Date of Award
Spring 2025
Language
English
Embargo Period
4-20-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School/Department
Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology
Program
Educational Psychology and Methodology
First Advisor
Kevin Quinn
Second Advisor
Mariola Moeyaert
Third Advisor
Benjamin Solomon
Keywords
Special Education, PBIS, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Intervention, Meta-Analysis, Subgroup Analysis, Robust Variance Estimation
Subject Categories
Early Childhood Education | Education | Educational Psychology | Elementary Education
Abstract
Students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders often experience significant challenges that adversely affect their academic performance and overall well-being. Although the First Step to Success/First Step Next (FSS/FSN) intervention has been widely implemented as a PBIS Tier 2 intervention to support Pre-K to 3rd-grade students with challenging behaviors, research findings have been inconsistent. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes the literature on the intervention’s effectiveness across studies, focusing on both social-emotional behavioral outcomes and academic performance.
Using a comprehensive search strategy, studies meeting rigorous inclusion criteria were identified, and effect sizes (Hedges’s g) were calculated to capture pre- to post-intervention changes between intervention and control groups. Given the dependency of multiple effect sizes within studies, a subgroup-correlated hierarchical effects (SCHE) model was employed, with robust variance estimation (RVE) and small-sample corrections to account for within-study correlations. Sensitivity analyses were conducted by varying assumed within-study correlations. Publication bias was assessed via funnel plots and an adjusted Egger’s regression test, and effect size adjustments to address publication bias were conducted using Precision-Effect Test (PET) and Precision Effect Estimate with Standard Error (PEESE) models. Additionally, exploratory moderator analyses examined study-level factors, including baseline behavior severity and implementation fidelity, as potential sources of heterogeneity.
Overall, the results indicate that the FSS/FSN intervention yields a medium to large positive effect on improving adaptive behaviors of (g = 0.59, SE = 0.08, 95% CI [0.40, 0.77], p < .001), while significantly reducing maladaptive behaviors (g = -0.53, SE = 0.08, 95% CI [-0.71, -0.35], p < .001). The results also indicate that the FSS/FSN intervention has a small positive iii
impact on students’ academic functioning (g = 0.22, SE = 0.05, 95% CI [0.06, 0.37], p = < .05). Exploratory moderator analysis tested 10 study-level variables (baseline behavior severity, rater type, socioeconomic status, grade level, gender composition, study design, special-education status, intervention version, risk-of-bias, and race/ethnicity), but no coefficient met both the Satterthwaite degrees of freedom criterion and practical significance. Implications for practice, limitations of the current synthesis, and directions for future research are discussed.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Belanger, Shawna L., "A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Examining the Impact of the First Step to Success/First Step Next Intervention: A PBIS Tier 2 Intervention for Pre-K - 3rd Grade Students" (2025). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 129.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/129
Included in
Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Elementary Education Commons
