The Potential for Organizational Behavior Management Consultation in Education: A Review of Erchul and Martens' "School Consultation"

Transcription

1 University of Massachusetts Boston From the SelectedWorks of James L. Soldner 2005 The Potential for Organizational Behavior Management Consultation in Education: A Review of Erchul and Martens' "School Consultation" Stacey L. Small, Southern Illinois University Carbondale Mark R. Dixon, Southern Illinois University Carbondale James L. Soldner, Utah State University Scott Sanders, Southern Illinois University Carbondale Kara Hartman, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, et al. Available at:

2 BOOK REVIEW The Potential for Organizational Behavior Management Consultation in Education: A Review of Erchul and Martens School Consultation KEYWORDS. Organizational behavior management, consultation, management consulting, education Organizational behavioral consultation is a growing profession within business, social services, industrial systems, product factories, and private facilities. However, behavioral consultation in the educational system is often conducted at the level of clinical intervention and few attempts are made at the educational system-level (see Piersel & Gutkin, 1983 for an exception). Perhaps one reason for this lack of robust application of organizational behavior management into the school system is due to a void in the professional literature describing the consultation process. Luckily this void is beginning to close with the addition of Erchul and Martens (2003) School Consultation: Conceptual and Empirical Bases of Practice. This timely text provides organizational behavior analysts with an overview of the educational system and highlights the key consultation strategies along with the behaviors re- Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, Vol. 24(3) 2005 Available online at by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Digital Object Identifier: /J075v24n03_03 63

3 64 JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT quired to ensure success. Although the book is not full-blooded behavior analysis per se, it does follow the behavioral path closely enough to provide the behaviorally trained reader with new and important information that could aid in the consultation process. The text is divided into three general sections that cover the history and background of school consultation, the consultation processes and outcomes, and an overview of the participants that are involved in the consultation process. The text also includes a case study illustrating the process of school consultation. Chapter 1 provides a historical background of the field of social service consultation more broadly and school consultation more specifically. Information regarding various historical events that influenced the role of human service providers and school consultants are reviewed including the legal system (i.e., Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), pragmatic changes in the education system (i.e., the role of the School Psychologist) and practical issues (i.e., standardized assessments lacking in psychometric properties). The chapter concludes with a detailed outline of the authors assumptions to their approach for successful school consultation. These assumptions include promotion of a scientist-practitioner model, the need for social influence and professional support within the educational system, and engaging a collaborative consultation process. In this chapter the authors present a very thorough examination of the history of the integrated school consultation model; however, a detailed explanation of each base contained under the broader models may have been unnecessary. The principles of behavioral consultation (i.e., feedback, goal-setting, etc.) are not unique to a specific population area of application. We believe that the authors could have constructed a more powerful introduction by highlighting the robustness of consultation practices across disciplines instead of dissecting the optimal parts from various existing models. Chapter 2, Promoting Change in Schools, defines the primary role of the consultant as a change facilitating agent within the school system, rather than the all-knowing egalitarian. Descriptions are provided for how to obtain this cooperative and collaborative consultation relationship. In this chapter the authors also present a lengthy description of the effects of social power and interpersonal influence on the consultation relationship. Although these terms resemble descriptions of hypothetical constructs at face value, we feel that they may in fact be re-conceptualized as setting events (Dixon, 2002) or establishing operations (Michael, 1993) attenuating the effectiveness of a given consulta-

4 Book Review 65 tion effort. Take, for example, the social power description of Expert Power as being one person s perception that another person possesses knowledge or expertise in a specific area of interest. Here Expert Power might be thought of as the description of previous environmental arrangements that a consultant produced which led to behavior change. This description may alter the effectiveness of the consultant s verbal behavior (i.e., I would like you to do x for me ) to govern behavior. Interesting and informative descriptions are also given by the authors regarding interacting with third-parties such as principals, and parents. It is too often the case that consultants strive for a role of information provider instead of as an active facilitator of interaction between consultant and consultee (see Block, 1999 for an excellent discussion). The authors do a good job illustrating why the expert role will not work with the citation of many empirical studies to support their claims. The behavior analytic terms are seriously lacking throughout most of this chapter, but under the myriad of social influence and power constructs, lay the descriptions of observable behavior and the meta-contingencies, setting events, and establishing operations that surround them. In summary, the authors are advocating for a contextual analysis of consultation, yet in the language of social influence rather than the language of behavior analysis. Chapter 3, The School as a Setting for Consultation, begins with a historical trace of the school system in America along with the accompanying organizational structural movements which accompanied and influenced the education system. As noted in the text, classical organizational structure dominated the early days of the school system with clear divisions of labor and high level bureaucracies. The human relations movement followed and altered the organizational climate of the educational system to reduce the top-down management approach and created a new focus on small work teams. It is here where a key link between traditional organizational behavior and the school system as an organization are made. The parallels between the evolutions of the two cultures are remarkable and the authors shine light on the similarities very well. Many other organizational structures besides human relations have emerged after classical structure began to crumble such as functional, product, matrix, and horizontal structures (Greenberg, 1999). Examples of these more contemporary and innovative organizational structures in place in the educational system would be nice to see in a future edition. This chapter concludes with a discussion of the variables contributing to the use of

5 66 JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT consultation services and highlights key issues for the consultant to become aware of if he or she wants to succeed. Specifically, the authors express a push for a more efficient form of indirect services which involve a consultant who trains a number of consultees that then pass the information throughout the organization. Reasons why teachers may fail as change agents are given, and a rationale for influence as an efficient tool in developing effective intervention agents. Chapter 4, Bases of an Integrated Model of Consultation, provides a conceptual background of the historical models of consultation that the authors integrate into their own ideal model of consultation. Erchul and Martens model stems from two paradigms: mental health consultation (Caplan & Caplan, 1999) and behavioral consultation (Bergan & Kratochwill, 1990); each is described in detail in this chapter. Together, they are the foundation of the integrated model of school consultation that is presented in the next chapter. This chapter also has a brief overview of how to assess the school as an organization, assess readiness for change, and negotiate the consultation contract. These overviews are unfortunately incomplete to provide a new consultant with a clear understanding of how to negotiate the actual contract, determine the persons who should be involved in the change effort, or how to deal with resistance during the implementation of a consultation plan. We would recommend that persons interested in the contracting activities that occur during consultation supplement this chapter with Block (1999). Chapter 5, Model Description and Application, begins with a discussion of the limitations of the historical consultation methods reviewed in Chapter 4 (e.g., mental health; behavioral). Limitations include a psychodynamic foundation in the case of mental health consultation, and the assumption that knowledge about successful and superior ways to do a job will change the behavior of the consultee in the case of behavioral consultation. The authors claim that the flaws of each system can be avoided by synthesizing the two together into an integrated model. The integrated model is based on the interaction between three tasks: problem solving, social influence, and support and development that occur in a context with precursors and outcomes. The precursors could probably be more behaviorally conceptualized as antecedents and setting events while the outcomes could be consequences. The chapter concludes with tips on interviewing, how to exert social influence to achieve goal setting strategies, methods for modeling and providing performance feedback, and how to implement consultation protocols. We have found this chapter to be an intellectually stimulating conceptualization of consultation generally and educational consultation

6 Book Review 67 specifically. We believe that it places a contextualistic framework around the behavioral consultation model of Bergan and Kratochwill (1990), that accounts for potential variability that might be encountered during strict behavioral consultation. Additional research is needed to demonstrate the added utility of this model compared to other behavioral consultation strategies. It remains unknown if the model will work in other consulting environments beyond the educational system. Organizational behavior analysts have an opportunity right now to test this model in business and industry to determine its breadth. Before attempting to carry out the processes of providing feedback, interviewing, and exerting social power that are mentioned in this chapter we recommend that the reader seek out additional sources of information than the present text. Erchul and Martens (2003) descriptions of these consultation behaviors are quite brief and their claims are made based primarily on the results from one or two cited studies. Chapter 6, Selecting and Evaluating School-Based Interventions, starts off by describing the goal of school consultation and the roles and responsibilities of the consultant in accomplishing this goal. For the consultation process to be effective, Erchul and Marten (2003) contend that consultants must actively participate in the treatment process. The authors emphasize that an integral part of the treatment process and all corresponding treatment decisions must be based on empirical data derived from the scientific method. They stress that this is not only based on the accountability of the consultant s efforts but is also an ethical concern as well. The body of the chapter is a description of behavior analytic approaches to school-based interventions with summaries of published studies pertaining to its proven effectiveness in schools. The role in classroom instruction and learning as well as the effect on teacher-student interactions are used to outline how behavior analytic methods can be tailored to the needs and desires of both consultee and client. Limitations of a behavior analytic approach are presented and include the necessity of frequent individual contact of the consultant with the student(s) and the higher than optimal teacher-student ratio that limits the time allocated to plan implementation. The next section describes these intervention implementation issues and four key factors that determine implementation success. They include the appropriateness of a treatment for a given problem (i.e., functional treatment), the probability that the treatment will ultimately be successful, the acceptability of the treatment on the part of the teacher (i.e., the consultee), and the degree that the actual implementation of a treatment was as originally planned (i.e., treatment integrity). The authors conclude the chap-

7 68 JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT ter by discussing the importance of empirically evaluating the treatment currently in place as well as its subsequent outcomes using direct behavioral observation methods. Chapter 7, Teachers as Consultees, emphasizes that most teachers want to ensure the success of their students, but lack the assistance needed to make this happen. Additionally, teachers face a continuing decline of extrinsic rewards (i.e., competitive pay; health benefits) and limited parent cooperation. While emerging research highlighted in this chapter indicates that many teachers do in fact support school-based behavioral consultation and that this consultation approach is often more effective than traditional assessment services from school psychologists, many teachers are not aware of or do not seek out behavioral consultants. We believe that the demand for behavioral services warrants more active attempts by organizational behavior analysts to both fill the demand and to market available services in educational settings. Organizational research is also needed to empirically support the claim made by the authors that most teachers would be willing to accept behavioral intervention consultation. While the authors do in fact list practical ways consultative support may be offered to teachers they could have expanded on the more complex contingencies involved in the consultation process such as increased demands on the consultee (teacher) as an aversive stimulus impeding change (Piersel & Gutkin, 1983). Chapter 8, Students as Clients, outlines the legal and ethical issues involved in delivering services to children in the school system. In the first section of this chapter, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which classifies special needs for students, and definitions of learning disability and emotionally disturbed are briefly mentioned. Readers may wish to extend their knowledge of these topics with supplemental information that is specific to the states in which they consult, as laws will vary across the country. The second section of this chapter presents a contextual model of student achievement and the variables limiting individualized instruction. This section is rich in supporting literature and will provide the behavior analyst considering consultation in the school system with a wealth of information to guide his or her future practice. Chapter 9, Consultation Case Study, consists of three interviews between a school teacher and a consulting psychologist. After each interview, the authors provide an analysis of the interview line by line. Including this information in a text is rather unusual, however, after reading it through, we have found it to be very insightful. The analysis of the interview allows the reader to understand why the consultant asked each question, and how the consultant arrives at the solution. For those consultants

8 Book Review 69 interested in the verbal process involved in consultation we recommend they supplement this section of the text with Bergan and Kratochwill s (1990) discussion of verbal interaction during consultation. Chapter 10, Epilogue: The Effective Practice of School Consultation, offers a review of the IDEA legislation which is pertinent to school consultation and offers suggestions for future influence of such movements. The chapter begins with a discussion of the P.L /IDEA mandates and extrapolates to the implications for psychologists in schools; either internal or externally contracted. The authors agree that IDEA mandates limited the scope of what school psychologists do, in that an estimated 50% of their time is spent conducting psycho-educational assessment and recommending placements. The 1997 reworking of IDEA lessened the requirements of school psychologists by allowing previous evaluations and opened the availability of school consultations so that they may conduct less assessment and eligibility determination and more of a consultation and treatment role. Current legislation changes to the IDEA are underway and may again alter the practice of school consultation and the relevance of this chapter. In summary we believe that Erchul and Martens (2003) have written an easy-to-read and much-needed text on school consultation. The scope of this book is perfect for a graduate-level seminar in behavioral consultation or school consultation. Instructors will probably want to include additional readings on basic behavioral terminology and principles such as metacontingencies, goal setting, feedback, and establishing operations, along with organizational interventions beyond the educational system as supplements to this text. The greatest strength of the present text is the repeated, yet subtle, suggestion that the behavioral school consultant will only go so far without an understanding of the school as an organization. Clinical interventions will have little impact on the lasting infrastructure of the organizational system without a behavioral systems analysis and intervention. Such large scale research projects and practical applications are lacking in the published literature and it is here where organizational behavior analysts stand to make their greatest impact. We agree with the authors that for successful consultation to occur in the school setting, or perhaps any other setting, the consultant will need commitment from the highest level within the organization, information to pass freely through the organizational culture, and buy-in from all employees involved (see Dixon, Hayes, and Stack, in press). Furthermore, we believe that unless teachers begin to view behavioral consultation as an integral part of

9 70 JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT their job duties and not an added and optional burden, few lasting effects of our efforts will remain once the consultation process ceases. As the field of organizational behavior management continues to grow, so will the diversity in potential employment settings. One underutilized setting for organizational practice and research is the educational system. Erchul and Martens text is just what organizational behavior analysts interested in consulting need to jump start their interest and accomplishments in school consultation. REFERENCES Bergan, J. R., & Kratochwill, T. R. (1990). Behavioral consultation and therapy. New York: Plenum. Block, P. (1999). Flawless consulting (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Caplan, G., & Caplan, R. B. (1999). Mental health consultation and collaboration. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc. Dixon, M. R. (2002). Setting events. In M. Hersen & W. Sledge (Eds.) Encyclopedia of psychotherapy. New York: Academic Press. Dixon, M. R., Hayes, L. J., & Stack, J. (in press). Changing conceptions of employee compensation. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management. Erchul, W. P. & Martens, B. K. (2003). School consultation: Conceptual and empirical bases of practice. New York: Kluwer Academic. Greenberg, J. (1999). Managing behavior in organizations. New York: Prentice Hall. Michael, J. (1993). Establishing operations. The Behavior Analyst, 16, Piersel, W. C., & Gutkin, T. B. (1983). Resistance to school-based consultation: A behavior analysis of the problem. Psychology in the Schools, 20, Watson, T. S. & Robinson, R. L. (1996). Direct behavioral consultation: An alternative to traditional behavioral consultation. School Psychology Quarterly, 11, Stacey Small Mark R. Dixon James Soldner Scott Sanders Kara Hartman Jonah Martin Eric Manzano Kim Zlomke Southern Illinois University Address correspondence to: Mark R. Dixon, PhD Behavior Analysis and Therapy Program Rehabilitation Institute Southern Illinois University Carbondale, IL ( mdixon@siu.edu)

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