Ready or not: The influence of readiness on healthy marriage and relationship education training outcomes

• Personal and agency readiness to change predict utility reaction post-training.
• Agency readiness to change predicts gains in knowledge post-training.
• Agency readiness and transfer of learning were mediated by utility reaction.
• Collaborative readiness did not significantly predict training outcomes.
• Learning is enhanced by selecting training participants who are ready for change.

This exploratory study utilizes a sample of human service providers and administrators to examine personal, agency, and collaborative readiness as predictors of training outcomes (utility reaction, gains in knowledge, and transfer of learning). The study is informed by the child welfare training evaluation model to address the effect of participants' (n = 58) readiness indicators and learning impact in relation to the transfer of learning that takes place following a one-day training. Participants' personal and agency readiness predicted their utility reaction, while personal readiness predicted gains in knowledge. The association between agency readiness and transfer of learning was partially mediated by utility reaction. Implications are drawn for both human service providers and researchers.