How effective is school consultation?: A review of recent research

This paper reviews the results of 29 studies on the effectiveness of school consultation published between 1972 and 1977. Twenty-two of the studies reviewed (76%) reported at least one or more positive effects resulting from consultation interventions. Behavioral consultation was found to be particularly effective. Several methodological limitations of the studies which reduce the generality of their findings are discussed. These include lack of appropriate experimental control procedures, failure to control for individual consultant and consultee characteristics, infrequent use of multiple dependent measures assessing both attitudinal and behavioral changes, and the absence of follow-up data. Despite the problems entailed in measuring consultation outcomes, the practice does appear to be effective. Further research investigating the influence of specific consultation models and processes is recommended.