Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

625

Date

2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Ed Psychology and Research

Concentration

Educational Research

Committee Chair

Corinna A Ethington

Committee Member

John C Smart

Committee Member

Xu Yonghong

Committee Member

Renee Murley

Abstract

School-wide Positive Behavior Interventions & Supports (SWPBIS) create an environment within the school that prevents problem behaviors via promotion of prosocial and learning behaviors. The framework of SWPBIShas built within it a system for evaluation, in which the school is evaluated as a unit. External SWPBIS coaches guide schools to engage in ongoing progress monitoring and action planning to direct PBIS efforts and facilitate accurate implementation of the key SWPBIS features. The reliability and concurrent validity of the current SWPBIS evaluations need to be established. Additionally, the ability of large urban school systems to implement SWPBIS with fidelity need to continue to be examined.Finally, the effectiveness of providing evidence-based recommendations in a systematic format via external coaching to improve schools' fidelity of implementation of the key features of SWPBIS will be evaluated as a means for coaching a large number of schools with a system. Eighteen schools in a large urban system comprised the study sample.The current study found that the evaluations had mixed reliability results but lacked concurrent validity. Evaluation results reveal that a large urban school system can implement SWPBIS with fidelity. Additionally, an external coaching procedure improved the results of one of the evaluations. Revisions to the evaluation tools should be considered to improve their reliability and validity. Urban school systems should support sustainment of SWPBIS efforts to promote appropriate behaviors. External coaches should approach working with school systems in a systematic method to improve the schools' effective implementation of SWPBIS.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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