The Delivery of Educational Technical Assistance Services for Children with Special Learning Needs: Development, Implementation and Evaluation

Abstract

Technical assistance may be defined as help from an outside agency designed to improve the competence of educational service delivery personnel by increasing their planning, management and organisational or programmatic skills as applied to tasks of service delivery to pupils. Such assistance may function within and between the federal, state or regional levels of governments, tertiary institutions, schools and other agencies concerned with educational service delivery. The limitations of traditional ‘ad hoc’ consultation systems are discussed and a formal model for technical asssistance delivery is proposed. It is argued that a realistic service would combine both formal and informal elements and would include problem analyses, development of inservice training curricula, the conduct of surveys and service needs, assessment, development and review of publications, design and conduct of evaluations, assistance to apply new techniques of service and other means of translating knowledge into practice.