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University of New England

Principal Leadership Of Tier 3 School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>School-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is a systems-approach to teaching and reinforcing behavioral expectations within schools. Based on a three-tier public health model, SWPBIS encompasses universal, strategic, and tertiary tiers. This study focuses on early phases of SWPBIS Tier 3 implementations in five elementary schools, and seeks to examine how school principals use SWPBIS Tier 3 to effect transformative change for all students, including at-risk students. Using an ethnographic collective case study methodology, perceptions and attitudes of the participants are utilized to understand how principals use leadership to enact change in their schools with respect to SWPBIS. The conceptual framework is based on organizational change theory of John Kotter.</p> <p>Principal participants in this study were interviewed using a semi-structured format to collect responses to ten probes, and field observations took place at each of the site schools. In addition, reports from previously collected data using the School-wide Evaluation Tool and Tiered Fidelity Inventory were consulted to establish multiple sources of data. Structural coding, and causation coding in the form of a SWOT analysis, as well as a member check process, were used to triangulate results.</p> <p>This study shows that much future research is needed to understand effective implementation of SWPBIS Tier 3 interventions and supports. While this study was able to make connections between the conceptual framework of John Kotter’s eight steps to organizational change, if Kotter’s theory is sustained long-term in initiatives such as this remains to be discovered. Two findings clearly resulted from this study. The need for professional development for stakeholders, and consistency in implementation, emerged as common themes with respect to SWPBIS Tier 3. Both of these factors are well-established in the literature with respect to SWPBIS Tier 1 and Tier 2. High-quality and ongoing professional development for teachers and interventionists is often cited as a critical feature of successful implementations of SWPBIS in schools. Also, existing research supports the idea that consistency is key when undertaking a longitudinal initiative such as the three tiers of SWPBIS.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Level thesis:degree_level
Dissertation
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Education
Year dc:date.available
2018

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Kennedy, Cynthia M.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Grania Holman
  • Corinna Crafton
  • Sarah Boudreau

Subjects

dc:subject × 2

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://dune.une.edu/theses/153
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:dune.une.edu:theses-1152

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of New England
Base URL
dune.une.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Kennedy, Cynthia M.. Principal Leadership Of Tier 3 School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions And Supports. Dissertation thesis, 2018. https://dune.une.edu/theses/153