The Prediction of Teachers’ Perceptions of School Climate from their School’s Utilization of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports

Quackenbush, Rebecca J.

The Prediction of Teachers’ Perceptions of School Climate from their School’s Utilization of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports

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School climate is an aspect of school life that has been examined closely in recent literature as it related to student interactions, behavior, and student achievement. Problem behaviors can affect students’ academic learning as well as teachers’ instructional time. Research has emphasized how a healthy school climate can yield positive effects on student outcomes. One school-wide program known as positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) is a national framework designed to help schools establish and maintain effective behavioral supports for students. The effective implementation and sustainment of PBIS involves all the faculty, staff, and students in a school system. The purpose of this study as to extend the limited research that existed on the impact of the varying levels of PBIS implementation on school climate as seen in the perceptions of teachers and to investigate any predictive aspects of teachers’ perceptions of school climate in comparison to the PBIS tier levels of implementation in their current school. Educators in two Southern Regional Professional Development Districts in Missouri were surveyed in order to determine the impact of the varying levels of PBIS implementation on school climate as seen in the perceptions of teachers as well as any predictive aspects the tier level of implementation may have had on this perception. Results of this study could benefit administrators and other school personnel as they evaluate the initial need for and sustainment of PBIS within their school building or at a district wide level. Survey results indicated the overall implementation of PBIS as an indicator of teacher perceptions of overall positive school climate.

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