Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of training GeneralEducation Intervention (GEI) teams in Creative Problem Solving (CPS). CPS is a process designed to organize problem solving efforts. Through the process users identify problems, generate novel and useful ideas to address problems, and plan for successful implementation of solutions. Using an experimental design, GEI teams trained in CPS and untrained GEI teams were compared on the number of referrals to the GEI team, the rate of referrals to specialEducation, the rate of non-verifiable referrals, and ratings of team effectiveness. Additional areas explored were GEI teams' perceptions of how the GEI team benefits the school, how other teachers perceive the GEI team, and what changes might make the GEI team more effective. The participants for the study were 25 GEI teams from elementary schools in Indiana who applied for the training and were found to have adequate administrative support, adequate time for meetings, and a willingness to change their current team process. Teams trained in CPS showed a significant increase in their mean ratings of team effectiveness. For teams trained in CPS the number of referrals to the GEI team, the rate of referrals to specialEducation, and the rate of non-verifiable referrals to specialEducation did not significantly differ from that of untrained teams. Although many of the results lacked statistical significance, findings have promising implications for the practice of schoolPsychology because the functioning of GEI teams has a direct impact on the work of school psychologists. Future studies, particularly ones that are longitudinal, have larger sample sizes, and have an increased scope of research questions, may reveal additional significant effects.

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