{"title":"Centering School Leaders’ Expertise: Usability Evaluation of a Leadership-Focused Implementation Strategy to Support Tier 1 Programs in Schools","authors":"","doi":"10.1007/s12310-024-09635-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<h3>Abstract</h3> <p>Although there are a growing number of implementation strategies to increase the adoption, fidelity, and sustainment of evidence-based practices (EBP), they are often complex and bulky, which can interfere with their widespread application. To address these challenges, the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) strategy was created as an adaptation of the evidence-based Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation (LOCI) implementation strategy to enhance elementary school principals’ use of strategic implementation leadership to support the adoption and delivery of Tier 1 (i.e., universal social, emotional, and behavioral) EBP. In service of its iterative development, a human-centered design methodology was employed to increase the successful uptake and use of HELM. The Cognitive Walkthrough for Implementation Strategies (CWIS), a novel mixed-methods approach to evaluate implementation strategy usability, was applied to identify and test HELM strategy tasks of critical importance. A sample of 15 elementary school principals participated in group cognitive walkthrough testing as either school principal recipients or HELM coaches. Both user types rated the strategy as acceptable (principal <em>M</em> = 77.8, SD = 15.5; coach <em>M</em> = 87.5, SD = 7.9). Five usability issues were identified using a highly structured common usability issue framework and provided direction for the generation of redesign solutions to be incorporated in a subsequent version of the HELM strategy. The evaluation of the strategy’s usability improved its alignment with user needs, expectations, and contextual constraints, rendering a more usable strategy and broadly applicable information surrounding the development of psychosocial implementation strategies in real-world settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":51538,"journal":{"name":"School Mental Health","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"School Mental Health","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-024-09635-z","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENTAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Although there are a growing number of implementation strategies to increase the adoption, fidelity, and sustainment of evidence-based practices (EBP), they are often complex and bulky, which can interfere with their widespread application. To address these challenges, the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) strategy was created as an adaptation of the evidence-based Leadership and Organizational Change for Implementation (LOCI) implementation strategy to enhance elementary school principals’ use of strategic implementation leadership to support the adoption and delivery of Tier 1 (i.e., universal social, emotional, and behavioral) EBP. In service of its iterative development, a human-centered design methodology was employed to increase the successful uptake and use of HELM. The Cognitive Walkthrough for Implementation Strategies (CWIS), a novel mixed-methods approach to evaluate implementation strategy usability, was applied to identify and test HELM strategy tasks of critical importance. A sample of 15 elementary school principals participated in group cognitive walkthrough testing as either school principal recipients or HELM coaches. Both user types rated the strategy as acceptable (principal M = 77.8, SD = 15.5; coach M = 87.5, SD = 7.9). Five usability issues were identified using a highly structured common usability issue framework and provided direction for the generation of redesign solutions to be incorporated in a subsequent version of the HELM strategy. The evaluation of the strategy’s usability improved its alignment with user needs, expectations, and contextual constraints, rendering a more usable strategy and broadly applicable information surrounding the development of psychosocial implementation strategies in real-world settings.
期刊介绍:
School Mental Health: A Multidisciplinary Research and Practice Journal is a forum for the latest research related to prevention, treatment, and assessment practices that are associated with the pre-K to 12th-grade education system and focuses on children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders. The journal publishes empirical studies, quantitative and qualitative research, and systematic and scoping review articles from authors representing the many disciplines that are involved in school mental health, including child and school psychology, education, pediatrics, child and adolescent psychiatry, developmental psychology, school counseling, social work and nursing. Sample topics include: · Innovative school-based treatment practices· Consultation and professional development procedures· Dissemination and implementation science targeting schools· Educational techniques for children with emotional and behavioral disorders· Schoolwide prevention programs· Medication effects on school behavior and achievement· Assessment practices· Special education services· Developmental implications affecting learning and behavior· Racial, ethnic, and cultural issues· School policy· Role of families in school mental health· Prediction of impairment and resilience· Moderators and mediators of response to treatment