Assessing Readiness for Change Among School Professionals and Its Relationship with Adoption and Reported Implementation of Mental Health Initiatives

Background Readiness for change, defined as “the cognitive precursor to the behaviors of either resistance to, or support for, a change effort” (Armenakis et al. in Hum Relat, 1993 , p. 682), can serve as a facilitator or barrier to dissemination of evidence-based services. There is limited research on the role of readiness for change in educational contexts and its relationship to the success of school mental health (SMH) initiatives. Objective The goal of this study was to examine readiness in three communities (i.e., teachers, SMH staff, and principals) from the perspective of three key informant groups and assess the association between readiness scores and use of SMH initiatives. Method Participants were recruited from 11 elementary schools and included administrators ( n = 13), teachers ( n = 194), and SMH staff ( n = 47). Participants completed a modified Change Orientation Scale (COS; Kearney and Smith in: Hoy and DiPaola (eds) Studies in school improvement, Information Age, Greenwich, 2009 ), and answered questions about participation in recent SMH initiatives. Results Differences were detected between informant’s perceptions of readiness, between community readiness levels, and across schools (when communities were aggregated). Building administrators rated readiness the highest and the teacher community was consistently rated as the least ready. Positive correlations between teacher readiness and teachers’ reported use of a positive behavior support strategy ( rs range from .19 to .62) were found. Conclusions The variability in COS scores across schools, suggests that this brief measure may be sensitive to small, but meaningful differences between schools. Findings provide initial evidence for the utility of the COS in assessing readiness in schools and its relation to implementation of SMH initiatives.