There is increased focus on narrowing the research-to-practice gap in education for students with autism. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based and widely implemented framework designed to improve outcomes for all students; however, relatively little attention has focused specifically on using the PBIS framework…

In Barbados, there has been an increase in violence and disruptive behavior among students at urban secondary schools. The problem is that some Barbadian urban secondary principals struggle to implement the Schools' Positive Behavior Management Program (SPBMP), while other principals successfully reduce disruptive behaviors. This basic qualitative…

District systems supporting the school-level implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a multi-tiered framework organizing the delivery of a continuum of evidence-based practices promoting positive student social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes, are critical to its success. While literature recognizes the…

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…

District leadership teams perform key roles in building the systems to support schools in the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). However, there is a lack of measures for assessment and progress monitoring specific to district PBIS systems. To address this gap, we evaluated the validity of a measure of…

The presence of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) in the classroom is highly dependent on teacher implementation. However, relatively little research has focused solely on the implementation of SWPBIS components in the classroom environment. This exploratory study utilized an online survey, titled the "SWPBIS…

The Schoolwide Expectations Survey for Specific Settings (SESSS) is a free-access tool that school leadership teams can use to gather opinions from faculty and staff regarding what student behaviors are critical for success in various school settings. While the SESSS has been used for over a decade to inform the building of schoolwide expectation…

The negative outcomes of exclusionary discipline practices on children and youth are well established. Fortunately, for the past two decades, research has demonstrated that pro-active instructional approaches and building supportive class and school environments can effectively promote student social, emotional, and behavioral well-being,…

We aimed to identify empirically valid cut scores on the positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) through an expert panel process known as bookmarking. The TFI is a measurement tool to evaluate the fidelity of implementation of PBIS. In the bookmark method, experts reviewed all TFI items and item scores…

The effectiveness of school-based universal prevention programs is frequently diminished due to low-quality implementation. Organizational factors support high-quality implementation because of their broad influence across implementers. Conceptually, implementation leadership (i.e., behaviors that prioritize, reward, and support evidence-based…

Positive academic climates are critical to helping students thrive, and kindness innovations might enhance these climates. This conceptual paper's purpose is to share insights from a consensus building event focused on fostering relationships and knowledge-sharing among an international group of multidisciplinary students, faculty, and staff who…

Teacher preparation programs are designed to prepare teachers to support students. However, the supports and experiences teachers are exposed to are often described as academic support. This study explored how special education teachers depicted how their teacher preparation programs prepared them to manage elementary student classroom behavior by…

Multilevel service delivery frameworks are approaches to structuring and organizing a spectrum of evidence-based services and supports, focused on assessment, prevention, and intervention designed for the local context. Exemplar frameworks in child mental health include positive behavioral interventions and supports in education, collaborative…

Success of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) framework relies upon school-wide participation and buy-in. The problem was that failure to attain staff buy-in impedes the successful implementation of PBIS. While research on school leadership and PBIS separately is vast, a gap exists in the literature identifying leader and…

This study examines whether Positive Behavior Interventions can support student performance in schools in three Southern districts. Schools today seek opportunities for interventions to support student behaviors and increase engagement. Three school districts in the southeast of the United States have been trained to implement a schoolwide…