Objective: To assess the effectiveness of expert training and consultancy for teachers of children with autism spectrum disorder in the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). Method: Design: Group randomised, controlled trial (3 groups: immediate treatment, delayed treatment, no treatment). Participants: 84 elementary school…

This report describes the impact of nurse consultant services to child care programs in Colorado on the children, parents, and staff of the centers they serve as part of the Healthy Child Care Colorado (HCCC) initiative. Study participants included 25 child care center directors and 24 nurse consultants, representing large and small centers in…

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is a province-wide partnership program whose goal is to improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority. It is currently ending its third cycle and ninth year of implementation. "The Colloquium on…

Districts across the country face significant demands to strengthen student learning districtwide, and many are turning to intermediary organizations to help them build their capacity for such demanding, large-scale work. However, how these "learning-support intermediary organizations" assist with these capacity-building efforts is little…

This case study explores the professional identity of one reading specialist, Marsha, who struggled with testing pressures at her urban elementary school in the U.S. It offers an in-depth look at how Marsha's instructional decisions and practices in a pull-out reading program aimed at helping English Language Learners (ELL) shifted when she was…

An outside evaluator can help an institution open up dialogue and bring about change by focusing the attention of top administrators, faculty, and students on goals seen as important by groups within the institution. Bringing in an outside evaluator to colleges and universities, English departments and writing programs, can be a touchy, often…

Describes the following roles of the Science Adviser in England: (1) the maintenance and development of teaching staff; (2) the development of the curriculum; and (3) the provision of accommodation and resources. (LS)

A case study examined the political campaign consultants' role as rhetor by analyzing consultant Robert Squier's strategy for Mike Sturdivant's 1983 Mississippi gubernatorial campaign. The examination compared Squier's ideal model (a "single vision" strategy) with a second model drawn from empirical data. Squier's strategy for the…

Human resource consultancy as a profession is misunderstood and often justly criticized. There are some standards for excellence in consultancy, and the process of human resource consultancy is at the very heart of training and development. A panel of four employers of consultants shared their views at the 1988 Dallas National Conference of the…

Consultants' goal is to have clients understand and accept their findings and to use them for constructive reform, yet unwelcomed findings may be dismissed, suppressed, or distorted. There are several strategies which consultants can use to communicate unwelcomed findings. The consultant can prepare the groundwork in the original negotiation of…

The resource teacher's role as a consultant for learning disabled children in the regular classroom requires the skill of consultation which includes establishment of a contract, a working alliance, and a communications system between the resource teacher and the regular teacher as well as criteria for evaluation and termination. (DB)

This monograph is intended to assist educators faced with the task of selecting and developing sound writing assessment procedures. Provided are: (1) practical background information on direct writing assessment procedures, alternative approaches, time requirements, advantages and disadvantages of each assessment approach, and (2) identification…

The facilitator's manual outlines a workshop schedule for training consultants in special education. The workshop is divided into two phases (change and leadership) with units which cover the following topics: resistance to change or to the change agent, levels of change, the change cycles, change processes, competition and confrontation, two…

An organizational need hierarchy can be used by consultants as a model for diagnosing organizational problems, after which an intervention plan can be made. The need hierarchy, which approximates Abraham Maslow's individual need hierarchy, is composed of five ascending levels related to organizational needs in the areas of survival of the…

MOST JUNIOR COLLEGES HAVE NEED FOR CONSULTANT SERVICES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PROGRAMS. IN SUCH SITUATIONS, USE OF CONSULTATIVE SERVICES MAY HAVE FOUR PURPOSES--(1) OBTAINING SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS, (2) SAVING TIME AND MANPOWER, (3) BRINGING TO THE COLLEGE OBJECTIVITY AND A FRESH VIEWPOINT, AND (4) EXTENDING RESOURCES BEYOND THOSE…