Effects of Coaching on Teachers' Implementation of Tier 1 School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support Strategies

Fidelity of implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) procedures within schools is critical to the success of the program. Coaching has been suggested as one approach to helping ensure accuracy of implementation of SWPBIS plans. This study used a multiple baseline across participants design to examine the effects of coaching on elementary schools teachers' implementation of Tier 1 SWPBIS with their general education students. After providing the coach with an initial training on the SWPBIS and coaching procedures, four elementary schoolteachers were provided with side-by-side coaching during whole-class group instruction. Results indicated that there was a functional relationship between coaching and improved SWPBIS fidelity scores. Implications for practice included the need to consider selecting an appropriate person to act as the coach, scheduling difficulties, and the inability to standardize the number of opportunities for teachers to demonstrate some of the skills based on variability in student performance. However, utilizing school personnel to act as SWPBIS coaches may be a viable option to build sustainability and integrity of SWPBIS procedures within schools.