This study investigated the implementation and impact of Reading First programs in 8 elementary schools across the state of Mississippi. The study assessed how principals, literacy coaches, and kindergarten through third grade teachers perceived the implementation of the Reading First program at their respective schools. Data from these three groups of research participants were analyzed to determine if there were differences in perceptions regarding program implementation. This study also examined if there was a relationship between participants’ judgment about implementation and second and third grade students reading scores on the Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT). This study employed descriptive, survey, causal-comparative, and correlational research. Descriptive data were used to describe research participants’ gender, years of professional experience, highest degree held, and type of license held. Survey data were used to determine the perceptions of principals, literacy coaches, and teachers regarding the implementation fidelity of the Reading First program at their respective schools. An analysis of variance was used to determine if there were differences in the perceptions of the groups. Correlational statistics were used to analyze the possible existence of a relationship between principals’, literacy coaches’, and teachers’ perceptions about implementation and second and third grade students’ MCT reading scores. The study found that principals and literacy coaches perceived that the Reading First program was being fully implemented, but teachers believed that the program was being moderately implemented. There were no significant differences between the perceptions of principals, literacy coaches, and teachers. However, the study did reveal that principals, literacy coaches, and teachers had similar ratings regarding the implementation of specific Reading First program components. There was no correlation between perceived implementation fidelity of the Reading First program and students reading test scores on the MCT. Survey results revealed that most schools had fully implemented: (a) the uninterrupted, 90 minute reading block, (b) the 5 core elements of reading, (c) instructional strategies, and (d) support for struggling readers. Additionally, survey results indicated that schools need to strive toward fully implementing: (a) appropriate assessment strategies, (b) professional development activities that focus on reading instructional content and (c) instructional support activities.

The purpose of the study was to examine how four different high schools within one school district implemented the AVID program. The researcher used a comparative case study model to examine the different sites' programs and how the program and program implementation varied by site. The research questions answered how the AVID program was implemented by site, whether the program was implemented with fidelity, and if there were factors that impacted program implementation. The AVID district coordinator, site administrators and site coordinators were surveyed to gauge the understanding of the AVID program, program implementation, and how AVID implementation impacts the program fidelity by site. AVID research suggests that the program works to address the needs of students from underserved populations and aims to help them access advanced academic classes and achieve more success within those college prep courses and school overall. This study may help school districts, school administation and AVID personnel better understand how site implementation impacts overall program success and to see how barriers impact the implemenation process at school sites. Findings included, some school-based administrators and site coordinators did not feel they implemented the AVID program with fidelity, site administrators' involvement with the AVID implementation was inconsistent, most site administrators knew nothing about the specific rating of the AVID Coaching and Certification Instrument (CCI) or the measurement overall. Other findings were AVID site coordinators completed the AVID CCI and coordinated all aspects of the process and AVID implementation at the sites, site coordinators perceived that they implemented the AVID program with the most fidelity possible within their respective "means" but not with fidelity. Further, schools implemented the AVID Domains with varied degrees of fidelity according to the AVID CCI and each site had a unique implementation of the AVID program. / Doctor of Education / Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is an educational program that aims to help underserved students learn how to successfully access classes that helps prepare them for college. The AVID program is offered in some schools to aid students in the academic middle through instruction, tutoring, and structures to learn how to be successful in honors courses within the middle and high school levels. School leaders need to understand how well AVID programs are being implemented within their school to ensure that the program can be the most successful to reach the students well. This research study looked at four AVID schools to see how well they implemented the AVID program in comparison to how it should be done, the role school administration had in the implementation, and how implementation differed at schools. The study used information from the AVID Coaching and Certification Instrument (the AVID report card), to see how the school scored and each AVID site administrator (building principal) and AVID site coordinator (the person who runs the AVID program at the school) were interviewed and asked several questions to better understand the program at each school, the role the site administrator and site coordinator played in running the program and how well the AVID staff understood how well the school did with the program at their school. The study found that schools implemented their programs differently, that the AVID principals did not feel they ran the program as it should be, and that most of the AVID principals did not know what the AVID CCI was or how their school scored. The AVID site coordinator was responsible for running AVID at the school, they ran the AVID program as well as they could but not as it should be.

To address students’ academic and behavioral needs, schools are held accountable for implementing effective evidence–based interventions. An important relationship exists between implementation fidelity and the effectiveness of interventions. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate the evidence of interventions to improve the implementation fidelity of academic interventions and to evaluate the quality of the existing research with a focus on the quality of the research on the most successful interventions. A total of 13 studies met the inclusion criteria. Each study was coded based on a quality of evidence coding protocol and the findings were then reviewed and synthesized. The results show that performance feedback was the most used and successful intervention for increasing implementation fidelity of an academic intervention. Professional development and teacher training were other interventions that were implemented to improve implementation fidelity. These results are summarized and implications for school-based practice are discussed. With such few studies that met the inclusion criteria, there is a need for more research in this area.

No description available.

Noncompliance in students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (EBD) can contribute to difficulty with peer and teacher relationships and may result in reduced time for academic instruction. The Precision Request, an intervention which uses alpha commands, verbal praise, and reductive consequences, has been shown to increase compliance in students with EBD, but no studies have accounted for which component is responsible for the change. This study used an ABCDAX add-in component analysis to determine which component of the Precision Request produced the most effect on behavioral compliance in five sixth-grade elementary students with EBD. Data were collected on percent of student compliance, latency to compliance, and teacher and paraprofessional use of verbal praise and reductive consequences. Percent of correct implementation of the Precision Request was also recorded. All data were subsequently inspected via visual analysis. The interventionists which participated in the study were unable to implement the Precision Request with fidelity and no effect was found on student compliance, which prompted researchers to examine characteristics of the interventionists as a possible explanation for failure to implement with fidelity. A comparison of interventionists suggests that the Precision Request may be too difficult to implement for an individual who lacks behavioral training, who does not use foundational classroom procedures such as positive reinforcement and verbal praise, and/or whose philosophical viewpoints are not conducive to behavior analysis. Future research should examine contextual fit as regards behavioral interventions and interventionists, as well as which behavioral principles need to be mastered by an interventionist before the Precision Request can be implemented with fidelity.

Low health literacy in parents has been linked to increased obesity risk for their children. When providing information to patients with low health literacy, teach-back (TB) and teach-to-goal (TTG) methods are recommended, but no studies have examined the degree to which TB/TTG strategies can be implemented with fidelity in community-based programs. A study was conducted to determine if type of delivery staff (community or research) is related to implementation fidelity; the degree to which TB/TTG methods are necessary for parent/caregiver understanding of childhood obesity learning objectives; and if baseline parent/caregiver health literacy level is related to support call response. Ninety-four families with overweight/obese children aged 8-12 years were enrolled in a pilot childhood obesity intervention that included 6 bi-weekly parent/caregiver support calls integrating TB/TTG methods into a 5 A's approach. Research partners (n=2) delivered all calls in Wave 1. During Waves 2 and 3, community staff (n=5) delivered a majority of calls with training and support from research staff. ). Average completion rate across calls was 62% and did not differ according to participant health literacy level. Community partners were more likely than research partners to complete calls with participants (68% versus 57%), but this trend was not significant. Both research and community partners adhered to call scripts with high fidelity (97% versus 98%). A significant main effect of health literacy level on TB/TTG performance was found for Call 1 and Call 3 during Wave 1 and for Call 1 during Waves 2 and 3 of iChoose (p<0.05, 0.01, and 0.05). An interaction effect of health literacy level and question number was found for Call 3 during Wave 1 only (p<0.05). For all calls in which TB/TTG performance differed significantly by health literacy level, participants with adequate health literacy were found to have better performance. Following the program, participants expressed they felt satisfied and comfortable with follow-up calls (9.1 (2.0) and 9.5 (1.2) on a 10-point scale), while agreeing that calls helped improve their eating and PA habits (8.1 (2.6) and 7.5 (2.7)) and helped them learn class material better (8.1 (2.7)). Trained community partners were able to deliver the same support call content with similarly high fidelity, completion, and acceptability. Although participant baseline health literacy level had less impact on the need for TB/TTG and on program perception than we anticipated, our findings open up different possibilities to utilize these strategies while using precious resources more efficiently. / Master of Science

An extensive body of empirical evidence indicates that function-based behavior support plans are likely to be more effective and efficient in school settings than plans that are not function-based. Designing technically adequate behavior support plans, however, is not sufficient to ensure that these plans will be implemented with fidelity by school staff. The contextual “fit” of support plan procedures with the values, skills, resources and administrative support of implementing personnel also affects the likelihood of implementation. In this dissertation a single-subject concurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to examine the efficacy of the Contextual Fit Enhancement Protocol (CF Intervention). The CF Intervention was designed to improve the contextual fit of support plans for four elementary school students with problem behaviors. This CF Intervention was designed based on the assumption that when procedures included in a plan match the values, skills, administrative support and resources of the people responsible for implementation the plans will be implemented with higher fidelity and will be more likely to produce desired student outcomes. Results from the study indicate that after implementation of the CF Intervention, support plans that were already technically adequate improved in contextual fit: instructional staff (a) had a better understanding of behavioral procedures being used, (b) received specific, systematic feedback about its implementation, (c) perceived high levels of administrative support, and (d) perceived a collective commitment to improve current plans. Following implementation of the CF Intervention, substantial increases in implementation fidelity and decreases in student problem behavior were observed. In addition, teacher participants rated the CF Intervention process as effective and efficient. Limitations and implications for future research, practice, and training are discussed.

The Friends for Life program is an evidence-based practice being used in schools to assist children to learn skills to manage anxiety. The Friends for Life program has been used by school districts in British Columbia, Canada, for over 10 years, yet there is little research on how the program is being implemented in schools by teachers. This qualitative case study investigated the implementation practice of the Friends for Life program by teachers in Grades 4 and 5. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 8 teachers from a smaller school district in British Columbia, Canada. The results yielded themes, which described critical factors that helped or hindered teachers in implementing the program with fidelity. A key finding of the study demonstrated teachers were running the program weekly, as per program guidelines. A key factor that was identified as helping teachers to implement the program with fidelity was support of school counselors, district staff, and the building administrator. The implications for social change include providing school administrators with information, which can help them to support teachers to implement the Friends for Life program with fidelity. As a result of these findings the Friends for Life program may consider updating the training materials and program implementation protocols in order to ensure teachers are implementing the program with fidelity and therefore, children are learning the skills they need to manage their anxieties and worries.

Disruptive classroom behavior has led many schools to implement positive behavioral strategies intended to create orderly learning environments. Despite initiation of such a strategy, an elementary school in the mid-Atlantic region still experienced an increase in office referrals and a decline in student achievement. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to investigate the connections between a blended behavior program and student behavior and academic achievement, as well as staff perceptions about their experience with the program, and the degree to which the practices were implemented with fidelity. Skinner's behavioral theory served as the theoretical basis for the investigation. Office referrals and standardized math scores of 72 students were analyzed across 3 years, including the year before and the 2 years following the implementation of the blended behavior program, to determine whether significant differences existed within-subjects. Interviews were conducted with 9 teachers, representing kindergarten-6th grade, to explore staff perceptions of the blended behavior program. Quantitative results indicated a reduction in referrals after the 1st year of implementing the blended program and an improvement in math achievement after the 2nd year. While a decline in math scores occurred the 1st year of implementation and an increase the 2nd year, the difference in net performance rendered the results inconclusive to determine the influence of the program on achievement. Qualitative results revealed inconsistencies in the way teachers implemented the program initiatives. This study contributes to positive social change by providing stakeholders a deeper understanding of the blended program and increasing staff capacity to manage challenging behaviors.

This study involved families of young children with autism spectrum disorders to examine the feasibility of implementing an adapted version of the school-based Prevent-Teach- Reinforce (PTR) model. This research included two families who developed and implemented the intervention for their children in collaboration with the researcher. The PTR manual was modified for use in a family context. The PTR intervention was tested using a multiple baseline design across routines. Procedural fidelity was assessed during training and coaching, as well as family implementation fidelity and social validity. To examine the potential efficacy of the adapted PTR intervention, the children’s target problem behavior and functionally equivalent alternative behavior were measured using video observation across experimental conditions including a generalization probe. Results indicated that the adapted PTR model is associated with reduction in child problem behavior and increases in alternative behavior. This study expanded the current research on the PTR model and extended its use to a novel setting and population so that a standardized model for positive behavior support implementation can be developed in the family context.