DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ADOPTERS OF INNOVATION IN SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY

                         ELKSNIN, HENRY NICHOLAS; PHD

                         UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, 1989
 
                         EDUCATION, EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY (0525)
 

                         The primary purposes of this study were to examine diffusion of innovations in school psychology and to
                         identify characteristics of adopters of innovation. Five hundred and fifty members of the National
                         Association of School Psychologists were surveyed to determine the rate of adoption of six innovations.
                         Secondary data sources (i.e., ERIC, Psychological Abstracts) were utilized to verify adoption curves.
                         Three hundred and sixty-eight respondents representing a return rate of 67% then were categorized as
                         early or late adopters according to Rogers's (1983) procedure. School psychologists who adopted an
                         innovation one or more standard deviations below the mean time of adoption were classified as early
                         adopters and psychologists who adopted an innovation one or more standard deviations above the
                         mean were classified as late adopters. The diffusion of the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational
                         Battery, Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Intelligent Testing with the WISC-R, The Handbook
                         of School Psychology, prereferral intervention systems, and curriculum-based
                         measurement/assessment was found to resemble Rogers's adoption curve. Early adopters were found
                         to differ from late adopters on five of 32 variables; however, methodological problems rendered these
                         differences nonmeaningful. Significant differences regarding characteristics of adopters and
                         nonadopters indicated that adopters tended to be younger, had less experience, served more schools,
                         and had a higher level of education. Adopters of testing innovations tended to spend more time in
                         assessment and less time in counseling whereas adopters of innovative practices tended to spend a
                         lower percentage of time in assessment activities. The strengths and weaknesses of the present study
                         were discussed and recommendations for future research based upon findings of the investigation were
                         made.

 


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