Attuning Intervention Coaching to Social Networks Among Teachers

PRESENTATION TYPE:  Individual Paper

CATEGORY/THEME: Dissemination and Implementation Science 

TITLE: Attuning Intervention Coaching to Social Networks Among Teachers 

ABSTRACT BODY

Introduction:

Children’s social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior and academic performance improve significantly when they participate in social and emotional learning (SEL) programs, however, these outcomes depend largely on the programs being implemented with high fidelity. Intervention coaching can increase fidelity of implementation (FOI). One way coaches improve FOI is by attuning their training around specific characteristics of teachers. Before attunement occurs, coaches’ need to recognize the attributes, needs, and patterns of social interaction among teachers. Teacher social networks may be an important characteristic for coaches’ to attune to when providing training. This study explored coaches’ cognitive social structure recognition of social networks among teachers. Four research questions were addressed: (1) Do coaches recognize social networks among teachers? (2) Do coaches assess how these social networks might impact FOI? (3) How do coaches attune their training and support in response to social networks? (4) Is there a pattern between coaches attuning to social networks and fidelity rates of implementation?

 

Methods: 

Participants included four Responsive Classroom® (RC®) coaches from a randomized control trial, each of whom participated in one interview shortly after coaching was complete. A qualitative analysis of the four interviews examined descriptions of coach-teacher interactions. Teachers came from 24 schools within a diverse district of a mid-Atlantic state.  Interviews were semi-structured, tape-recorded, de-identified and transcribed. A codebook was created using a first cycle exploratory coding method and a second cycle focused coding method. Data was coded and analyzed using Dedoose. Fidelity of implementation levels centered on five live-coded observations of teachers’ quality and quantity of implementation of core components of RC® over three school years.

Results:

Coaches recognized social networks among teachers and were capable of characterizing the networks as supportive or constraining to program implementation. Coaches attuned their training by (1) deviating from the prescribed training curriculum,  (2) varying their feedback candidness to teachers, and (3) establishing personal relationships with teachers that exceeded typical professional relationships. Coaches displaying more consistent and frequent attunement practices towards social networks were associated with higher FOI levels.

 

Conclusions:

Coaches attuned their training to evidence of social networks, and their consistent and frequent efforts to do so, showed a preliminary relation to FOI. These findings contribute to the extant prevention science literature by articulating an often under-documented process of coaches’ attunement practices.