Finalizing the Consultant Effectiveness Scale: An Analysis and Validation of the Characteristics of Effective Consultants

As consultation becomes a larger part of the school psychologist's role and function, the need to empirically identify the characteristics of effective consultants is increasingly important. To this end, the continuing development of a factor analytically derived, heuristic scale called the Consultant Effectiveness Scale (CES) is described. Based on the initial work of Knoff, McKenna, and Riser (1991), the factor and item structure of the CES was reexamined with a national sample of school psychologists. This research also evaluated the discriminant validity of the individual items on the scale, and then compared all of the results to those in the Knoff, McKenna, and Riser study in an attempt to finalize the CES factors and items. CES results from these analyses are described, limitations are noted, and future directions are discussed relative to additional research validating the CES and exploring other facets of effective consultant behavior.