Author

Chelsea Clark

Date of Award

Fall 2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Dana Hysock Witham

Second Advisor

Melissa Swauger

Third Advisor

Christian Vaccaro

Abstract

The purpose of this cross sectional survey study was to measure differences between “high” and “low” fidelity SWPBS schools on school climate and student achievement in elementary and middle schools. The study included schools that have used either the Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ) or School Evaluation Tool (SET) assessments to rate the fidelity of their programs.

The participants in the study were Pennsylvania public school principals, teachers, guidance counselors and support staff during the 2017- 2018 school year. In total 91total respondents representing nine school districts with 14 elementary schools and three middle schools across seven counties completed a an electronic survey in Qualtrics. The PSSA achievement data were collected for each participant school from 2008 through 2017 and used to calculate the school’s performance in relation to the state average for two years prior to their implementing the program through present to measure their pre and post-implementation performance. Descriptive statistics, variances, and correlation tests were applied to establish relationships among various variables.

Findings of this study did not reveal descriptive differences between the level of implementation and classroom disruptions, student achievement or state assessment scores in Math and English Language Arts. It was revealed that there was a relationship between the level of implementation and perceived academic rigor and student morale.

Download

Share

COinS