Teacher Perceptions of Implementation Climate Related to Feasibility of Implementing Schoolwide Positive Behavior Supports and Interventions

Abstract

For Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) to be effective, educators must use the practices as intended. Whether a teacher uses a practice as intended can depend, in part, on how feasible the practice is perceived to be. Identifying malleable factors associated with teachers’ perceptions of SWPBIS feasibility can help schools identify targeted supports to improve feasibility. Implementation climate, or the shared perception among implementers that their school supports implementation efforts, is known to promote high quality implementation. However, little is known about how individuals’ perceptions of their school’s implementation climate may influence their perceptions of feasibility. The lack of empirical evidence points to a need to explore whether educators’ shared and individual perceptions of implementation climate influence feasibility of implementing SWPBIS. Therefore, this study examines the link between teachers’ individual and shared perceptions of implementation climate related to the feasibility of implementing SWPBIS in a sample of 348 K-5 general education teachers across 39 elementary schools in the pacific northwestern United States. Results indicate that teachers who experience their schools’ implementation climate as positive are more likely to report SWPBIS as feasible, controlling for teachers’ shared perceptions of implementation climate. Implications for schools aiming to improve their implementation of SWPBIS, including the development of individualized implementation supports (e.g., tailoring implementation strategies to support each and every teacher), are discussed.