School-wide Interventions Research Articles

Implementing and evaluating the School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) model in Norwegian primary schools

ABSTRACT The Norwegian version of the School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) model was tested in two quasi-experimental evaluation studies with 65 primary schools (grade 4–7). The impact of the N-PALS model on externalising behaviour and learning climate in class was tested at 28 elementary schools that implemented the full-scale model, while 17 schools implemented a short version with emphasis on the universal level, and 20 schools served as controls with regular practice. After 3 years, the staff at the schools implementing the full model reported significantly fewer behavioural incidents and more use of praise and encouragement compared to the staff at the control schools. And four months after the collective training of staff at schools implementing the universal short version, significantly fewer negative behavioural incidents were reported. School size and implementation quality moderated the outcomes in the two studies. In conclusion, the school-wide intervention model effectively reduced the negative behavioural incidents and improved the learning climate and social relations in the classrooms.

The Erasmus+ EUMOVE project-a school-based promotion of healthy lifestyles to prevent obesity in European children and adolescents.

The aim of this study was to describe the goals, activities, and methods of EUMOVE project in developing a set of resources targeting both primary and secondary schools that allow the entire educational community to promote healthy lifestyles (HL). The EUMOVE project is an Erasmus+ program based in the Creating Active Schools (CAS) framework. The project lasted 3 years and was developed by 14 academic and non-governmental institutions from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, and the UK. EUMOVE was divided into three phases. In the first phase, several work packages were carried out aimed to ensure the coordination/management of the project activities. In the second phase, seven educational resources strengthened by rigorous scientific research were developed to promote HL from schools. During the last phase, all the resources were disseminated through scientific seminars, workshops with families and teachers, and the online promotion by the non-governmental institutions of each country. The EUMOVE project developed and promoted a smartphone APP, video/activity repository of physically active lessons, active break virtual platform, learning units, and parent/teachers/school-leaders' guidelines to promote physical activity, active commuting, active school playgrounds, healthy diet, and sleep habits. To our knowledge, EUMOVE is the first European project to provide a set of practical tools based on scientific evidence to help schools or future school-wide interventions implement a paradigm shift based on the CAS framework for the promotion of HL. Future research will need to investigate the implementation, effectiveness, and scalability of this proposal.

LGBTQ+ student, staff, and parent perceptions of Australian school climates

AbstractLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/gender diverse, or queer (LGBTQ+) students, staff and parents can each perceive school as challenging environments. These challenges have typically been explored within three disparate bodies of research, however. Using a school climate lens, this study aimed to explore how LGBTQ+ student (n = 1926), staff (n = 198), and parent (n = 180) perceptions of school safety, interpersonal challenges and self-harm differ by roles, school types, school location, and gender modality. ANOVA and chi-square analyses showed that although LGBTQ+ students, staff and parents experience similar concerns in school safety, interpersonal challenges, and self-harm, students have higher prevalence on all indicators. Students in government/public, religious affiliated schools, and non-metropolitan schools had particularly high concerns, as did transgender and gender diverse students. This study offers important implications for school-wide interventions to promote positive school climates, with particular focus on school safety, anti-bullying, and self-harm, targeted to the needs of multiple members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Bullied Immigrant Youth, Emotional Distress, and Social Well-Being: Moderating Roles of Family and School

This study utilized data from a national survey on student health/well-being to examine the complex interrelations between bullying, social-emotional well-being, student-parent relationship quality, and feelings about school among immigrant youth in grades 7–10 from a strength-based perspective. Using structural equation modeling, we explored the moderating role of the quality of relationship between parents and youth on the link between bullying and emotional distress, as well as between bullying and social well-being, and how feelings about school influenced levels of emotional distress and social well-being in immigrant students. Analyses revealed significant relationships between all constructs, and that the quality of immigrant students’ relationships with parents and their feelings about school moderated the link between bullying and low emotional distress, but not social well-being. These findings suggest that interventions and policies focusing on two key microsystems surrounding immigrant youth—the home and school context—may minimize the adverse effects of bullying. Impact Statement The study’s findings and implications significantly enhance our systems-based understanding of the frequent bullying experiences faced by immigrant students. Beyond implementing school-wide interventions targeting bullying prevention, there is a valuable opportunity to bolster the family microsystem, fortifying the resilience of immigrant students confronted with bullying.

Antibullying Interventions in Schools: Assessing the Evidence Base.

This systematic review used established rating criteria to describe the level of evidence for interventions aimed at preventing or reducing bullying perpetration and victimization in schools, synthesized the evidence for students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, and reviewed the literature for available information to conduct an economic analysis of the interventions. Major databases, gray literature, and evidence-base registries were searched to identify studies published from 2008 through 2022. The authors rated antibullying intervention models as having high, moderate, or low evidence depending on the number and rigor of studies with positive findings. Overall, 80 articles reporting on 71 original research studies describing a total of 48 antibullying interventions met the inclusion criteria for this review. Two schoolwide interventions received a high-evidence rating: the KiVa (Kiusaamista Vastaan) Antibullying Program and the Friendly Schools program. Multilevel interventions with components at the levels of school, classroom, and individual student most consistently showed strong evidence for reducing bullying behavior in elementary and middle school grades. Four interventions yielded positive effects in reducing bullying and victimization among diverse samples of students. Antibullying interventions can reduce bullying in schools. Some interventions show effectiveness with students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. The gains relative to per-student costs were in the range that is considered cost-effective. Most implementation costs are spent on staff training and support. Research on successful implementation of whole-school interventions and additional synthesis of evidence pertaining to program structures would further advance the antibullying evidence base.

A Preliminary Study Connecting School Improvement and MTSS With Student Outcomes

Abstract Schools have an increased focus on implementing schoolwide initiatives (e.g., multi-tiered systems of support; MTSS) to address risk factors related to dropping out. These interventions can involve multiple domains, including academic, behavioural, and social and emotional supports. Although researchers suggest that schoolwide interventions are effective, school staff may need help implementing various content (e.g., academic, behaviour) domains into a cohesive plan. This preliminary study focused on nine schools in the Midwestern United States that implemented schoolwide interventions as part of a statewide technical assistance approach. The research included using survey and extant data for all students to determine the connections between schoolwide interventions, school improvement, and student outcomes. Schools in this study that were higher on both school improvement and MTSS implementation had, in general, better student outcomes associated with predictors of dropping out of school. These findings indicate that school improvement and MTSS may be mutually beneficial enterprises that help school staff address factors related to dropping out.

Building schoolwide readiness for social emotional learning: A feasibility and acceptability study of the ReadySET intervention

School readiness is critical for the successful implementation of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs in schools. Unfortunately, few interventions exist that aim to build schoolwide readiness for SEL program implementation. This mixed‐method study sought to develop and pilot an innovative, brief schoolwide intervention called ReadySET within two elementary schools in one southeastern school district, and understand the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of the intervention. Data were collected from kindergarten through third grade teachers, school mental health staff, and administrators via pre- and post-surveys, module evaluation surveys, and interviews. Data also were collected from facilitators through implementation checklists. Findings suggest that ReadySET was feasible to implement and acceptable to school stakeholders. In addition, study findings demonstrated a small, statistically significant improvement in SEL comfort over the course of the intervention. Stakeholders’ beliefs related to SEL commitment and culture, however, declined slightly over time indicating areas for future intervention refinement. Implications of this study are shared related to SEL research, practice, and policy.

The incremental association of implementation leadership and school personnel burnout beyond transformational leadership.

Successful implementation of school-wide interventions (i.e., delivered to all students by a wide array of school personnel) is key to promoting students' academic achievement and psychosocial development. Yet, the implementation of school-wide interventions is complex and can be psychologically taxing for implementing personnel. If evidence-based practice and program (EBP) implementation goes unsupported, implementation challenges might result in chronic stress among school personnel that leads to burnout. While generally effective leadership tends to decrease educator burnout, implementation-specific leadership may also decrease burnout through its strategic supports for EBP implementation. A series of linear regression and path models were used to examine the concurrent association between transformational (e.g., general) and implementation (e.g., strategic) leadership and burnout and its component parts (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment). In a sample of 338 school personnel, we found transformational and implementation leadership were each significantly associated with decreased burnout. However, transformational leadership was not significantly associated with any of the three burnout components, whereas implementation leadership was significantly associated with increased personal accomplishment. These results suggest both general and strategic forms of leadership are key supports for school personnel burnout and as such, leaders may benefit from training to improve each. Additional implications for schools and future directions to understand how best to support school personnel are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Sohanjana Antibullying Intervention: Pilot Results of a Peer-Training Module in Pakistan

Although comprehensive school-wide interventions targeting bullying have proven effective, many schools, particularly those in low-to-middle income countries like Pakistan, lack the necessary resources to implement them. As a result, implementing cost-effective antibullying bystander programs that train students to become peer advocates is a promising approach for intervening in bullying incidents. Peer training in antibullying intervention involves training students to take on leadership roles and advocate for antibullying initiatives within their school communities. The aim of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a peer-training module that was subsequently implemented in four schools (N = 38, boys = 26, girls = 12) in Pakistan. The aim was to raise awareness and prepare a team of peer mentors to effectively implement antibullying policies in educational institutions. Pre-post tests and participant feedback were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the peer-training program in increasing knowledge and awareness of bullying and the role of bystanders among trained peer mentors. To determine the impact of the peer mentor training on improving the school environment, data were also collected from students (N = 219, boys = 152, girls = 67) before and after the implementation of the program. The pilot implementation of the peer-training module was considered successful, indicating that the training was effective in improving the knowledge of peer mentors and could be used in a similar way in future cases. The results also showed a significant improvement in the development of prosocial bystanders. However, although improvements were observed in other aspects of the school environment, these did not reach statistical significance. The discussion section includes recommendations and explanations for differences based on gender and urban–rural factors. Suggestions are also made to improve the results for future applications.

Thriving Not Surviving: LGBTQ+ Students’, Staff, and Parents’ Experiences of Schools as Sites of Euphoria

IntroductionInternationally, research has shown Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/gender diverse, and Queer (LGBTQ+) people experience multifaceted challenges within school contexts. However, there is only a small emergent body of research on how LGBTQ+ community members might also experience positive, joyful, or euphoric experiences in these same spaces. Using euphoria and minority stress models, this article aims to consider whether schools themselves can be supportive and protective environments for LGBTQ+ people, how features of the school environment and school community might enable experiences of LGBTQ+ -related euphoria, and how euphoric experiences may be similar for students, staff and parents, and cisgender and gender diverse (GD) members of the LGBTQ+ community.MethodsThe study employed elements of grounded theory to analyse survey responses of LGBTQ+ students (n = 706), school staff (n = 107), and parents (n = 57). The survey data was collected online from 2021 to 2022 and explored LGBTQ+ community members’ experiences in, and perceptions of, Australian schools.ResultsEuphoria was predominantly related to school social contexts (such as supportive social climates), followed by school practices (such as LGBTQ+ representation), and internal experiences (such as pride). These events were shared by students, staff, and parents similarly. Euphoric events were shared by cisgender and GD participants, although gender-affirming social contexts and school practices were valued particularly by GD students, parents, and staff.ConclusionsSchools can act as supportive contexts for LGBTQ+ students, staff, and parents in terms of social characteristics and school practices using mostly similar methods. Implications for policy development include school-wide interventions that include and reflect all LGBTQ+ people in all education-based roles, via school curricula and activities, public education, and awareness-raising endeavours.Policy ImplicationsImplications for policy development include school-wide interventions that include and reflect all LGBTQ+ people in all education-based roles, via school curricula and activities, public education and awareness-raising endeavours.

The role of growth mindset and symbol of shared event representation in the promotion of challenge-pursuit

Challenges are rigorous opportunities to grow and learn. Yet many students underutilize these opportunities. This study investigated how the growth mindset and priming of a shared-event representation might independently affect students’ tendency to challenge-pursuit. In a school-wide intervention, a long-distance running program (POMA Run) that embodies the concept and shared experiences of “ascend beyond current self” was created. In our study, students were randomly selected, then randomly assigned to one of the two event representation conditions: (1) think about the POMA Run (prime condition) or (2) think about a neutral target (control condition). Afterwards, to measure their willingness to extend one's limit, they were presented with four school-life situations and asked to indicate their intention to engage in activities of varying levels of difficulty described in each situation. Next, they ideographically categorized the activities into those that fell in the comfort zone (within their current capacity), stretch zone (beyond current capacity, challenging but attainable), or panic zone (far beyond current capacity). Challenge-pursuit was defined as the intention to engage in the activities categorized in the stretch zone. In the control condition, students with a stronger (weaker) endorsement of growth mindset reported higher (lower) challenge-pursuit intention. The effect of event representation prime on promoting challenge-pursuit intentions was significant among students with a weaker growth mindset: their challenge-pursuit intention was stronger in the prime condition than the control condition. In contrast, students in the prime condition displayed equally strong challenge-pursuit intention regardless of their level of growth-mindset endorsement. The effectiveness of forming a shared-event representation will be discussed.

School-wide interventions for reducing disciplinary exclusion from mainstream secondary schools: A systematic review

AimThis systematic literature review aims to explore the effectiveness of school-wide interventions in reducing disciplinary exclusion from mainstream secondary schools.RationaleIn England, head teachers have government support to use exclusion as a disciplinary sanction if deemed necessary (Department for Education, 2017a). Research has suggested that disciplinary exclusion is associated with an array of negative long-term outcomes; despite this, the latest statistics indicate that the rate of fixed period exclusions are increasing in England.MethodThe seven-stage systematic review process described by Petticrew and Roberts (2006) was employed. A database search, grey literature search, hand search and reference harvesting were carried out, yielding five studies forin depth review. The EPPI Centre Weight of Evidencetool(Gough, 2007) was used to assess study quality.FindingsAll studies were conducted in the USA; four studies implemented School-Wide Positive Behaviour Intervention and Supports, and the remaining study implemented a restorative approach. Most studies reported a small effect of the intervention on reducing exclusions.LimitationsAll studies were conducted in the USA and differed considerably, possibly compromising the generalisability of the findings and making reliable comparisons difficult.ConclusionsSchool-wide interventions may contribute to a reduction in exclusions in mainstream secondary schools, however the evidence is not clear. Further research is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn regarding what type of intervention should be implemented.

Boxed in: Structural limitations to flexible pacing in Michigan competency-based education pilot districts

Over the last decade, policymakers have been experimenting with competency-based education, an instructional reform that relies on flexible pacing to enable students to achieve content mastery at their own pace. In this paper, we draw on mixed-methods data from teacher surveys and interviews to examine the use of flexible instructional pacing in five Michigan school districts implementing competency-based education. While implementing flexible pacing was challenging for all five districts, we identified several promising practices that facilitated flexible pacing in their districts. These included the adoption of school-wide interventions and the ability of teachers to share students across classrooms. These practices resulted from explicit prioritization of flexible pacing in some districts, whereas in others, they occurred somewhat by happenstance. In all cases, structural challenges (e.g., the division of time and space and the allocation of students to individual classrooms) inherent in “the grammar of schooling” impeded some or all efforts to implement flexible pacing. It will be essential to tackle these structural challenges to flexible pacing in future efforts to implement competency-based education reforms.

District-wide outcomes from a bullying prevention programming

Bullying in schools contributes to peer conflict, disruptive behavior, internalized victimization, and many other deleterious outcomes for students. This study examined the integration of a schoolwide bullying prevention intervention in a pre/post design comparing grade level aggregated data for elementary, middle, and high school across two timepoints. Results demonstrate that differences in response to bullying prevention occur across the two time points for each grade level. The greatest positive change was found for middle school students, indicating that bullying prevention could most effectively be delivered in middle school. Lack of significant changes may indicate that interventions may require more than one year, that the baseline scores were too high to detect significant change, or measures were not sensitive enough to detect change.

Restorative Practices: Using local evidence on costs and student outcomes to inform school district decisions about behavioral interventions

School disciplinary practices affect student academic and life outcomes. Many schools have recently shifted towards the prevention of behavioral disorders rather than the punishment of such disorders, but disciplinary actions are still disproportionately meted out to Black students. We took advantage of a natural experiment in a large school district to investigate the costs and effects of a school-wide intervention based on the principles of restorative justice on suspensions, referrals, and three school climate constructs. The study involved 14 elementary and middle schools, each of which was already implementing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Six of the schools integrated Restorative Practices into their PBIS framework during the first year of the study, whereas the other eight served as comparison schools and implemented the program the following year. We tested a difference-in-difference regression model for each of our five outcomes of interest after 1 year of implementation using Quasi-Poisson models for referrals and suspensions. We found no statistically significant effects on four of the outcomes, either for the overall sample or by racial subgroup. We found negative effects on student-reported personal safety. An additional analysis 1 year later showed that Black students in schools implementing Restorative Practices for 2 years experienced a greater reduction in suspensions than Black students in schools implementing the program for only 1 year. We used the ingredients method to estimate start-up costs and ongoing costs for the first full year of implementation. Our reference case analysis results using a societal perspective, national average prices, and a 3% discount rate were $57,450 per school and $139 per student for the first year of Restorative Practices implementation. These estimates included training costs from the prior year and were incremental to the costs of PBIS, which served as the business-as-usual condition. We compared these costs to those of a number of other behavioral interventions and concluded that Restorative Practices are relatively low cost but may need to be implemented for several years with greater fidelity in order to produce the desired improvements in behavior events and school climate.

Urban Secondary School Administrators and Faculty Perceptions of Multitiered System of Supports/Response to Intervention

MTSS promises a school-wide early warning system, high-quality instruction, and evidence-based interventions. However, research has focused mainly on the elementary level. This study examined the beliefs and perceptions of over 300 administrators and teachers currently implementing MTSS in secondary schools using survey research. Results showed that special education teachers and administrators had significantly higher MTSS/RtI beliefs and perceptions of their own academic and behavioral MTSS/RtI instructional and intervention skills. Recommendations include the need for extensive and intensive professional development, delineation of role clarity, increased fidelity of implementation, and staff accountability.

The factors that count: predicting implementation fidelity of evidence-based behavioural supports in Australian schools

ABSTRACT A need for the successful and sustained implementation of positive and proactive approaches to behaviour support has been widely acknowledged in Australia. School-wide positive behavioural interventions and supports (SWPBIS) is one approach that has been increasingly adopted across Australia to meet the social and behavioural needs of all students. However, successful and sustainable implementation of SWPBIS with fidelity has proven a challenging task. At present, limited exploration of SWPBIS implementation efforts have been undertaken in Australia. The current study addressed these gaps in two ways. First, the fidelity of Tier 1 SWPBIS implementation was assessed within 15 schools. Results indicated the majority of schools were implementing Tier-1 SWPBIS with fidelity. Second, a survey instrument was developed, validated, and used to assess 241 teachers’ perceptions of variables that may help or hinder SWPBIS implementation across these same Victorian schools. Based on these data, a two-step hierarchical regression model was used to identify predictors of implementation fidelity. The first model found leadership, resourcing, data, teacher beliefs about behaviour, and pre-service preparation were predictive of implementation fidelity, while the second found school duration of implementation, along with resourcing and data, predicted fidelity. The implications of these findings and future research directions are discussed.

A multi-country analysis of the prevalence and factors associated with bullying victimisation among in-school adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from the global school-based health survey

BackgroundOver the past few years, there has been growing public and research interest in adolescents’ experiences with various forms of bullying victimisation because of their psychological, emotional, and/ or physical consequences. The present study examined the prevalence of bullying victimisation and its associated factors among in-school adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsUsing data from the Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) from 2010 to 2017 of eleven sub-Saharan African countries, a sample of 25,454 in-school adolescents was used for analysis. Statistical analyses included frequencies, percentages, Pearson chi-square and multivariable logistic regression. Results were presented as adjusted odds ratios (aOR) at 95% confidence intervals (CIs).ResultsThe overall prevalence of bullying victimisation among the respondents was 38.8%. The prevalence was lowest in Mauritius (22.2%) and highest in Sierra Leone (54.6%). Adolescents who felt lonely [aOR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.53, 1.80], had history of anxiety [aOR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.41, 1.66], suicidal ideation [aOR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.17, 1.39], suicidal attempt [aOR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.72, 2.02], current users of marijuana [aOR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.38, 1.84], and truants at [aOR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.34, 1.52] were more likely to be victims of bullying. Conversely, adolescents who had peer support were less likely to be victims of bullying [aOR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.73, 0.82]. Adolescents aged 15 years or older had lower odds of experiencing bullying victimization compared to their counterparts aged 14 years or younger [aOR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.69, 0.78]. ConclusionOur findings suggest that age, loneliness, anxiety, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt, and current use of marijuana are associated with increased risk of bullying victimisation. School-wide preventative interventions (e.g., positive behavioural strategies- Rational Emotive Behavioral Education, [REBE], peer educator network systems, face-face counseling sessions, substance use cessation therapy) are essential in promoting a positive school climate and reduce students’ bullying victimisation behaviours.

‘Not Enough Time’: Identifying Victorian Teachers’ Perceptions of the Facilitators and Barriers to Supporting Improved Student Behaviour

AbstractStudents exhibiting behaviours of concern are at increased risk of poor outcomes during their school years. The implementation of school-wide positive behavioural interventions and supports (SWPBIS) has repeatedly been shown to be an effective, evidence-based approach that supports teachers to select and adopt effective practices to meet the social and behavioural needs of all learners. Implementation of SWPBIS within Australian schools is increasing. Although there is considerable evidence supporting the effectiveness and efficacy of SWPBIS as a means to improve the behavioural outcomes of all students, these positive outcomes largely depend on the actions of teachers. To this point, very limited research has been published that explores the experiences of teachers working in Australian schools currently implementing SWPBIS. The current study asked 206 Victorian teachers working in schools implementing SWPBIS two open-ended questions about the factors that they believed were facilitators or barriers to their ability to improve the behavioural outcomes of their students. The most commonly reported facilitators were availability of time, consistency of staff implementation of behaviour support, and adequate training. The most frequently identified barriers were a lack of time and inconsistent implementation. The practical and research implications of these preliminary qualitative findings are discussed.

Ideal Cardiovascular Health Behaviours in Nationally Representative School-Based Samples of Adolescents in the Caribbean.

BackgroundIdeal cardiovascular health behaviour (CVHB) measures four ideal health behaviours (non-smoking, body mass index <85th Percentile, healthy diet, and physical activity). This study aimed to determine the prevalence, distribution, and correlates of ideal CVHB among adolescents in the Caribbean.MethodsNationally representative cross-sectional data of 2016 or 2017 with complete CVHB measurements were analysed from 7556 school adolescents from four Caribbean countries.ResultsThe prevalence of 0–1 ideal metrics CVHB was 20.4%, 2 ideal metrics 48.7%, and 3–4 ideal metrics 30.8%. Only 5.0% had all 4 ideal CVHB metrics, 41.0% intermediate CVH (≥1 metric in the intermediate category and none in the poor category), and 54.0% had poor CVH (≥1 metric in poor category). In adjusted logistic regression analysis, compared to students from Dominican Republic, students from Jamaica (Adjusted Odds Ratio-AOR: 1.36, 95% confidence interval-CI: 1.01–1.85), students from Trinidad and Tobago (AOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.17–1.82) and male sex (AOR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.11–1.64) were positively associated with meeting 3–4 ideal CVHB metrics. In addition, in unadjusted analysis, rarely or sometimes experiencing hunger was negatively and high peer and parent support were positively associated with meeting 3–4 ideal CVHB metrics.ConclusionThe proportion of meeting 3–4 ideal CVHB metrics was low among adolescents in four Caribbean countries. Both high-risk and school-wide intervention programmes should be implemented in aiding to improve CVHB in Caribbean countries. Several factors associated with ideal CVHB were identified, which can be targeted in school health interventions.