CITATION: Gallagher, P., Malone, D.M., Cleghorne, M. & Helms, K.A. (1997). Perceived inservice training needs for early intervention personnel. Exceptional Children , 64(1), 19-31.

  • Investigated inservice training needs of professionals from audiology, nutrition, family training/counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech/language therapy, medical profession (i.e doctors & nurses), social work, psychology, and special education working with children with disabilities and their families through surveys
  • Represented three groups of experience

Less than 2 years (reentering/newly involved and 1-2 years of experience)

Three to five years of experience

Six or more years of experience

  • Training needs given the greatest priority

Typical/atypical child development ( e.g. Normal developmental sequences and relationships)

Assessment (e.g. Appropriate formal assessment instruments)

Family systems/involvement (e.g. Stress, grief, and coping)

Program implementation/ evaluation (e.g. current trends and practices in developing programs)

Administrative/team process (e.g. other disciplines’ roles and contributions)

Professional development (collaborating with families and team members)

Technology

  • Training preferences

Personnel with 3 to 5 years of experience reported a greater need for training in family systems than personnel with more than 6 years of experience (p<.02)

Preference for training in the fall (33%), winter (17%), summer (16%), spring (6%) and no preference (29%)

Preference for training on a weekday morning (80%), midafternoon (6%), late afternoon (5%), evening (3%), and no preference (6%)

  • Preference that training be conducted during contractual time (54%), any time offered (35%), and training on their own time (12%)
  • Training format of choice

Conference or workshop (34%)

Regular inservice with team members (16%)

Visits to other programs (15%)

University/college courses (12%)

Discussion or study groups (9%)

Independent professional study, self-paced instructional materals, one-to-one mentorship, and peer coaching (combined 14%)

  • Motivational factors for attending a particular training session

Easy-to-reach location (25%)

Continuing education credit (14%)

Having the training fees paid or waived (13%)

Salary step increase (11%)

Opportunity for promotion (7%)

Compensatory time (7%)

Travel reimbursement (7%)

College credit (6%)

Reimbursement for books and materials (6%)

Payment for weekend/evening training (2%)

Release time (2%)

  • Implications for provision of training

The perceived needs, concerns and values of training program participants are important components

Trainers should develop strategies for moving participants from preferred formats to those that are most effective (balancing participants’ needs and concerns with the implementation of preferred practices)

Time served in the field does not necessarily equate with attainment of essential competencies

Training needs can be met by using counseling professionals in consultant roles

Research based article (n = 115 professionals)