Schoolwide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support Practices: Review of Studies in the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions

Abstract

Schools are valuable settings in that they provide children, families, educators, and community members with chances to learn, teach, and grow. These settings are able to present positive adult and peer examples, various and daily chances to have academic and social achievement, and permanent peer and adult relations promoted by social exchanges (Sugai et al., 2000).Discipline problems such as widespread alcohol, drug abuse, and bullying shown in schools in the late 1990s, focused everyone's attention on these problem behaviors (Sugai & Horner, 2002). Such problem behaviors increasing steadily in schools pushed people and policy makers to search for new solutions to prevent these problem behaviors in schools. As Skiba (2000) said, traditional methods such as zero tolerance, strict rules and punishment, and others were of no use. There was also no evidence-based research proving the positive effect of these methods on students. As Sugai and Horner noted, such systems not using positive behavior supports caused increases in the problem behaviors that needed to be reduced. In a similar way, Costenbader and Markson (1998) stated that exclusion and punishment of problem behaviors are not effective in the long term. Some types of punishment can even be rewarding and cause problem behaviors to continue. Traditional school discipline (TSDP) (Scheuermann & Hall, 2011, pp. 12-13) and PBS (Positive Behavior Support) are compared in Table 1.Sprague and Horner (2006) indicated the main points of a schoolwide system for positive behavior support are: (a) problem behavior in schools is not only an important social challenge but also an obstacle to effective learning; (b) it has not been proven that conventional tough approaches are effective; (c) a positive social culture needs to be established first through describing, teaching, and rewarding appropriate behaviors as the basis for all behavior support; (d) further behavior support processes beased on principles of behavior analysis are essential for students who need greater behavior support; (e) school staff are able not only to gather and utilize quality enhancement data systems, but also appreciate the value of those systems in terms of enhancing schools (pp. 413-427).PBS is neither a recent intervention package nor a recent behavior theory; it is rather a practice of a systems approach based on behavior to improve the capacity of schools, families, and communities with the aim of building effective settings that enhance the harmony or connection among practices validated by research and the settings where teaching and learning happen. It is focused on building and maintaining school settings that enhance behavioral outcomes for all children and youth through decreasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and relevance of problem behavior and increasing the functionality of desired behavior (Sugai et al., 2000).SWPBIS FrameworkSWPBIS is defined by the processes arranged around three major themes: Prevention, Multi-Tiered Support, and Data-based Decision Making. Contributing to the prevention of problem behavior are these principles: (a) describing and teaching basic behavioral expectations; (b) approving and awarding appropriate behavior (e.g., obeying the rules of the school, secure and considerate peer relations, and academic work/involvement); and (c) building a regular continuation of outcomes for problem behavior. Attention is focused on building a positive social atmosphere where expectations of behavior for students are greatly foreseeable, directly taught, constantly approved, and actively observed (Sprague & Horner, 2006).Homer, Todd, Lewis-Palmer, Irvin, Sugai, and Boland (2004) explained the Seven Key Features of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support as: (a) describe 3-5 expectations for appropriate behavior schoolwide; (b) actively have all students leam the schoolwide expectations of behavior; (c) observe and approve of students when they engage in expectations of behavior; (d) correct problem behaviors by using a continuation of behavioral outcomes regularly administrated; (e) collect and use data about student behavior in order to assess and direct decision-making; (f) get leadership of schoolwide applications from a director who 1. …