Coaching and Consultation Practices in Early Childhood

“In this valuable new text, Drs. Dinnebeil and McInerney bring together consultation & coaching research and practice so that inclusion teams can successfully teach all young children. Coaches will find practical guidance on their journey toward reaching mutually agreed upon goals. Evidence-based resources for partnership teams abound with the aim to equip a partner with knowledge and skills in supporting a child� ™s IFSP or IEP goals. The authors include many examples and worksheets for coaches and partners as they identify goals including child specific (focusing on learning objectives and interventions), partner specific (focusing on beliefs and practices), and program specific (focusing on overall quality improvement) outcomes.

In an important analysis, the authors discuss social power and social influence and their effects on coach-partner relationships. Readers are invited to honestly reflect on their communication skills, their ability to express respect, and their acceptance of feedback from others. Rich case examples illustrate interactions, problem solving approaches, and progress monitoring techniques that coaches and partners can choose from and implement. The authors acknowledge that developing a collaborative relationship takes time and dedication. They offer practical suggestions and accommodations so that partners who come together with a coach feel supported in their daily work and can effectively respond to child- and program-specific needs.

As early intervention programs and school districts increasingly seek coaching teams to facilitate inclusive early care and education, they face real-life logistics and rapid changes in the use of technology. The authors provide honest discussions and reflections on the benefits and challenges of virtual communication, meetings, resource sharing, and progress monitoring. Readers will be able to apply tips and reflections to their daily work; they will know how to assure that all team members are included and supported throughout the coaching journey. I hope that this text will invite instructors to offer trans-disciplinary courses and practicums for their pre-service professionals. The book is also well suited for in-service professionals who need to effectively respond to the increasing demands for consultative coaching. This book offers co-learning opportunities for coaches and partners so that they may become co-pilots in providing inclusive early care and education.” –Simone DeVore, Ph.D.

Dr. Laurie Dinnebeil is a Professor and holds the Daso Herb Chair of Inclusive Early Childhood Education. She was a preschool special education teacher for five years before entering higher education. She has taught a range of undergraduate and graduate courses related to early childhood education and early childhood special education and has published extensively in the area of itinerant ECSE service delivery. Dr. Dinnebeil is a proficient grant writer, having secured over $6 million in national and state funding over the past 15 years.

Dr. Dinnebeil is very active in the field of early childhood special education at the local, state, and national levels. She is a past president of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Early Childhood and a past president of the Ohio Higher Education Consortium for Early Childhood Education. She is Associate Editor for Topics in Early Childhood Special Education and serves on editorial boards for numerous academic journals related to early childhood education and special education. Dr. Dinnebeil is active in the local, state, and national early childhood education communities. She is a 2002 Mid-Career Fellow for Zero to Three. She also has college administrative experience as a department chair and associate dean for graduate studies and research.

Dr. McInerney is a Professor of Special Education in the Judith Herb College of Education at the University of Toledo in Ohio. He teaches graduate-level courses in the early childhood special education (ECSE) area. Throughout his career, Dr. McInerney has secured U.S. Department of Education-Office of Special Education Programs (USDOE-OSEP) funding to support graduate-level training of ECSE teachers and early intervention personnel. He has managed several grants that have focused on itinerant early childhood special education (IECSE) services and has coordinated, with his associates and the Ohio Department of Education, a statewide professional development program for IECSE teachers and their supervisors. He and his colleagues at the University of Toledo have presented their work at professional conferences and have consulted with school districts and state education agencies concerning the status and future of IECSE services.