Facilitators and barriers to the implementation of motivational interviewing for bullying perpetration in school settings.

Bullying is a perplexing and persistent problem with negative consequences for all involved. Schools are assigned considerable responsibility for the management of bullying because of its prevalence amongst youth. Despite considerable efforts over decades to curtail bullying through the use of anti-bullying policies and other school-based interventions, the rates of young people who frequently bully has not decreased significantly. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a relational and affirming conversational method that strengthens an individual's motivation and commitment to change, overcoming ambivalence toward the problem. The aim of the current study was to provide preliminary insight into the feasibility of incorporating MI into student service repertoires for addressing bullying. Ten staff participants from six secondary schools, who had roles in bullying intervention within their respective schools, were offered training in MI and invited to use and monitor this method in their practice as an intervention for students who perpetrate bullying. Results indicated a number factors which influenced the uptake of MI in schools. Facilitators enabling the use of MI included practitioner's professional background, administrative support, training and implementation of MI. Barriers to the use of MI included time pressure and administrative expectations, school roles and system limitations, and preconceptions and the stigma of bullying.

Transforming staff practice through active support.

BACKGROUND: Active support is being introduced in many residential and respite homes in an effort to improve engagement in meaningful activity of people with intellectual disability. METHOD: A train-the-trainer approach was used in a large government organisation that supports people with intellectual disability in Australia. Five apprentice trainers were trained to provide active support training to 65 staff associated with 6 group homes. These 5 trainers were then monitored to provide training to 54 staff in another 6 group homes. Staff evaluated their interactive training experiences, and pre and post outcome data were collected for a small number of service users from the second set of group homes, along with staff outcome data regarding residential working practices, group home management, and staffing practices. RESULTS: The train-the-trainer model proved to be an effective strategy for training large numbers of staff. The interactive training component was particularly effective and was associated with improvements in service user engagement in domestic tasks and decreased depression levels. Staff job satisfaction increased and significant improvements were recorded in residential working practices. CONCLUSIONS: Active support training is an effective strategy for empowering staff to better support people with an intellectual disability to be meaningfully engaged in daily activities. There are implications for organisations related to ongoing implementation and practice improvement.

Parent stress, parenting competence and family-centered support to young children with an intellectual or developmental disability.

A family-centered approach to the support of families with a young child with an intellectual or developmental disability has been widely adopted in the last decade. While some of the foundational assumptions of family-centered theory have been tested, there remain considerable gaps in the research evidence for this approach. While parenting stress and competence have been examined in the general family support literature, these variables have received little attention in the family-centered support literature. This pilot study examined the relationship between parent stress and parenting competence and family-centered support. The results suggest that important components of family-centered practice are significantly associated with parent stress, but that a meaningful association between parenting competence and family-centered practice is yet to be demonstrated.