This document provides strategies for school psychologists to overcome resistance to interventions from teachers and staff. It discusses the paradigm shift to RTI and sources of resistance like fear of change, ambiguity, and lack of participation in planning. Key strategies to overcome resistance include listening to concerns, gaining administrative support, engaging teachers in the process, presenting data on effectiveness, modeling interventions, and providing feedback to increase self-efficacy. Effective communication skills and building trust are also emphasized.

1. Strategies to Overcome Resistance
for the School Psychologist
Cari L. Fellers, Ph.D., NCSP
Clinical Faculty in School Psychology
Coordinator, MS/EdS School Psychology Program
Florida State University

2. Paradigm Shift: RTI
• Role changes
▫ Administration
▫ Psychologists
 How we spend our time
▫ Teachers
▫ Related services
• Difficult to accomplish system change/paradigm
shift, because change is:
▫ Political
▫ Results in resistance
▫ Requires multiple components of the new system
to come together efficiently

3. What is Resistance?
• Definition
▫ An individual’s ability to avoid what is not wanted
from the environment (Friend & Bauwens, 1988)
▫ Function of operating contingencies that are
either too punishing or inadequately reinforcing to
the teacher (Gonzalez et al., 2004)
• Resistance should be expected
• School personnel can be confronted with
evidence that the current methods are ineffective
and new, valid methods are still resisted

4. Four Interconnected Phases of Consultation
I. Develop an Environment
Conducive to Teacher
Growth and Change
(Initial Steps Prior to Plan
Writing and Ongoing Support
Activities)
IV. Provide Follow-Up II. Jointly Develop the
Support Program
(Maintaining Success) (Development of Written Plan
in Meeting)
III. Implement the Program
(Facilitating Initial
Implementation Steps After the
Plan was Developed)

5. Sources of Resistance
• Previous knowledge/values
• Desire to maintain the status quo/low tolerance to
change
▫ Invokes fear of unknown or a fear of loss
▫ Causes stress and discomfort
▫ Traditional methods provide security
▫ Fear they will lose the respect of valued peers
• Teacher’s self-efficacy
▫ Found to predict how the teacher will react when
handling the differential needs of their students
▫ High self-efficacy= consultation is more acceptable
▫ More likely to participate when the student’s problem
is viewed as less severe and manageable

6. Sources of Resistance
• Teacher experience
▫ Less experienced teachers are more likely to make
use of consultation efforts
• Time, effort, and resources required
• Ambiguity
▫ Terminology can be confusing
• Lack of participation in planning
▫ Give the teacher an active role in decision-making
▫ View teachers as equals in planning
▫ Match teacher’s opinion of the problem to the plan

7. Identifying Teacher Resistance
• Six different teacher behaviors
▫ The Block
 Most obvious- state they will not participate
▫ The Stall
 Postpone meetings or intervention implementation
▫ The Reverse
 Initially supports but takes no effort to use the intervention or
information
▫ The Projected Threat
 Stating that other personnel in the school would object to the
changes
▫ The Guilt Trip
 Emphasizing the amount of stress change will cause
▫ Tradition
 Different from the traditional methods

8. Overcoming Resistance
• Listen empathetically to the teacher’s concerns and
rationale for resistance
• Gain support from administration
• Actively engage teachers in the process from the
beginning
• Indicate incentives for participation
• Present data on the effectiveness and practicality of
the intervention
▫ Establish a need for the process/intervention
• Model the process/intervention for the teacher
• Performance feedback
▫ Show teacher the data in order to celebrate success
▫ Increases self-efficacy

9. Overcoming Resistance
• Become familiar with consultee’s values and examine
your own value systems
• Emphasize the innovation of the intervention
programs
▫ Make it exciting and interesting
• Acknowledge the teacher’s ability to facilitate a
successful general education classroom
▫ Emphasize already effective strategies the teacher is
using
• Establish a mechanism for exchanging
nonjudgmental feedback
• Establish a trusting relationship
▫ Do what you say you’re going to do!
• Conduct consultation gradually and methodically
▫ Begin with less resistant teachers and celebrate success

10. Key Communication Skills
• Paraphrasing
• Perception Checking
• Clarifying Questions
• Request for Clarification
• Summarizing
• Relevant Questions
• Offering Information
• Active & Attentive Listening

11. Do’s and Don’ts
• Do paraphrase what the consultee has said to
convey understanding.
• Don’t rely on your attention alone to convey
understanding.
• Do restate your confusion and ask for
clarification.
• Don’t wait, hoping that your confusion will be
resolved by itself.
• Do summarize the main points the consultee
has said.
• Don’t depend on the consultee to remember
what has been said.

12. Do’s and Don’ts
• Do sit near the consultee with a relaxed, open
posture.
• Don’t sit opposite the consultee behind a desk,
table, or table with a formal posture.
• Do write when you are speaking and say what you
are writing.
• Don’t write when the consultee is talking, and
don’t keep your notes to yourself.
• Do use language that communicates.
• Don’t use technical language
• Do suggest a strategy that is not initially too
different from what teacher is doing or has done.
• Do give priority to strategies that build on skills
the teacher already possesses.

13. Do’s and Don’ts
• Do be present on the day the strategy is initiated to
assist the teacher.
• Don’t wait for the teacher to implement the strategy
without you.
• Do provide cueing, reminders, and modeling to
facilitate strategy implementation.
• Don’t rely on verbal reminders to insure strategy
implementation.
• Do use of variety of ways to provide reinforcing
feedback.
• Don’t rely on your verbal support to met the
teacher’s need for reinforcement.
• Do use on-going data combined with social praise
to provide feedback on successful student and
teacher change.

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