Author ORCID Identifier
Semester
Fall
Date of Graduation
2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
College of Education and Human Services
Department
Curriculum & Instruction/Literacy Studies
Committee Chair
Melissa Sherfinski
Committee Co-Chair
Sam Stack
Committee Member
Sam Stack
Committee Member
Rawn Boulden
Committee Member
Carrie Rishel
Abstract
This dissertation explores the lived experiences of Appalachian elementary and middle school teachers who have been identified as working in Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) schools. This study used Lifeworld Theory to engage in discussion about the teachers’ individual experiences in using PBIS in their classrooms in relation to resilience frameworks and childhood trauma. The teachers’ individual experiences were analyzed using a Whole-Part-Whole analysis to bring the individual stories together to better understand how PBIS and childhood trauma are experienced in a specific Appalachian school. Discussion opens up through the participants' experiences about grit models in school, trauma their students have experienced, and how this is viewed in the school. Implications for policy and practice are discussed in relation to the findings.
Chapter 1 introduces the background of the study by highlighting definitions of Childhood Trauma and defining Appalachia as both a geographical and sociological place. Chapter 2 serves as a review of the literature on behavior interventions in schools, grit and resilience frameworks, and the Lifeworld Theory in which this study is rooted in. In Chapter 3, I discuss both case study and phenomenology as the methodological framework for the study of six participants situated within an Appalachian school district using PBIS as their behavior management system. Chapters 4 and 5 disseminate the data and experiences of the participants in how they have lived through the use of PBIS in their specific educational roles. Lastly, Chapter 6 serves as a discussion of the data and its policy, practical and methodological implications. Chapter 6 also discusses limitations of the study and the space for future research around restorative practices in schools regarding student behavior.
Recommended Citation
Coffield, Erin Michele, "The Business of Behavior: Appalachian Teachers’ Experiences in using Positive Behavior Interventions and Support" (2022). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 11590.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/11590