PARENTAL EXPERIENCES PARTICIPATING IN THE POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT PROCESS IN SCHOOLS

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of parents of children with challenging behavior regarding their involvement with, and interest in, the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) process within school systems. The overarching research question was what are the lived (perceived) experiences of parents of children with challenging behavior regarding their involvement in the PBIS process? From this main question, there were five subsidiary questions that were addressed: How do parents of children with challenging behavior involved in the PBIS process describe their lived experiences? In what ways have parents made meaning out of their experiences of participation in PBIS interventions of their children with challenging behavior at school? What do parents consider to have been the risk and protective factors in their experiences in collaborating with schools on the PBIS process? How have the parents’ personal characteristics influenced their perceptions of the support they get from school systems in their collaboration on PBIS? How do parents evaluate the support they get from the school system during their involvement? In order to answer these research questions, the researcher used semi-structured interviews with parents of children with challenging behavior. Eight parents, who met the criteria of the research selection process, were interviewed. All the interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed. The coding and analysis of the eight interviews was informed and guided by the constructivism paradigm of qualitative inquiry called constructivist grounded theory. The five major themes that emerged from the interviews were: (a) parental motivation to be involved in PBIS with the school systems, (b) parents’ roles and support to schools in implementing PBIS, (c) school collaboration for successful implementation of PBIS, (d) school collaboration for successful implementation, and (e) parents’ motivation for collaborating with schools. The findings revealed that the parents had limited knowledge regarding PBIS, played limited roles in supporting PBIS implementation because of lack of knowledge and communication with schools, were highly motivated to be involved in PBIS, and faced several barriers in working with schools. Overall, the findings were consistent with current research and added to the limited literature on the experience of families of children with challenging behavior in the implementation of PBIS. The findings could promote collaboration between parents of children with challenging behavior and the school systems in the PBIS process thereby improving the behavioral, and ultimately, the academic outcomes of children with challenging behavior. The study helped identify areas in need of further research such as the type of training that the parents need in implementing PBIS in the home environment. Practical implications of the findings are provided and discussed