Child Behavior, Child Development
Conditions
Brief summary
Social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) problems occur frequently among elementary school students, dramatically impede student outcomes, and have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence based practices exist to address student SEB needs, prevent problems, and ensure academic success. However, the implementation of these programs in schools is frequently incomplete, uneven, and occurs with insufficient fidelity to ensure positive effects for students due to significant implementation barriers across multiple levels. The purpose of this Impact Trial is to test the effectiveness of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) implementation strategy in school-wide implementation of a Tier 1 evidence-based practice (EBP) - Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPBIS
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, multi-tiered, problem-solving, and team-based framework designed to build a continuum of supports to promote all students' social emotional behavioral health.
OTHERHELM
Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) is an implementation strategy for promoting building-level implementation leadership, implementation climate, and high-fidelity delivery of evidence-based practices
Sponsors
University of Washington
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
PBIS coaches will be masked to HELM randomization
Intervention model description
All schools that participate in the study will receive PBIS. Additionally, half of the schools will be randomized to receive HELM, an additional implementation support intervention.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* School Districts: School districts in Washington State committed to implementing PBIS in its elementary schools * Educators: Educators working in a public elementary school within an enrolled school district.
Exclusion criteria
* Schools with previous HELM exposure will be excluded
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PBIS Fidelity (Tiered Fidelity Inventory) | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | The Tiered Fidelity Inventory (TFI) is a 45-item tool used to provide a valid, reliable, and efficient measure of the extent to which school personnel are applying the core features of PBIS. The TFI is a group-assessment completed by a schoolwide system planning team with external facilitation with strong internal consistency. The scoring criteria for each individual item ranges from 0-3 (0=Not Implemented, 1=Partially Implemented, 3=Fully Implemented); higher scores indicate better outcome. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Implementation Climate: School Implementation Climate Scale (SICS) | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | The SICS includes 21 items loading onto 7 subscales: Focus on EBP, Educational Support for EBP, Recognition for EBP, Rewards for EBP, Use of Data to Support EBP, Existing Supports for EBP, and EBP Integration. The scoring criteria for each individual item ranges from 0-4; higher scores indicate better outcome. |
| Implementation Cost | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | This survey asks educators how much time they spent on study-related procedures each week. Inputs will include time, supplies, travel, overhead, and costs associated with HELM training/coaching meetings, including pre-work, scheduling, and attending meetings; as well as costs associated with PBIS training and delivery. |
| Academic Engagement, Prosocial Behavior, and Problem Behavior: Modified Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | The DBR will be used in which teachers observe and rate their classroom's overall academic engagement (i.e., actively or passively participating in the classroom activity, 0-100%), disruptive behavior (i.e., interrupting activities, 0-100%), and prosocial behavior (i.e., following directions, 0-100%; Chafouleas et al., 2012). |
| Implementation Leadership: School Implementation Leadership Scale (SILS) | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | The SILS has 24 items loading onto 8 subscales: Proactive, Knowledgeable, Supportive, Perseverant, Communication, Vision, Available, and Distributed Leadership. The scoring criteria for each individual item ranges from 0-4; higher scores indicate better outcome. |
| Student Disciplinary Incidents | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | Number of office discipline referrals, suspensions, and expulsions will be derived from administrative records. |
| Student Attendance Rates | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | Student attendance rates will be derived from administrative records. |
| HELM Fidelity | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | As a manipulation check to document HELM intervention delivery, we will assess HELM fidelity using the HELM fidelity checklist (based on observations of recorded HELM trainings). HELM coaches will complete a standardized measure of dates specific steps were completed. Schools that achieve 80% or higher of the maximum possible score on all HELM fidelity criteria will be considered having received a full dose of HELM training and coaching. |
| Student Academic Outcomes | Baseline, 9 months, 12 months | Standardized academic test scores will be derived from administrative records. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
Primary ContactJill Locke, PhD
Backup ContactMarissa Thirion
Outcome results
None listed