 consultants, 3 teachers, 3 teaching assistants, and 3 parents to verify questionnaire results. The ratings of respondent groups were compared and contrasted across the top 15 ranked items and several consistencies were found to exist across groups. Parents were found to have rated all items generally lower than consultants or teachers. A factor analysis was completed using the 52 items from the original four factors (Knoff, Hines, & Kromrey, 1995) and resulted in a high degree of consistency with the original factor structure generated by Knoff, Hines, and Kromrey. A one-way ANOVA was conducted and significant differences were found on three of the four factors with the consultants rating the items higher than the parents (p <.05). No significant differences were found across demographic variables. The results of the telephone interviews were consistent with the high ratings of many of the interpersonal and relationship-building skills and content skills identified in the questionnaire responses. Recommendations are made calling for future research to further validate the scale, and to confirm differences between respondent groups. The value of the scale and its contents are highlighted in the context of preservice and in service training for consultants. === Graduate