Positive student behavior is necessary, not only for a positive school culture, but for learning to take place, as students cannot learn in an environment where they do not feel safe, physically and/or emotionally, just as teachers cannot teach to the best of their ability. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of…

When implementing schoolwide PBIS in secondary schools, creating effective acknowledgment systems for expected student behavior can be challenging. To overcome this challenge, it is helpful to understand acknowledgement preferences from the student point of view. In this study, we surveyed students in three middle, two traditional, and two…

Middle school is a cornerstone for success in high school. However, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement of adolescents often decline as they transition from elementary to middle school, resulting in lower school grades and more challenging behaviors, especially for adolescents with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders…

This dissertation study aimed to examine the relationship between Tier 1 Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) implementation fidelity and the academic (e.g., MAP Growth scores) and behavioral outcomes (e.g., major office discipline referrals, suspensions). High quality PBIS implementation fidelity has been linked with improved…

Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based framework for promoting positive school climates and improving student social and behavioral outcomes. Yet secondary schools have lagged behind elementary schools in their adoption and implementation of PBIS. The transition from elementary to middle school is marked by a…

Few studies examine the effects of behavior-specific praise (BSP) in secondary classrooms, and there is limited research examining the rate of BSP that is needed to improve classwide appropriately engaged behavior (AEB) and reduce disruptive behavior (DB). Using a multiple baseline design with an embedded A/B/C/A/C condition sequence…

Classroom management is commonly challenging in middle schools. Class-wide function-related intervention teams (CW-FIT) is a multi-tiered intervention designed to decrease problem behaviors at the classroom level. It is comprised of evidence-based practices such as teaching classroom expectations, increasing teacher praise, and using positive…

Classroom management is commonly challenging in middle schools. Class-wide function-related intervention teams (CW-FIT) is a multitiered intervention designed to decrease problem behaviors at the classroom level. It is comprises evidence-based practices such as teaching classroom expectations, increasing teacher praise, and using positive…

The success of all students in schools, including students with learning differences, is contingent on how schools operationalize universally designed instruction, positive behavior support, and data-based decision-making for individualized and group-level interventions. When schools have fully functional multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)…

Over the past decade, schools have adopted videos as a medium to augment positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS) programming. This approach engages various stakeholders in the development and use of PBIS videos. Subsequently, most PBIS videos are created based on existing school data (e.g., office discipline referrals) and expectation…

School districts across the nation experience student behavior problems resulting in office discipline referrals, suspensions, and time spent away from instruction. This study examined the implementation (with fidelity based on the Tiered Fidelity Instrument) of positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) at the Tier 1 level and the…

This is the first systematic review of the school outcome literature for behavior interventions used with middle school students exhibiting disruptive behaviors. A total of 51 investigations (published between 2000 and 2020) including 6,498 students and 264 implementers were coded on four dimensions (i.e., sample, interventions, methodology, and…

Teachers at a public middle school were given a questionnaire assessing the supports for student behavior and emotional needs in their school and district. Results show that teachers at this middle school perceive themselves as highly effective in forming individual relationships with students. Areas of growth include more clearly communicating…

This dissertation explores the lived experiences of Appalachian elementary and middle school teachers who have been identified as working in Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) schools. This study used Lifeworld Theory to engage in discussion about the teachers' individual experiences in using PBIS in their classrooms in relation to…

Teachers have many responsibilities in the classroom. Among those responsibilities is classroom management. The purpose of this study was to explore if school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SW-PBIS) have an effect on student achievement. Research has shown SW-PBIS allow teachers to reduce behavior incidents in the classroom.…