Measuring professionals’ perceptions about collaborative consultation in early childhood intervention

ABSTRACT

We investigated the reliability and construct validity of the Professionals’ Perceptions about Collaborative Consultation in Early Childhood Intervention Scale (ProPerCECIS), a rating scale developed to measure collaborative consultation in early childhood intervention (ECI). ProPerCECIS was completed by 427 professionals from 78 ECI teams. The full sample was randomised into sample A, 170 participants, for conducting an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) – and sample B, 257 participants, for performing confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multiple-group analysis, with the overall sample, was conducted. The EFA final solution comprised three correlated factors, with acceptable to very good internal consistency: Intervention, Context, and Planning. The CFA supported the three-factor structure. Results supported configural invariance and partial metric invariance, but partial scalar invariance did not hold. Results supported the conceptual framework of collaborative consultation in ECI and suggest that ProPerCECIS can be a useful measure of professionals’ perceptions about collaborative consultation practices in ECI. ProPerCECIS seems to be particularly suited to assess collaborative practices within services providing routines-based family-centred interventions. Importantly, because the factor structure for ProPerCECIS holds up for different professional groups, it might be used by transdisciplinary ECI teams. Keywords: collaborative consultation, early childhood intervention, rating scale, reliability, construct validity.

KEYWORDS:

• Collaborative consultation
• early childhood intervention
• rating scale
• reliability
• construct validity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by National Funds, via FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, through research grants «SFRD/BD/90354/2012» and «SFRD/BPD/108571/2015».

Notes on contributors

T. Boavida

Dr T. Boavida (1975–2020) was a researcher at CIS-IUL, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL). With a background in physiotherapy and educational psychology, she supported professionals in delivering high-quality, evidence-based, and family-centered practices in early childhood intervention.

C. Silva

Dr C. Silva is a researcher at CICPSI, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, and CISIUL, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL). Her research focuses on the role of children’s and adolescents’ experiences within the family and other significant relationship contexts on their developmental outcomes.

C. Aguiar

Dr C. Aguiar is an assistant professor at ISCTE-IUL and a senior researcher at CIS-IUL, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL). With background in developmental and educational psychology, her research focuses mostly on quality and inclusion in early childhood education.

R. A. McWilliam

R. A. McWilliam is a professor of early childhood special education at The University of Alabama, where he founded and directs the Evidence-based International Early Intervention Office (EIEIO). He has studied, published, and presented around the world on the Routines-Based Model, family-centered practices, implementation activities, and child engagement.