Educator Experiences of Schoolwide PBIS Discipline Implementation: Exploring School Culture in Private PK–12 Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore educators’ lived experiences implementing schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) discipline systems and to understand how those experiences influenced school culture in private PK–12 schools. Historically, PBIS focused on specific outcomes, such as reductions in discipline referrals, suspensions, and behavioral incidents. Though these indicators are critical, they do not consider in what way educators experience disciplinary systems, nor how their lived experiences affect routine interactions with students. Educators play a key role in implementing PBIS; their experiences foster consistency, trust, and sustainability. The participants included certified educators and administrators employed at two private PK–12 schools who had direct experience implementing or overseeing PBIS discipline systems. The 2 school sites were purposefully selected because they adopted PBIS within the past 5 years. Collection strategies included one-on-one interviews, document analysis, and reflective field notes. Five major themes emerged from the data: clarity and predictability, behavioral accountability, collaborative implementation, relationship-centered support, and implementation consistency. These findings indicated that leadership, communication, consistency, and collaborative implementation practices advance PBIS discipline systems and positively impact school culture.