Contextual, Client-Centred Coaching Following a Workshop: Assistants Capacity Building in Special Education

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Occupational Therapy
• Rehabilitation Services
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Special education assistants are crucial for supporting students with disabilities.
• Coaching is an emerging trend in occupational therapy (OT) and rehabilitation.
• Limited research exists on defining, measuring fidelity, and evaluating long-term impact of coaching interventions for assistants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare a one-on-one coaching approach with a workshop-only training for special education assistants.
• To evaluate the impact of coaching on assistant performance and fidelity of implementation in schools lacking regular OT services.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental study comparing coaching plus workshop versus workshop alone.
• Primary outcome: Assistant performance measured by Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS).
• Secondary outcome: Coaching fidelity measured by Coaching Practices Rating Scale (CPRS).

Main Results:

• Assistant performance significantly improved post-intervention in the coaching group (p = 0.015) with a large effect size (r = 0.55).
• No significant long-term improvements were observed at follow-up (p = 0.072).
• Coaching implementation fidelity was adequate, with all five components effectively utilized (CPRS score: 3.5 ± 0.72).

Conclusions:

• Occupational therapy-led coaching in schools can enhance special education assistants' skills.
• Coaching effectively improves assistants' ability to facilitate student participation in natural environments.
• Further research is needed to establish long-term benefits and refine coaching models.