Research has shown principal support to be a critical variable for implementing and sustaining evidence-based practices. However, there remains little understanding of the factors that may influence a principal’s personal decision to support a practice. The purpose of the current study was to examine events that influenced principals’ support for a widely used approach to behavior in schools, school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS). In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 school administrators who self-reported that they were initially opposed to or not supportive of PBIS but became stronger supporters over time. Qualitative analysis using the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique revealed eight helping and three hindering categories of experiences in change in support, as well as two categories of early experiences that they reported might have built their support from the beginning. Implications for enhancing administrator support are provided.
AnderssonB.-E.NilssonS.-G. (1964). Studies in the reliability and validity of the critical incident technique. Journal of Applied Psychology, 48, 398–403. doi:10.1037/h0042025
2.
AndreouT. E.McIntoshK.RossS. W.KahnJ. D. (in press). Critical incidents in the sustainability of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. The Journal of Special Education.
3.
AtkinsM. S.FrazierS. L.LeathersS. J.GraczykP. A.TalbottE.JakobsonsL.. . .GibbonsR. B. (2008). Teacher key opinion leaders and mental health consultation in low-income urban schools. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 905–908.
4.
BambaraL.GohA.KernL.CaskieG. (2012). Perceived barriers and enablers to implementing individualized positive behavioral interventions and supports in school settings. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 14, 228–240.
5.
BediR. P.DavisM. D.WilliamsM. (2005). Critical incidents in the formation of the therapeutic alliance from the client’s perspective. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 42, 311–323. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.42.3.311
6.
BenzM. R.LindstromL.UnruhD.WaintrupM. (2004). Sustaining secondary transition programs in local schools. Remedial and Special Education, 25, 39–50. doi:10.1177/07419325040250010501
7.
BlaseK. A.Van DykeM.FixsenD. L. (2013). Implementation drivers: Assessing best practices. Chapel Hill: FPG, SISEP, University of North Carolina.
8.
BradshawC. P.KothK.BevansK. B.IalongoN.LeafP. J. (2008). The impact of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports on the organizational health of elementary schools. School Psychology Quarterly, 23, 462–473.
9.
BradshawC. P.MitchellM. M.LeafP. J. (2010). Examining the effects of schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports on student outcomes: Results from a randomized controlled effectiveness trial in elementary schools. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 12, 133–148. doi:10.1177/1098300709334798
10.
BradshawC. P.WaasdorpT. E.LeafP. J. (2012). Effects of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports on child behavior problems and adjustment. Pediatrics, 130, e1136-e1145. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0243
11.
BrantlingerE.JimenezR.KlingnerJ.PugachM.RichardsonV. (2005). Qualitative studies in special education. Exceptional Children, 71, 195–207.
12.
BurkhauserS.GatesS. M.HamiltonL. S.IkemotoG. S. (2012). First-year principals in urban school districts. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.
13.
ButterfieldL. D.BorgenW. A.AmundsonN. E.MaglioA.-S. T. (2005). Fifty years of the critical incident technique: 1954-2004 and beyond. Qualitative Research, 5, 475–497. doi:10.1177/1468794105056924
14.
ButterfieldL. D.MaglioA. S. T.BorgenW. A.AmundsonN. E. (2009). Using the enhanced critical incident technique in counselling psychology research. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 43, 265–282.
15.
CoffeyJ.HornerR. H. (2012). The sustainability of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. Exceptional Children, 78, 407–422.
16.
DebnamK. J.PasE. T.BradshawC. P. (2013). Factors influencing staff perceptions of administrator support for tier 2 and 3 interventions: A multilevel perspective. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 21, 116–126. doi:10.1177/1063426611410571
17.
ElliottD. S.MihalicS. F. (2004). Issues in disseminating and replicating effective prevention programs. Prevention Science, 5, 47–53. doi:10.1023/B:PREV.0000013981.28071.52
18.
FlanaganJ. C. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51, 327–358.
19.
FlanneryK. B.SugaiG.AndersonC. M. (2009). School-wide positive behavior support in high school: Early lessons learned. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 11, 177–185. doi:10.1177/1098300708316257
20.
HanS. S.WeissB. (2005). Sustainability of teacher implementation of school-based mental health programs. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 665-679.
21.
KainD. (2004). Owning significance: The critical incident technique in research. In deMarraisK.LapanS. D. (Eds.), Foundations for research: Methods of inquiry in education and the social sciences (pp. 69–85). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
22.
KamC.GreenbergM. T.WallsC. T. (2003). Examining the role of implementation quality in school-based prevention using the paths curriculum. Prevention Science, 4, 55–63.
23.
KelmJ. L.McIntoshK. (2012). Effects of school-wide positive behavior support on teacher self-efficacy. Psychology in the Schools, 49, 137–147. doi:10.1002/pits.20624
24.
KincaidD.ChildsK.BlaseK. A.WallaceF. (2007). Identifying barriers and facilitators in implementing schoolwide positive behavior support. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 9, 174–184. doi:10.1177/10983007070090030501
25.
LohrmannS.FormanS.MartinS.PalmieriM. (2008). Understanding school personnel’s resistance to adopting schoolwide positive behavior support at a universal level of intervention. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 10, 256–269. doi:10.1177/1098300708318963
26.
MarkowD.CooperM. (2008). The Metlife survey of the American teacher: Past, present and future. New York, NY: MetLife Insurance Company.
27.
McIntoshK.BennettJ. L.PriceK. (2011). Evaluation of social and academic effects of school-wide positive behaviour support in a Canadian school district. Exceptionality Education International, 21, 46–60.
28.
McIntoshK.FilterK. J.BennettJ. L.RyanC.SugaiG. (2010). Principles of sustainable prevention: Designing scale-up of school-wide positive behavior support to promote durable systems. Psychology in the Schools, 47, 5–21. doi:10.1002/pits.20448
29.
McIntoshK.PredyL. K.UpretiG.HumeA. E.TurriM. G.MathewsS. (2014). Perceptions of contextual features related to implementation and sustainability of school-wide positive behavior support. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 16, 29–41. doi:10.1177/1098300712470723
30.
NelsonJ. R.MartellaR. M.Marchand-MartellaN. (2002). Maximizing student learning: The effects of a comprehensive school-based program for preventing problem behaviors. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 10, 136–148.
31.
PayneA. A.GottfredsonD. C.GottfredsonG. D. (2006). School predictors of the intensity of implementation of school-based prevention programs: Results from a national study. Prevention Science, 7, 225–237. doi:10.1007/s11121-006-0029-2
32.
PettyR. E.WegenerD. T. (1998). Attitude change: Multiple roles for persuasion variables. In GilbertD.FiskeS.LindzeyG. (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (4th ed., pp. 323–390). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
33.
PriceH. E. (2011). Principal-teacher interactions: How affective relationships shape principal and teacher attitudes. Educational Administration Quarterly, 48, 39–85.
34.
RansfordC. R.GreenbergM. T.DomitrovichC. E.SmallM.JacobsonL. (2009). The role of teachers’ psychological experiences and perceptions of curriculum supports on the implementation of a social and emotional learning curriculum. School Psychology Review, 38, 510–532.
35.
RichterM. M.LewisT. J.HagarJ. (2012). The relationship between principal leadership skills and school-wide positive behavior support: An exploratory study. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 14, 69–77. doi:10.1177/1098300711399097
36.
RogersE. (2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.
37.
RohrbachL. A.GrahamJ. W.HansenW. B. (1993). Diffusion of a school-based substance abuse prevention program: Predictors of program implementation. Preventive Medicine, 22, 237–260. doi:10.1006/pmed.1993.1020
38.
RossS. W.RomerN.HornerR. H. (2012). Teacher well-being and the implementation of school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 14, 118–128.
39.
Strickland-CohenM. K.McIntoshK.HornerR. H. (2014). Sustaining effective practices in the face of principal turnover. Teaching Exceptional Children, 46(3), 18–24.
40.
SugaiG.HornerR. H.AlgozzineR.BarrettS.LewisT.AndersonC.. . . SimonsenB. (2010). School-wide positive behavior support: Implementer’s blueprint and self-assessment (2nd ed.). Eugene: University of Oregon Press.
WittJ. C.ElliotS. N. (1985). Acceptability of classroom intervention strategies. In KratochwillT. R. (Ed.), Advances in school psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 251–288). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
