scholarly journals A Systematic Review of Studies Addressing the Implementation of the Evidence-Based Whole-School Reform “Success for All”

2021 ◽  
pp. 209653112096152
Author(s):  
Mechteld van Kuijk ◽  
Marijke Mullender-Wijnsma ◽  
Roel Bosker
Keyword(s):  
Staff Development ◽  
School Reform ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Implementation Fidelity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Success For All ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Whole School Reform ◽  
Whole School

Purpose: The effectiveness of the 14-component evidence-based whole-school reform Success for All (SfA) has been well established, but research on its implementation is limited although fidelity of implementation is vital for the effectiveness of such a program. This review sheds light on this issue. Design/Approach/Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to acquire an overview of qualitative and quantitative aspects of SfA’s implementation in primary schools as well as to identify stimulating and hindering factors when implementing SfA. Sixteen studies, conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom, were included in this review. Findings: Results indicate that 48% of schools implemented SfA at the minimal level, 45% at a more advanced level, and 7% at an insufficient level. Information on the implementation for each of the 14 components was rare. Most of the factors that affected implementation were hindering factors rather than stimulating ones. For successful implementation of this evidence-based program, the crucial factors appear to be leadership, fulfilling organizational conditions, staff development, and relentlessly implementing all 14 components together. Originality/Value: This review shows that for an evidence-based program to be effective, implementation fidelity is a very serious concern, which needs to be addressed systematically.

Fidelity and Its Relationship to Implementation Effectiveness, Adaptation, and Dissemination

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer D. Allen ◽  
Rachel C. Shelton ◽  
Karen M. Emmons ◽  
Laura A. Linnan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Implementation Fidelity ◽  
Population Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Dissemination And Implementation ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Health Gains ◽  
Significant Public Health ◽  
Research Continuum

There is substantial variability in the implementation of evidence-based interventions across the United States, which leads to inconsistent access to evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies at a population level. Increased dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions could result in significant public health gains. While the availability of evidence-based interventions is increasing, study of implementation, adaptation, and dissemination has only recently gained attention in public health. To date, insufficient attention has been given to the issue of fidelity. Consideration of fidelity is necessary to balance the need for internal and external validity across the research continuum. There is also a need for a more robust literature to increase knowledge about factors that influence fidelity, strategies for maximizing fidelity, methods for measuring and analyzing fidelity, and examining sources of variability in implementation fidelity.

scholarly journals Bahamas National Implementation Project: Proposal for Sustainability of an Evidence-based HIV Prevention Intervention in a School Setting

10.2196/14816 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. e14816
Author(s):  
Bo Wang ◽  
Lynette Deveaux ◽  
Sonja Lunn ◽  
Veronica Dinaj-Koci ◽  
Samiran Ghosh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Implementation Fidelity ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
School Based ◽  
National Implementation ◽  
Over Time

Background Sustained implementation of school-based prevention programs is low. Effective strategies are needed to enhance both high-level implementation fidelity and sustainability of prevention programs. Objective This proposed study aims to determine if the provision of either biweekly monitoring and feedback and site-based assistance and mentorship or both to at-risk and moderate-performing teachers with monitoring through an enhanced decision-making platform by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ministry of Health (MOH) based on the real-time implementation data will increase national implementation fidelity and result in sustained implementation over time. Methods This study will target government schools including 200 grade 6 teachers in 80 primary schools and 100 junior/middle high school teachers (and their classes) on 12 Bahamian islands. Teacher and school coordinator training will be conducted by the MOE in year 1, followed by an optimization trial among teachers in the capital island. Informed by these results, an implementation intervention will be conducted to train using different levels of educational intensity all at-risk and moderate-performing teachers. Subsequently selected training and implementation strategies will be evaluated for the national implementation of Focus on Youth in the Caribbean and Caribbean Informed Parents and Children Together in years 2 to 5. Results It is hypothesized that a more intensive training and supervision program for at-risk and moderate-performing teachers will enhance their implementation fidelity to the average level of the high-performing group (85%), an HIV prevention program delivered at the national level can be implemented with fidelity in grade 6 and sustained over time (monitored annually), and student outcomes will continue to be highly correlated with implementation fidelity and be sustained over time (assessed annually through grade 9). The proposed study is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development from August 1, 2018, through May 31, 2023. Conclusions The study will explore several theory-driven implementation strategies to increase sustained teacher implementation fidelity and thereby increase the general public health impact of evidence-based interventions. The proposed project has potential to make significant contributions to advancing school-based HIV prevention research and implementation science and serve as a global model for the Fast Track strategy. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/14816

scholarly journals Ten Years of ‘Flying the Flag’: An Overview and Retrospective Consideration of the Active School Flag Physical Activity Initiative for Children—Design, Development & Evaluation

Children ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 300
Author(s):  
Sarahjane Belton ◽  
Úna Britton ◽  
Elaine Murtagh ◽  
Sarah Meegan ◽  
Christina Duff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Vigorous Physical Activity ◽  
Implementation Fidelity ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Mixed Methods Case Study ◽  
Promotion Programme

Whole-school physical activity (PA) promotion programmes are recommended to increase youth PA. Evaluation of programmes is essential to ensure practice is guided by evidence. This paper evaluates the Active School Flag (ASF), a whole-school PA promotion programme in Ireland, using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. ASF was evaluated across three levels—(1) administration, (2) application, (3) outcomes—using a mixed-methods case study design. Existing data sources were reviewed, the programme coordinator was interviewed, and a pilot study was conducted to investigate impact on 3rd and 5th class students (3 schools, n = 126 students, age range 8–12 years). In-school Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA; by accelerometery), motivation for PA (BREQ), PA self-efficacy (PASES), school affect and peer social support (Kidscreen27) were measured pre-programme (0 months), post-programme (8 months), and at retention (12 months). Teacher perceptions of classroom behaviour (CBAST) were also measured pre- and post-programme. ASF has been successful in engaging 46% of primary schools nationally. Students’ in-school moderate–vigorous PA increased in all pilot-study schools from pre-programme to retention (η2 = 0.68–0.84). ASF programme design facilitates implementation fidelity, adoption and maintenance through buy in from schools and government stakeholders. ASF presents as an effective PA promotion programme in the short-to-medium term for primary schools. This RE-AIM evaluation provides evidence of ASF effectiveness, alongside valuable findings that could support programme improvement, and inform future similar programmes.

Scaling Up Research-based Educational Practices

Education ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Wylie ◽  
Jo MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Educational Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Scaling Up ◽  
School Level ◽  
System Level ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Whole School Reform ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Research Based Practices

Scaling up innovations whose use has resulted in improvements in teaching and learning has been a growing field in educational research and practice in recent decades. Interest has two main spurs: the evident gap between educational research findings and their take-up and use to improve teaching and learning, and the persistent challenges of ensuring high levels of educational achievement for all. Scaling up was originally conceived in terms of numbers: the spread of proven practice from the original sites to many schools, or across a whole system. Scaling up innovation began with testing research-based designs and evaluating their efficacy, followed by implementation. Successful implementation of research-based practices meant attention to fidelity, and thus to constructing materials, guides, and processes, and to providing support from the original designers. In turn this meant more attention to understanding variations in how well schools implemented an intervention: was it due to school-level factors, district- or system-level factors, the nature of the student population, or factors associated with the intervention? There are some enduring programs or interventions that fit this model, some based on whole-school reform, some on particular curriculum areas or approaches. Other interventions have been less successful. More recently, scaling-up work has also included research-educator-administrator partnerships and networks, using improvement design cycles, learning from variability, and expecting that innovations will evolve and be adapted in different contexts, rather than replicated. There has also been increasing attention paid in this branch of scaling-up work to building in ongoing attention to evidence of efficacy, and plan-do-study-review cycles into professional identity and practice, in order to strengthen teacher, network, and school and administration capability, as well as agency, ownership, and community. Most countries have evaluations of innovative programs or approaches showing gains for teaching and learning that failed to take hold or endure. Often this is because of structural reasons beyond the agency or control of those involved, due to changes of government or system decision makers. Other key obstacles are evident in the lack of change in the constraints around how teachers and schools can work. These constraints include competing calls on time, rigid accountabilities and ways resources can be used, expectations of immediate large gains, and mismatched measures of student achievement. There are too many such evaluations for this bibliography to cover. However, key articles that discuss these core challenges to scaling up well-founded research-based practices are included.

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