An analysis of the facilitators and barriers to effective staff development projects in schools using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

Abstract

Staff development in schools is an important yet complex process. Systemic and organisational pressures affect the effective implementation of school staff development projects (SDPs). These pressures and their influence on SDP implementation have implications for allocating school resources. Consequently, it is important to identify facilitators and barriers that affect the implementation process to help SDPs realise their potential. Paper One is a systemic literature review (SLR) that critically analyses 12 studies to discern facilitators and barriers that influence staff development projects in different school settings in England. This SLR utilises and adapts the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) for the analysis, including the introduction of a novel metric: the weighted valence score (WVS). Paper Two is a case study of an SDP supported by educational psychologists within a mainstream secondary school in England. Qualitative data was obtained from interviews and focus groups from a pool of 14 participants consisting of school staff, school students, and educational psychologists. The CFIR was used to analyse the data, and an amended version of the WVS was used. The analyses of Papers One and Two identified various facilitators and barriers to SDPs within schools in England. Facilitators included the influence of leadership, interpersonal relationships, staff engagement with the SDP, and the value of educational psychology service support. Barriers included a lack of resources and time, SDP complexity, and staff dynamics. The importance of planning, ongoing monitoring, and evaluation of SDPs and the influence of school context, which can result in contrasting patterns of facilitators and barriers, on the implementation process were discussed. This analysis informs the dissemination strategy outlined in Paper Three, which identifies a range of academic and professional avenues for disseminating and practically applying the findings of Papers One and Two.

Date of Award	6 Jan 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Kevin Woods (Supervisor) & Caroline Bond (Supervisor)