Many students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) need evidence-based intervention in school, and applied behavior analysis (ABA) offers an array of treatment options shown to improve outcomes. However, in Michigan, ABA has not been thoroughly integrated into public schools. The present dissertation assessed the mechanisms thought to predict organizational readiness for change (ORC) among Michigan public educators faced with the potential adoption of specialized ABA classrooms. Findings from a representative sample of Michigan K-12 principals and administrators (N = 346) suggest a two-factor structure (i.e., commitment and efficacy) for organizational readiness for change, (χ2 = 118.86, df = 26, p < .001, RMSEA = 0.10, SRMR = 0.05, CFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.95). Findings suggest that the system climate of a school or district has a direct positive relationship with change commitment, (b = 0.28, p < .001) and an indirect relationship with change commitment, mediated by change valence, (b = 0.23, p < .001, 95% CI [0.13, 0.34]). Findings also suggest that system climate has a direct positive relationship with change efficacy, (b = 0.39, p < .001), and an indirect relationship with change efficacy, mediated by resource perceptions, (b = 0.14, p < .001, 95% CI [0.07, 0.22]). Implications for future research include the applicability of the two-factor structure of ORC to the educational field, the salience of system climate, change valence, and resource perceptions in readiness for change, and the importance of operationalization and measurement of ORC and related constructs when mapping them onto a specific change in a unique context. Implications for practice include a need to focus on both stakeholder commitment and efficacy, the potential importance of alignment between a school's climate and the proposed intervention, and an attendance to the mechanisms related to organizational change which will likely make the adoption of ABA classrooms in Michigan public schools more successful.
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