Locke Jill, Corbin Catherine M, Goosey Roger, Collins Vaughan K, Ehrhart Mark G, Hatch Kurt, Espeland Christine, Lyon Aaron R
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
School of Special Education, School Psychology, and Early Childhood Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Implement Res Pract. 2025 Jan 29;6:26334895241312405. doi: 10.1177/26334895241312405. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.
Implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in schools is fraught with challenges. Even when EBPs are initiated, deterioration of implementation efforts often hinders their long-term success. School leadership behaviors can influence teachers' EBP implementation. Our study tested an implementation strategy called Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM), adapted from the Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation strategy, to enhance EBP implementation through improvements in school leadership teams' implementation leadership and climate to buffer against the deterioration of implementation efforts. This study explores the impact of HELM on theorized mechanisms of change (i.e., implementation leadership, climate), educator-level factors (i.e., implementation citizenship), and implementation outcomes (i.e., fidelity, initiative stability).
One school district and 10 schools in Washington participated. Five of the schools were randomized to receive the HELM strategy and the remaining five schools received an alternative leadership training as an implementation attention control. Teachers at every school ( = 341) received training for an EBP called Positive Greetings at the Door that has been previously demonstrated to reduce student behavior problems. Principals and Assistant Principals ( = 18) received the HELM strategy or alternative leadership training. Three district Administrators also participated in HELM as part of the Organizational Strategy Development meetings.
HELM significantly slowed the average decline of implementation leadership (perseverant leadership and communication), three dimensions of implementation climate (recognition, rewards, and existing supports) and total implementation climate, and one dimension of implementation citizenship (keeping informed). No significant effects were found with regard to implementation outcomes (i.e., fidelity, initiative stability).
HELM shows promise in buffering the deterioration of EBP implementation efforts in schools. HELM positively influenced implementation leadership and climate, which are the hypothesized mechanisms for promoting successful long-term implementation efforts. An appropriately powered trial is needed to determine the efficacy of HELM in the future.Name of the registry: clinicaltrials.govTrial registration number: NCT06340074Date of registration: March 29, 2024. Retrospectively registeredURL of trial registry record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06340074?intr=helm&rank=.
在学校实施循证实践（EBPs）充满挑战。即使启动了循证实践，实施工作的恶化往往会阻碍其长期成功。学校领导行为会影响教师对循证实践的实施。我们的研究测试了一种名为“帮助教育领导者运用证据”（HELM）的实施策略，该策略改编自“实施的领导力与组织变革”策略，旨在通过改善学校领导团队的实施领导力和氛围来增强循证实践的实施，以缓冲实施工作的恶化。本研究探讨了HELM对理论化变革机制（即实施领导力、氛围）、教育工作者层面因素（即实施公民行为）和实施结果（即保真度、主动性稳定性）的影响。
华盛顿的一个学区和10所学校参与了研究。其中5所学校被随机分配接受HELM策略，其余5所学校接受替代领导力培训作为实施关注对照。每所学校的教师（n = 341）接受了一种名为“门口积极问候”的循证实践培训，该实践先前已被证明可减少学生行为问题。校长和副校长（n = 18）接受了HELM策略或替代领导力培训。三名学区管理人员也作为组织战略发展会议的一部分参与了HELM。
HELM显著减缓了实施领导力（坚持性领导力和沟通）、实施氛围的三个维度（认可、奖励和现有支持）以及总体实施氛围的平均下降，以及实施公民行为的一个维度（及时了解情况）的下降。在实施结果（即保真度、主动性稳定性）方面未发现显著影响。
HELM在缓冲学校循证实践实施工作的恶化方面显示出前景。HELM对实施领导力和氛围产生了积极影响，而这是促进长期成功实施工作的假设机制。未来需要进行一项样本量足够的试验来确定HELM的有效性。注册机构名称：clinicaltrials.gov试验注册号：NCT06340074注册日期：2024年3月29日。回顾性注册试验注册记录的网址：https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06340074?intr=helm&rank=.
