Perceptions of Situational Leadership Styles on the Behavioral Intervention Skills of General Educators

Author

• Kendall BaethgeFollow

Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

8-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

Misty Resendez-Woods

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Mike Papadimitriou

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

Catherlyn Brim

Abstract

The researcher conducted the following study to describe the lived experiences and perceptions of general educators employed in a rural, central Texas school district. The study specifically inquired about the perceptions of leadership styles and strategies to successful behavior intervention strategies for inclusive general education classrooms. The problem addressed within the study was the growing diversity in general education classrooms ensuring inclusive opportunities to students with disabilities who exhibit challenging behaviors. The purpose of the study was to better understand those leadership styles currently being used and styles that are most appropriate to develop perceived self-efficacy and proficiency in behavior intervention skills for elementary general educators. This qualitative study is a descriptive case study. The researcher sampled eight general educators from two elementary campuses in a single school district in central Texas. The participants sampled were general educators working within inclusive classrooms. Data collection was completed through semistructured interviews, a focus group, and PD analysis providing triangulation of the results. Raw data was analyzed through inductive thematic coding with the assistance from NVivo-15 qualitative data analysis software. Key results obtained from the study included descriptions of the currently used and preferred situational leadership style, beneficial behavioral intervention strategies, barriers to support, importance of lived experiences and targeted professional development, and the direct impacts on perceived self-efficacy and interprofessional trust. The researcher concluded that (a) coaching styles of leadership were most appropriate for the participant motivation and readiness; (b) rural school districts experience unique barriers to providing behavior intervention training as compared to urbanized communities; and (c) acknowledgement of educator expertise, value, and contribution is vital to the collaborative learning process.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Baethge, Kendall, "Perceptions of Situational Leadership Styles on the Behavioral Intervention Skills of General Educators" (2026). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1044.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/1044