Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes associated with sustained school-wide Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) programs in the State of Florida and the impact the length of time of implementation of these programs had on those outcomes. The link between discipline outcomes, as measured by the number of office discipline referrals (ODRs) written over the course of a school year per 100 students and sustained implementation of PBIS systems with documented fidelity, as well as the connection between discipline outcomes for subgroups of students and sustained PBIS programs were examined for schools in the initial implementation phase (one to three years of implementation) compared to schools in the sustaining phase of implementation (four or more years of implementation). As more schools move to implement school-wide PBIS programs, little research is available to educational leaders focusing on sustainability of school-wide PBIS programs (Coffey & Horner, 2012, McIntosh, Kim, Mercer, Strickland-Cohen, & Horner, 2015). This study aimed to address this lack of research by analyzing the link between sustained school-wide PBIS programs and discipline outcomes. Schools in the State of Florida (987 schools - 654 elementary, 210 middle, and 123 high schools), representing 842,430 students were analyzed in a series of five research questions. The discipline outcomes, as measured by the rate of office discipline referrals per 100 students, from schools in the initial phase of implementation were compared to those of schools with sustained implementation of their school-wide PBIS programs. Research questions focused on whole school data as well as specific subgroups to determine if there was a difference in discipline outcomes. Overall, the analysis of this data found limited significant differences when examining the impact length of implementation has on discipline outcomes. While not statistically significant, several educationally important trends emerged that can help inform educational leaders as they make decisions about the allocation of time and resources for the future of school-wide PBIS programs in their schools and districts.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2017

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Taylor, Rosemarye

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Department

Teaching, Learning, and Leadership

Degree Program

Educational Leadership

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0006957

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0006957

Language

English

Release Date

November 2022

Length of Campus-only Access

5 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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