The Support System Matters: Facilitator Fidelity to Planned Pre-Intervention Training for Teachers

Abstract This study explores facilitators’ fidelity to training teachers as part of the support system in the social and emotional learning intervention ROBUST in the Resilient randomized controlled trial. The study was conducted between May 2021 and January 2022 with six experienced facilitators delivering training digitally to 61 intervention group teachers divided into three groups representing 43 classrooms from 24 rural, urban, and neighborhood income level lower secondary schools in three municipalities in the southwest of Norway. Utilizing a qualitative approach, delivery of the teacher training was analyzed using 90 hr of observational data and a focus group interview that lasted one and a half hr. Standardized materials such as ready-made sessions and professionally prepared resources were crucial for high-quality training across groups. The transition from in-person training to digital delivery provided insights regarding implications for digital training in future social and emotional learning interventions, enhancing our understanding of possibilities inherent in such training.