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…

The problem explored in the study was that elementary and middle school special education teachers in the southeastern United States were not using positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) strategies with their students with disabilities (SWDs), even though the framework had been implemented at their schools. Perceptions of elementary…

The successful implementation of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) relies greatly on staff's commitment and buy-in, as these factors directly impact the level of their involvement and engagement. As such, it is crucial to develop and use psychometrically sound tools to measure staff's supportive beliefs regarding SWPBS. In this study,…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how Southern California middle school teachers trained in Restorative Justice describe their use of learned practices to establish fair and supportive environments, foster positive relationships, and address conflict and repair harm to decrease the use of exclusionary discipline.…

To understand the role of different school-wide practices in school-wide bullying prevention in the global context, this present study was guided by the social-ecological framework to examine cross-country similarities and differences in the association between three forms of school-wide practices (i.e., punitive, positive, and social and…

Schools face an unprecedent demand for mental health services. Student mental health problems can be addressed via a continuum of mental health evidence-based practices (EBPs) integrated within school-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). However, integrating mental health interventions with PBIS can be challenging. The…

Exclusionary discipline practices are frequently utilized in schools despite decades of research indicating their ineffectiveness (American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force, 2008; Losen & Skiba, 2010; Muñiz, 2021). Research shows that removing students from the classroom does not change student behavior, is administered…

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…

The current study examined the effects the tootling intervention on classwide levels of academically engaged behavior (AEB) and disruptive behavior (DB) by comparing traditional tootling to a formalized tootling card intervention and an interdependent group contingency control condition. The intervention used an alternating treatment design within…

In response to the demand for adopting a social justice system to manage students' challenging behaviors, many countries are implementing positive behavior support (PBS) programs at the school level. However, the use of PBS in Saudi Arabian schools is still a goal rather than reality. It is strongly evident that school-wide PBS can be applicable…

This series of evaluation briefs explores the relationship between (a) school climate (as measured by the Brief School Climate Survey for elementary and secondary students), (b) student-level demographics, and (c) PBIS Fidelity (as measured by the Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI). All briefs in this series include the same introductory information…

School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is an evidence-based framework that aims to improve school environments and promote expected behaviors among students. SWPBIS primarily targets teachers' practices, and it is currently unclear how far it affects students' perceptions of these practices, even though such…

The problem addressed in this study is the disproportionality in office discipline referrals (ODRs) for Black students at a Northeast Florida Middle School despite the implementation of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand middle school teachers'…

Check-in/check-out (CICO) is an evidence-based multicomponent intervention widely implemented in elementary and middle schools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an adapted CICO intervention, with CICO components designed to be more developmentally appropriate for adolescents and contextually relevant for high schools, could be…

The present study reports findings from a school-level randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Double Check cultural responsivity and student engagement model. Consistent with the focus of this special issue on the conceptual and methodological advances for understanding contextual, identity, and cultural effects in intervention research, we…