Implementing Second Step: Balancing Fidelity and Program Adaptation

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Implementing Second Step Balancing Fidelity and
Program Adaptation

• A case study of four Norwegian primary schools.
• (In press) Journal of Educational and
  Psychological Consultation

Torill Larsen, PhD Research Centre for Health
Promotion University of Bergen
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Aim of study

• The overall aim of the study was to explore what
  facilitate and hinder the implementation of the
  Second Step program through a case study of four
  Norwegian primary schools
• The results reported in this paper relates to
  teachers reported fidelity in use of the Second
  Step program
• Second Step is a pre-package program for
  enhancing pupils social competence and comprise
  20- 28 lessons for training once a week

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Our theoretical model in use
Fig. 1. The model for evaluating the
implementation of the Second step program,
developed from the PRECEDE PROCEEDE model of
Green Kreuter (1999)
Behavior Teachers Use of the Second Step
Program
Degree of Implementation
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Method and Material

• A qualitative case study of four primary schools
  in Norway
• Semi structured interviews with 17 teachers and 4
  principals
• Document analyses of school activity plans,
  policy documents and social curriculum plans

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Teacher sample

• 17 teachers (5444) teaching grade 1-7
• 13 are trained to be elementary teachers and four
  are trained to be preschool teachers
• Experience with teaching Second Step varied from
  2 5 years
• 15 are females and 2 are males
• All except one had received training in using the
  program
• 9 teachers came from the two schools who had
  implemented the program as a formalised strategy
  and made the program mandatory for teachers to
  teach
• 8 came from the two schools who had the program
  available for teachers to use on volunteer basis

Note 1Training course days indicate
participation on a workshop with a professional
Second Step trainer providing the teachers with
both the rationale and philosophy of the program.
The practical training included training in
using the program.
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Main findings

• All teachers did some kind of adaptations in
  their use
• Teachers divided themselves into two main groups
  of user
• 1) The comprehensive group
• 2) The selective group

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Main findings cont

• Focus in group 1 mainly prevention and in group 2
  problem solving
• There also seemed to be a relationship between
  fidelity in use and degree of formalization
• More experienced teachers tended to adapt more
  than the novice teachers

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Paper 2 Implementing Second Step balancing
fidelity and adaptations in teachers use.

• Predisposing Factors
• Attitude
• Beliefs
• Knowledge

Behavior Teachers Use of the Second Step
Program
Degree of implementation

• Enabling factors
• Training
• Formalization
• Allocated Resources

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Implications

• Due to our findings all the teachers did some
  sort of adaptations of the program.
• Thus addressing fidelity in use seems important
  in program evaluation studies in order to
  illuminate how the teachers actually use the
  program as this might influence the effects of
  the program on the pupils.
• More comprehensive studies applying mixed methods
  also seems important