Individual and School Organizational Factors That Influence Implementation of the Pax Good Behavior Game Intervention

Introduction: Evidence-based interventions are being disseminated broadly in schools across the U.S., but the implementation levels achieved in community settings are often lower than when the models are first developed and tested. Research suggests that a range of teacher and school factors influence this process. The current study examined the extent to which these factors were associated with implementation of the PAX Good Behavior Game, a universal classroom-based preventive intervention designed to improve student social-emotional competence and behavior, in urban schools serving high numbers of disadvantaged students.

Method: The current study uses data from teachers (N=225) from 18 urban elementary schools participating in a RCT of the PATHS to PAX program. The majority of sample teachers were female (i.e., 89%) and about half were 30 or younger, had a graduate degree, and taught students in grades 3 through 5. Dosage (i.e., number of minutes per game) across the school year and fidelity (i.e., extent to which the core components were delivered) of PAX GBG implementation at four time points across one school year were measured. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the association between teacher level factors (e.g., demographics, self-reports of personal resources, attitudes toward the intervention, and workplace perceptions) and school level factors (i.e., student demographics, organizational health) with indicators of implementation.

Results: Only a few individual- and school-level factors were significantly related to implementation and more were related to dosage than fidelity. Younger teachers were observed as implementing the PAX GBG with greater fidelity. Older teachers and those with higher levels of efficacy and positive work perceptions reported higher dosage levels. Organizational health was the only school level factor associated with implementation. Teachers in schools with higher levels of organizational health played shorter games.

Discussion: The findings suggest that characteristics of the intervention and the individual implementer may interact to influence implementation and that it is important to consider both when introducing new programs into the classroom. Teachers at different stages of their career may need different types of support to effectively implement interventions. Individual measures of organizational health may reflect more general levels of support whereas school level measures may reflect actual need.