A Participative Management Approach for Improving Direct‐care Staff Performance in an Institutional Setting

Abstract

The present study evaluated a participative management approach for increasing the frequency of interactions between institutional staff and severely/profoundly retarded residents. The participative management approach involved teaching staff how to use self-monitoring, standard setting, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement procedures. These procedures were then used by staff with minimal involvement of supervisory personnel. Although supervisors provided feedback and praise to staff for using these self-management behaviors, feedback and praise were never dispensed contingent on staff interactions with residents. Results indicated that during the participative management program there was an increase in staff interactions that were contingent on appropriate resident behavior. The increase in this type of staff interaction was accompanied by an increase in appropriate resident behavior. Follow-up data on both staff and resident behaviors, although showing moderating trends, suggested generally good maintenance of the initial behavior changes. Acceptability data suggested that staff were quite receptive to the program. The advantages of participative management procedures for improving staff performance in residential settings are discussed.

Improving Residential Treatment Services: Implementation and Norm‐referenced Evaluation of a Comprehensive Management System

“…These changes in resident behavior are similar to the amount of behavior change reported in other management investigations involving this population (Burgio, Whitman, & Reid, 1983), although some investigations have also reported larger changes (Spangler & Marshall, 1983). One difference between the results reported here and investigations reporting more substantial changes is that the latter studies generally targeted only one circumscribed time period during the day, whereas the current intervention addressed a larger amount of time involving numerous time periods.…”

“…It is often easier to effect changes in resident behavior during a relatively brieftime period than during more extended time blocks (Reid, Parsons, & Green, 1989, chap. 5 (Burg et al, 1979;Burgio et al, 1983;Iwata et al, 1976). Measures of staff and resident behavior are usually necessary to demonstrate clearly a functional relationship between the two sets of variables.…”

Training Supervisors in a Collaborative Team Approach to Promote Peer Interaction of Children With Disabilities in Integrated Preschools

“…The soundness of the design of a behavioral intervention is not a guarantee of its successful application (Johnson & Pugach, 1990). The involvement of the teachers who apply behaviorchange strategies in the design of those strategies may be an important factor in their commitment to implementation (Burgio, Whitman, & Reid, 1983;Idol & West, 1987;York & Vandercook, 1990).…”

A Supervision Program for Increasing Functional Activities for Severely Handicapped Students in a Residential Setting

“…The first behavioral study in this area reported the positive effects of instructing staff to implement behavioral treatment procedures (Ayllon & Michael, 1959). More recendy, methods used to change staff behavior have included public notices (Greene, Willis, Levy, & Bailey, 1978), contingent money (Pommer & Streedback, 1974), behavioral lotteries (Iwata, Bailey, Brown, Foshee, & Alpern, 1976), and supervision and self-management (Burg, Reid, & Lattimore, 1979;Burgio, Whitman, & Reid, 1983;Montegar, Reid, Madsen, & Ewell, 1977). Ivancic, Reid, Iwata, Faw, and Page (1981) evaluated a program involving brief in-service training, supervisory prompts, and feedback.…”