Teacher expectations on the directiveness continuum in consultation

The study investigated the consultation approaches of collaborative-directive and collaborativenondirective and the influence of teacher expectations for consultation on their ratings of consultation success. Teachers viewed videotaped consultation sessions of a collaborative-directive or collaborative-nondirective consultation session that either matched or mismatched their expectations. The study found significantly higher ratings for the consultants and interventions when the collaborative-directive approach was used. In addition, teachers in conditions that matched their expectations for consultation rated consultants and interventions significantly higher than did teachers in mismatched conditions. The importance of this line of research lies in its practical application, allowing practitioners of consultation and trainers of school psychologists greater knowledge in selection of the appropriate consultation approach to maximize perceived consultant effectiveness and intervention acceptability.