Title

Effective Home Visiting Training: Key Principles and Findings to Guide Training Developers and Evaluators

Date

2018

Author(s)

David Schultz, Shelby S. Jones, Wendy M. Pinder, Alicia E. Wiprovnick, Elisabeth C. Groth, Lisa M. Shanty, and Anne Duggan

Brief Type

Journal Publication

Model(s)

  • Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC)
  • Early Head Start Home-Based Option
  • Healthy Families America (HFA)
  • Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP)
  • Parents as Teachers (PAT)

Description

Purpose Home visiting programs have produced inconsistent outcomes. One challenge for the field is the design and implementation of effective training to support home visiting staff. In part due to a lack of formal training, most home visitors need to develop the majority of their skills on the job. Home visitors typically receive training in their agency’s specific model (e.g., HFA, NFP) and, if applicable, curriculum. Increasingly, states and other home visiting systems are developing and/or coordinating more extensive training and support systems beyond model-specific and curricula trainings. To help guide these training efforts and future evaluations of them, this paper reviews research on effective training, particularly principles of training transfer and adult learning. Description Our review summarizes several meta-analyses, reviews, and more recent publications on training transfer and adult learning principles. Assessment Effective training involves not only the introduction and modeling of concepts and skills but also the practice of, evaluation of, and reflection upon these skills. Further, ongoing encouragement of, reward for, and reflection upon use of these skills, particularly by a home visitor’s supervisor, are critical for the home visitor’s continued use of these skills with families. Conclusion Application of principles of adult learning and training transfer to home visiting training will likely lead to greater transfer of skills from the training environment to work with families. The involvement of both home visitors and their supervisors in training is likely important for this transfer to occur. (author abstract)

Data Collection Methods

  • Home Visit Observations

Status

Finished

For More Information

Schultz, D., Jones, S. S., Pinder, W. M., Wiprovnick, A. E., Groth, E. C., Shanty, L. M., & Duggan, A. (2018). Effective home visiting training: Key principles and findings to guide training developers and evaluators. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22, 1563–1567.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2554-6
Author Contact Information:
David Schultz
dschultz@umbc.edu

Topics

  • Home Visiting Workforce Characteristics and Workforce Development