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Research
& Conclusions of AVERT for Teachers There
are several conclusions which the data from the pre- and post-surveys support as
being positively influenced by participation
in the AVERT training among the participants:
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there
is and overall tendency toward increased focus on the classroom
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there
is an increase in importance expressed for the relationships between staff
and students within special education and community school classrooms
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there
is an overall tendency toward decreasing motivation among school staff which
the AVERT training reverses
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there
is the clear perception that the AVERT training increases empathy toward
students
Throughout
the data, there is an increase in importance ratings among the AVERT training
participants relative to the control sample on an array of
dimensions which place increased focus on the classrooms of special
education and community school programs.
They include:
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teacher
skills/behaviors to do “extra” things for students to help foster
students’ personal development
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identification
that a goal of special education and community school programs should be to
foster students’ independence
When
asked about problems or barriers to the effectiveness of special education and
community school classrooms the data revealed:
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a
clear rise in importance ratings among the AVERT training participants
identifying poor teacher/student relationships as an obstacle
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the
sanctity of the need for confidentiality between teachers of special
education and community school classrooms and their students shifted in one
of the most private situations which can occur; a pregnancy of a student
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a
greater degree of apathy among the control versus experimental sample
respondents when it comes to addressing clinical/warning signs of withdrawal
in the classroom
Overall,
there is a general tendency for greater decreases in importance ratings on
all questioning within the survey of the control
sample versus the experimental sample. Of
the 51 (total) items for which importance ratings were elicited, 84% received
lower ratings among the control sample respondents versus 47% which received
lower post-wave importance ratings among the experimental sample respondents.
It is likely that the AVERT training helped the participants remember why
they chose the education profession and to
refresh their motivation and interest in a time of decreasing budgets,
legislative moves toward standardization, and increasing social problems.
The
most frequently rated result of the AVERT training among the training
participants is, “fostering teacher empathy toward
students.”
It
is not clear how long the positive results of the AVERT training will last, or
how quickly these results will erode. To
foster
a culture among all staff levels of the educational system, more staff should
receive the AVERT training, and periodic “refresher” trainings should take place.
It may be useful to track the effects gained in the training over time.
It
may be useful to contract research that will help to identify the specific
influences to reductions in motivation among school
personnel, and to address these influences more directly and indirectly.
It
is likely that the techniques upon which the AVERT training is based would serve
useful for other populations such as students,
parents and care givers, administrators and a range of support staff positions.
Because the AVERT training enhances teacher empathy for students, helps
teachers to place great importance on their
relationships with students as individuals and thus decreases alienation, it follows that the AVERT training will
reduce violence perpetrated by students.
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