Teachers' resistance to the use of school-based interventions

Abstract

This article focuses on consulting with teachers about the use of school-based interventions for the control and prevention of learning and adjustment problems. In the past, it has been assumed that teachers would want to use an intervention simply because it works (i.e., the intervention is effective in producing behavior change). However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a teacher's decision to use an intervention is based upon a wide array of factors. Accordingly, this paper describes four factors that have been linked to teachers' decisions to utilize and to continue utilizing an intervention: effectiveness, time and resources required, theoretical orientation of the intervention, and ecological intrusiveness. Because they are recommended widely by school psychologists and because they sometimes lack acceptance among teachers, behavioral interventions represent a major focus of this review.