Using a Systematic Evaluation to Establish Need and Buy-In Prior to Adoption of a SWPBIS Model

ABSTRACT Most schools throughout the United States are adopting Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). Many school administrators and PBIS teams appear to be implementing SWPBIS without the implementation of a needs assessment to measure preparedness and buy-in prior to a schoolwide initiative. The current research on SWPBIS generally doesn’t include lacks information about the needs assessment, the level of need, or the personnel buy-in. The purpose of this study was to measure need and buy-in of a school climate by using a systematic approach implemented within a mixed methods sequential explanatory design (MMSE). The MMSE design used determined the level of need and buy-in towards a SWPBIS model. The MMSE was used in a two phase process: phase one was a survey on school climate and phase two was a series of focus group interviews. The findings demonstrated a high level of need for PBIS but a low level of school personnel buy-in. The findings are presented and implications of the findings are discussed.