Influence of psychological support from school consultants on teachers' sense of consultation effectiveness.

Abstract

The influence of psychological support from school consultants on teachers' sense of consultation effectiveness was investigated. An instrument to measure teachers' perceptions of psychological support from school consultants was developed. Secondary school teachers (M=236, 135 men and 101 women) participated in a survey in which they responded to the scale. Exploratory factor analysis of the responses indicated that the scale comprised two factors: instrumental support and emotional support. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the two-factor model provided the best fit indices. Moreover, each factor had a high coeffrcient alpha indicative ofits reliability. Regression analysis indicated that each factor sufficiently explained teachers' sense of consultation effectiveness. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.