(Posted by ISHN School Health Insider)
The nitty-gritty, practical details of introducing, adopting and implementing prevention programs raises issues and questions that are almost always ignored or controlled by formal research studies. The discussion will facilitate the development of questions and perspectives from teachers, nurses, social workers, addiction workers, educational administrators and police officers. This “worm’s eye” view is essential if we are to truly understand how various prevention programs or educational resources can be developed, disseminated and diffused effectively.This discussion of the practical details of implementation is part of an international series of webinars, web meetings and online wiki-based discussions about Implementation, Capacity, Sustainability and Systems Change. Join the call for contributors to this discussion.
The nitty-gritty, practical details of introducing, adopting and implementing prevention programs raises issues and questions that are almost always ignored or controlled by formal research studies. The discussion will facilitate the development of questions and perspectives from teachers, nurses, social workers, addiction workers, educational administrators and police officers. This “worm’s eye” view is essential if we are to truly understand how various prevention programs or educational resources can be developed, disseminated and diffused effectively.This discussion of the practical details of implementation is part of an international series of webinars, web meetings and online wiki-based discussions about Implementation, Capacity, Sustainability and Systems Change. Join the call for contributors to this discussion.
Here are some of the questions/issues that are likely to emerge about the practical details or local drivers of change and resistance at the school level:
· Why did the program get started? (incident or accident with students, a provincial directive, concern or demand from a local trustee, reports in the media, principal or teacher came back from a conference, provincial conference, support from the teachers association etc)
· How did you determine if the program fits with the official curriculum or the school’s annual plan?
· What are the details of the program (population, type of intervention, materials etc) and why did you choose to focus on those?
· How did the program or approach gain access into the schools? (persuading people, trusted messengers, barriers, opportunities etc)
· Were there specific people who were helpful or difficult?
· How did local personalities and relationships affect the process?
· Does this issue being addressed in your program have a “history” in your school, neighbourhood or school board?
· Was the opinion of the School Superintendent, CEO of the local Health Authority, relationship with local agencies or community groups a factor in your program?
· How did the local social norms affect your program and its implementation/evolution
· Were there particular barriers or opportunities related to the local neighbourhood that affected the program (access to after school busing, parents who worked until late in the evening, concerns about the safety of children walking home after school, Internet access for student project work etc
· How did you negotiate, cooperate or compete with other organizations offering a similar program?
· How did you get approval from your supervisors to start and run the program?
· Does the program require the use of technology? If so, how are teachers using those technologies before and after the introduction of the program?
· Do the school boards provide teachers with their own computers at their workplace? Do they have work-specified email addresses that they use regularly? Is it easy to leave telephone messages for the [participating teachers in individual voicemail boxes? Are the teachers using smart phones and other mobile devices in their work these days?
· How did you/will you deal with teacher turnover during or after the project?
· Did the teachers have time for regular meetings during the project? Was there difficulty because of their other responsibilities and demands on their time? Do teachers like to work in teams and with other members of the school community?
· Did the Principal help in getting started? in maintaining the program? What happened if the Principal was transferred?
· Do the teachers still use the materials after the program was ended?
· How are you planning for succession once the funding ends or you or the staff move along?
These questions can be grouped and described as “local drivers or barriers” to implementation and change and can fit within a broader set of topics on Implementation, Capacity, Sustainability and Systems Change issues that are being discussed world-wide (See Appendix) However, this focus on the front line and consideration of these detailed, practical questions is a significant gap in the prevention science research on implementation issues.
· Why did the program get started? (incident or accident with students, a provincial directive, concern or demand from a local trustee, reports in the media, principal or teacher came back from a conference, provincial conference, support from the teachers association etc)
· How did you determine if the program fits with the official curriculum or the school’s annual plan?
· What are the details of the program (population, type of intervention, materials etc) and why did you choose to focus on those?
· How did the program or approach gain access into the schools? (persuading people, trusted messengers, barriers, opportunities etc)
· Were there specific people who were helpful or difficult?
· How did local personalities and relationships affect the process?
· Does this issue being addressed in your program have a “history” in your school, neighbourhood or school board?
· Was the opinion of the School Superintendent, CEO of the local Health Authority, relationship with local agencies or community groups a factor in your program?
· How did the local social norms affect your program and its implementation/evolution
· Were there particular barriers or opportunities related to the local neighbourhood that affected the program (access to after school busing, parents who worked until late in the evening, concerns about the safety of children walking home after school, Internet access for student project work etc
· How did you negotiate, cooperate or compete with other organizations offering a similar program?
· How did you get approval from your supervisors to start and run the program?
· Does the program require the use of technology? If so, how are teachers using those technologies before and after the introduction of the program?
· Do the school boards provide teachers with their own computers at their workplace? Do they have work-specified email addresses that they use regularly? Is it easy to leave telephone messages for the [participating teachers in individual voicemail boxes? Are the teachers using smart phones and other mobile devices in their work these days?
· How did you/will you deal with teacher turnover during or after the project?
· Did the teachers have time for regular meetings during the project? Was there difficulty because of their other responsibilities and demands on their time? Do teachers like to work in teams and with other members of the school community?
· Did the Principal help in getting started? in maintaining the program? What happened if the Principal was transferred?
· Do the teachers still use the materials after the program was ended?
· How are you planning for succession once the funding ends or you or the staff move along?
These questions can be grouped and described as “local drivers or barriers” to implementation and change and can fit within a broader set of topics on Implementation, Capacity, Sustainability and Systems Change issues that are being discussed world-wide (See Appendix) However, this focus on the front line and consideration of these detailed, practical questions is a significant gap in the prevention science research on implementation issues.
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