Stahmer Aubyn C, Suhrheinrich Jessica, Yu Yue, Melgarejo Melina, Schetter Patricia, Young Greg A
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, MIND Institute, University of California Davis Health Center, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, San Diego, CA, USA.
Implement Res Pract. 2023 Sep 6;4:26334895231199465. doi: 10.1177/26334895231199465. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.
The increase in the number of autistic children being identified has led to increased demand on public schools to provide high-quality services. Effectively scaling up evidence-based practice (EBP) use for autistic students is challenging, given the complicated organization of special education. Teachers have significant challenges implementing autism EBP with fidelity. Factors such as implementation leadership and climate and attitudes toward EBP are linked to successful EBP use and may vary at different levels of the education system. Examining mechanisms of successful implementation is a critical step to support scale-up.
In this observational study, conducted from September 2018 to March 2020, California school personnel ( = 2273) at multiple levels of the system completed surveys related to implementation climate, leadership, and attitudes toward EBP. Data were collected throughout California at the Special Education Local Plan Areas, County Office of Education, and district and school levels from educators and administrators working in public schools supporting autistic students. Multi-level modeling was conducted to characterize implementation readiness.
Overall, implementation climate and leadership scores are low across levels with regional levels rated more positively than districts or schools. Attitudes toward EBP were moderate, with those working in schools having the poorest ratings and specialists/trainers and related service providers (e.g., speech-language pathologists) having the highest ratings.
Outcomes provide a unique opportunity to compare implementation factors across organizational levels with a large, statewide sample. These data provide guidance for developing implementation interventions at multiple levels of the education system to increase readiness for effective scale-up of autism EBP in schools. Personnel and leaders at different organizational levels may need differentiated training targeting improved implementation climate and leadership. Personnel within districts and schools may experience a particular benefit from leadership support for EBP implementation.
被确诊为自闭症的儿童数量不断增加，这使得公立学校提供高质量服务的需求也随之上升。鉴于特殊教育的组织架构复杂，要有效地扩大针对自闭症学生的循证实践（EBP）的应用颇具挑战。教师在忠实地实施自闭症循证实践方面面临重大挑战。诸如实施领导力、氛围以及对循证实践的态度等因素与成功应用循证实践相关联，并且可能在教育系统的不同层面存在差异。探究成功实施的机制是支持扩大应用规模的关键一步。
在这项于2018年9月至2020年3月开展的观察性研究中，加利福尼亚州教育系统多个层面的2273名学校工作人员完成了与实施氛围、领导力以及对循证实践的态度相关的调查。数据收集工作在加利福尼亚州各地的特殊教育地方规划区域、县教育局以及地区和学校层面进行，收集对象是在公立学校支持自闭症学生的教育工作者和管理人员。进行了多层次建模以描述实施准备情况。
总体而言，各层面的实施氛围和领导力得分较低，其中地区层面的评分比学区或学校更为积极。对循证实践的态度为中等，学校工作人员的评分最差，而专家/培训师及相关服务提供者（如言语病理学家）的评分最高。
研究结果提供了一个独特的机会，可通过一个大型的全州范围样本比较不同组织层面的实施因素。这些数据为在教育系统的多个层面制定实施干预措施提供了指导，以提高学校有效扩大自闭症循证实践应用规模的准备程度。不同组织层面的人员和领导者可能需要针对改善实施氛围和领导力的差异化培训。学区和学校内部的人员可能会从对循证实践实施的领导力支持中特别受益。
