Cascade Facilitator Training
Observational StudyClinical Trial
Scaling specialized psychological interventions across large public school systems is constrained by the extreme scarcity and high financial cost of hiring licensed counselors.
Picture this
Master clinicians train a small group of lead instructors who subsequently train local classroom teachers using standardized instruction manuals. This functions like a train-the-trainer system in emergency response, where expert paramedics teach neighborhood volunteers basic life support, allowing essential care skills to spread across a city without hiring thousands of full-time doctors.
What the evidence says
Qualitative surveys revealed that 80.0% of participating teachers found the training topics innovative and almost 100.0% expressed willingness to participate again, demonstrating institutional feasibility despite implementation delays.
- Who was studied
- N = 128 teacher-facilitators across 20 public federal upper secondary schools in Mexico City.
- How
- Mixed-methods implementation evaluation tracking cascade training hours (25 to 35 hours of face-to-face instruction delivered by university psychologists) and teacher feedback.
What to do
Implement a master-clinician-to-teacher cascade training model using standardized instruction handbooks to scale socio-emotional workshops within public school networks.
From the source
"UNAM psychologists then delivered between 25 and 35 hours of training, depending on the treatment arm, including CBT and 'youth engagement' to volunteer teachers between September 5 and October 7."
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