Acceptability of a student assistance team procedure to school staff

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the acceptability to school staff of the prereferral intervention team process and other staff perceptions and demographic variables. Specifically, the investigation examined the relationship between the acceptability of a Student Assistance Team (SAT) procedure and (a) staff perceptions of its effectiveness, (b) their views regarding the impact of specific logistical barriers to SAT functioning, (c) staff members\u27 professional job role, (d) their school grade level, and (e) their prior SAT training. By doing so, the present study investigated the applicability of an established treatment acceptability model for describing the procedural acceptability of this team consultation process (e.g., Witt & Elliott, 1985; Human & Teglasi, 1993). Three hundred thirteen respondents participated in this investigation. A modified version of the Behavior Intervention Rating Scale (BIRS; Von Brock & Elliott, 1987) was developed to assess the acceptability of the SAT process. A component analysis of responses to this measure resulted in a two-component structure similar to the solution of acceptability and effectiveness factors reported for the BIRS (Elliott & Treuting, 1991). An additional measure was developed to assess school personnel perceptions of the importance of five impediments to effective SAT functioning identified previously by focus groups at the participating schools (Doll et al., 2003). Results showed that staff perceptions of SAT effectiveness, their judgments of the importance of training and staffing difficulties as barriers to effective SAT practices, and prior training in SAT procedures were all positively correlated with the acceptability of the SAT process. These results are consistent in some ways and inconsistent in other ways with earlier acceptability studies. Possible reasons for this were explored, together with avenues for future research