Question: What perspective and model of school consultation do you think is most appropriate for schools? Why?

Answer: The Collaborative Consultation Model. What is the collaborative consultation model? Collaborative consultation has been the preferred model of many special educators, general educators and administrators in recent years (West, Idol & Cannon, 1989). Collaborative consultation is an interactive process that enables teams of people with diverse expertise to generate creative solutions to mutually defined problems. The outcome is enhanced, altered and produces solutions that are different from those that the individual team member would produce independently (Idol, Paolucci-Whitcomb & Nevin, 1986). Principles of collaboration and consultation are based on the triadic model of consultation. Purpose of the collaborative consultation model is to develop parity between special educators and classroom teachers resulting in shared ownership of learning and managing problems of exceptional and non-achieving students participating in regular classroom instruction (West & Idol, 2001). There is an emphasis on mutuality in the consulting relationship with the consultant serving as a learning specialist and the consultee serving as a curriculum and child development specialist. The consultee is primarily responsible for program implementation but through all other stages there is shared responsibility. Defining Characteristics of Collaborative Consultation Characteristic Definition Shared Belief System All members of the team are perceived and treated as unique and as having needed expertise (Villa, Thousand, PaolucciWhitcomb & Nevin, 1990). Productive Group Relations Team members strive to achieve: 1. face-to-face interactions 2. positive interdependence 3. overt practice of leadership, communication, trust-building, decision-making and conflict management skills to improve group functioning 4. processing how to improve relationships 5. clear individual accountability for agreed-upon commitments and responsibilities (Villa et al., 1990). Situational Leadership and Distributed Team members learn and practice an

Functions (Theory of Leadership)

Interactive Process

Mutually Owned Outcomes

emphasis on task and relationship behaviors and directive or nondirective behaviors based on other members ownership for group objectives, willingness to be accountable and the extent to which they have the required knowledge, skills or experience to promote the group objectives (Villa et al., 1990). People with diverse expertise and often conflicting opinions practice equitable interpersonal communications (Villa et al., 1990). Outcomes are enhanced, altered and different from the original solutions that any one team member would have produced independently (Villa et al., 1990).

Tips for the Application of Collaborative Consultation Clarify expectations by having dialogue with people in all roles. Use questions that will help direct conversation such as: why is this type of service best? What do we expect to occur? Who is involved? When will it take place, where will it take place and how long? How can the plan be implemented and what outcome measure will be used? (Dettmer, Thurston, Knackendoffel & Dyck, 2009). Be flexible and adaptable and keep current about education issues and bestpractices (Dettmer et al., 2009). To best support families, establish partnerships with formal and informal community groups that are linked to families. This can create understanding, access and involvement of families in the process (Nastasi, 2005). Understanding the lives of families and meeting their needs can be achieved through interdisciplinary and interagency partnerships. The necessary steps in order to ensure the success of the collaborative consultation model are: 1. Gaining mutual acceptance 2. Accessing causes of problems, problems themselves, and outcomes of problems 3. Formulating goals and objectives matched to assessment outcomes 4. Implementing teaching/learning procedures 5. Evaluating program outcomes including clients, consultants, consultees, parents of clients, program administrators and overall programs (Idol et al., 1986).

Why should schools use the collaborative consultation model? The collaborative consultation model has two primary goals: a) to provide remedial problem-solving services for presenting problems and b) to increase consultees

skills so they can prevent and/ or respond more effectively to similar problems in the future (Gutkin & Curtis, 1982). The major outcome of collaborative consultation is to provide comprehensive and effective programs for students with special needs within the most appropriate context, enabling them to achieve maximum constructive interaction with their nondisabled peers (Idol et al., 1986). According to Long, Brown and Nagy-Rado (2007), There is a need in both private and parochial schools for collaboration skills to bring about effective inclusion of children with special needs in schools (p. 2). According to Long, Brown and Nagy-Rado (2007), There is a strong presumption in the literature that the consultative role is required to ensure that inclusive placements are effective for children (p.2). Allows for sharing between colleagues and provides opportunities for consultation for peers that may not have specific expertise in certain areas (Dettmer et al., 2009). Collaborative consultation inspires professional development; provides many different points of view and facilitates many ideas; allows for the opportunity to engage with community agents; includes all parties involved and is pleasing to families due to many people supporting their child; and provides focus on situations encompassing the entire school (Dettmer et al., 2009). Empowers parents to navigate the public education system, provides effective integration of cultural considerations into consultation and intervention efforts, and educates both families and school personnel (Nastasi, 2005). Collaborative consultation expands educational options for students with special needs by ensuring a continuum of services, a variety of interventions and instructional techniques (Ford & Fitterman, 1994). Provides immediate attention to students needs because collaborative consultation is not delayed by waiting for a referral, testing or formal assessments. Also, services are available to all children and parents early in the process, thus providing early intervention and prevention in some cases (Ford & Fitterman, 1994). Collaborative consultation provides support for special needs children and teachers in the regular education classroom. Serving special needs students in the regular education classroom with team effort allows for more children being served at the same time. This reduces cost and ensures efficient use of resources (Ford & Fitterman, 1994). Regular education students benefit by having additional resources in the classroom as well and learn to work as a team when exposed to collaborative consultation techniques (Ford & Fitterman, 1994).

References

Dettmer, P., Thurston, L., Knackendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. (2009). Collaboration, Consultation, and Teamwork for Students with Special Needs. New Jersey: Pearson. Ford, C. & Fitterman, J. (1994). Collaborative Consultation: Literature Review and Case Study of a Proposed Alternative Delivery System. Educational Resources Information Center (ED), Washington, DC. Resources in Education, 30(2), 1-75. Gutkin, T. B. & Curtis, M. J. (1982). School-based consultation. In C.R. Reynolds & T.B. Gutkin (Eds.). The handbook of school psychology (pp. 796-828). New York: Wiley. Idol, L., Paulucci-Whitcomb, P. & Nevin, A. (1986). Collaborative consultation. Rockville, MD: Aspen. Long, J. T., Brown, C., & Nagy-Rado, A. (2007). Preparing Special Educators to Assume Collaborative and Consultative Roles. The Catholic University of America, 2(4). Retrieved May 28, 2009 from http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/hww/results/results_comm on.jhtml;hwwilsonid=u54PFMSRYW5YXQA3DIMSFF4ADUNGIIV0 Nastasi, B. (2005). School Consultants as Change Agents in Achieving Equity for Families in Public Schools. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 16(1&2), 113125

Villa, R. A., Thousand, J. S., Paolucci-Whitcomb, P., & Nevin, A. (1990). In search of new paradigms for collaborative consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 1(4), 279-292.

West, F. J. & Idol, L. (2001). School consultation (part I): An interdisciplinary perspective on theory, models and research. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 20(7), 388-408.