Implementation Of School-wide Positive Behavior Support Research Articles

Contextual Adaptations to Implement SWPBS With Fidelity: The Case of Cyprus

The transfer and adoption of the school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) framework in different contexts worldwide is receiving increased interest. Identified challenges in implementing relevant systems and practices with fidelity at local schools can lead to adaptations improving the contextual fit of SWPBS, which eventually contributes to enhanced outcomes. The present study documents a 2-year systematic implementation of SWPBS in 31 elementary schools in Cyprus. Cultural and situational barriers were identified using a mixed-methods design. Data were obtained from three fidelity assessments across time, through which we examined the schools’ efforts to integrate SWPBS elements into their setting. School size and location were also used to predict implementation fidelity. External coaches’ experiences working with schools for 2 years were summarized to provide insight into the main impediments to effective implementation. Recommendations for forthcoming applications of SWPBS in contexts with similar characteristics are drawn.

Knowledge and Will: An Explorative Study on the Implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support in Sweden

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBIS) is a well-evaluated school approach to promoting a positive school climate and decreasing problem behaviors. Initial implementation is one of the most critical stages of program implementation. In this qualitative study, the initial implementation of SWPBIS in Swedish schools was studied using an implementation model of behavior change as guidance for interviews and analyses. The study makes significant contributions to previous research as little is known of the implementation of SWPBIS in Swedish context. Focus-group interviews were conducted with 59 professionals on implementation teams from nine schools. Themes were extracted according to implementation team members' perceptions and descriptions of how the initial implementation was carried out. The results of this study revealed relevant themes within the three domains of Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation. Core features were found under the themes of knowledge and experience of similar evidence-based programs, process or result orientation, time, manual content, organizational prerequisites, team functioning, implementation leadership, program as a unifying factor, program aligning with staff beliefs, plausible expectations, and emotional reinforcement. Results are discussed in terms of how they can be used in continuing to develop the Swedish model of SWPBIS. Implications regarding implementation in Swedish schools are discussed, as is the applicability of the model of behavior change for studying implementation in schools.

The relative impact of school‐wide positive behavior support on teachers’ perceptions of student behavior across schools, teachers, and students

AbstractSchool‐wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) is a systemic approach for implementing a proactive schoolwide discipline and for improving students’ academic and behavioral outcomes by targeting the school’s organizational and social culture. With a multilevel approach, the present study evaluates the relative effectiveness of SWPBS on teachers’ perceptions of the student behavior (N = 3,295) across schools, teachers, and children using a multilevel approach. We assessed teacher perception of student problem behavior five times during a 3‐year implementation of SWPBS in 23 Dutch schools. Multilevel analyses not only revealed a small increase in perceived prosocial behavior and a small decrease in problems with peers, but also different effects across children, teachers, and schools. Effects were stronger for girls and for students with higher severity of perceived problems at baseline. At teachers’ level, higher mean baseline severity of perceived problems was associated with the reduced impact of SWPBS on perceived emotional problems and problems with peers. At the school level, effects were stronger for regular schools as compared with special needs schools.

Brief Report: Assessing Attitudes toward Culturally and Contextually Relevant Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support Strategies

Given the increased interest and implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) systems in schools in the United States, practitioners and researchers have become interested in how to improve implementation with students and staff from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. Fallon, O'Keeffe, and Sugai (2012) reviewed the literature on behavior supports and culture and developed a list of recommended practices. To collect information on the perceived acceptability, feasibility, and efficacy of these practices, as well as accessibility to professional development on specific practices, we surveyed school staff members involved in SWPBS implementation across the country. Respondents (n = 330) indicated generally high agreement with the acceptability, feasibility, efficacy, and accessibility of training of culturally and contextually relevant SWPBS recommendations. Variations in these responses are discussed, and recommendations for research and practice are presented.

The Staff Perceptions of Behavior and Discipline Survey

The practices of schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) are dependent on staff implementation in classroom and common areas throughout the school. Thus, gaining the support and commitment of school staff is a critical step toward reaching full implementation of SWPBS. However, achieving buildingwide support can be challenging; many schools fail to reach full implementation due to staff resistance. The Staff Perceptions of Behavior and Discipline (SPBD) survey was developed to help teams assess staff beliefs about behavior and discipline and their perceptions of schoolwide expectations, school climate, systemic supports, and resources. With a better understanding of staff perceptions and beliefs, teams can proactively address staff needs and concerns and build on existing capacities. The current study describes the development and explores the psychometric properties of the SPBD in a sample of 1,210 school staff from 36 schools. The results of exploratory factor analysis provide evidence of internal validity, and the results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses examine concurrent validity with key variables such as level of SWPBS implementation, staff knowledge, and training.

Strategies for Preventing Disproportionate Exclusions of African American Students

The authors studied changes in disproportionate exclusion of African American students, compared with their White peers, in relation to implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support using data from 46 schools. They measured (a) exclusion through suspension and expulsion data collected with the Schoolwide Information System; (b) Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support implementation through the Effective Behavior Support Survey completed by staff members; and (c) disproportionality with the relative rate index. Standard linear multiple regression analyses with the relative rate index as the outcome variable and Effective Behavior Support Survey items as predictors indicated specific Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support strategies, such as praise and positive reinforcement, were associated with reductions in disproportionate exclusions. Follow-up analyses with a subsample of eight schools that increased their Effective Behavior Support average score while decreasing their relative rate index identified additional strategies that hold promise for reducing disproportionate exclusion of African American students.

Disciplinary Referrals for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with and without Disabilities: Patterns Resulting from School-Wide Positive Behavior Support

The goal of our study was to examine if school-wide positive behavior support implementation was associated with reductions in the discipline gap. We provided outcomes from descriptive and preliminary statistical analyses of three years of office discipline referral data from elementary schools engaged in school-wide positive behavior support implementation and not engaged in school-wide positive behavior support implementation. The percent of students enrolled was compared to the percent of students with office discipline referrals within each racial-ethnic category. The percent of students with office discipline referrals and individualized education plans was compared across racial-ethnic categories. Outcomes indicated that the discipline gap was present in schools engaged in school-wide positive behavior support implementation as well as schools not engaged in implementation with African American students over-represented among students with office discipline referrals. In schools engaged in school-wide positive behavior support, the gap was statistically significantly smaller than in schools not involved in school-wide positive behavior support implementation. Suggestions for future research in culturally responsive school-wide positive behavior support implementation were offered.

Toward a Conceptual Integration of Cultural Responsiveness and Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support

Within the context of widely documented racially disproportionate discipline outcomes, we describe schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) as one approach that might provide a useful framework for culturally responsive behavior support delivery. We conceptualize cultural and linguistic diversity as the result of a divergence between individual students’ and entire schools’ cultural identities and identify culturally responsive educational practices that might facilitate greater continuity between students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and school environments. Based on practical recommendations derived from the literature, we propose an expansion of the key features of SWPBS implementation (practices, data, systems, and outcomes) to facilitate culturally responsive behavior support delivery. We propose (a) systemically promoting staff members’ cultural knowledge and self-awareness, (b) commitment to culturally relevant and validating student support practices, and (c) culturally valid decision making to enhance culturally equitable student outcomes. We provide recommendations for future research and present the efforts of one school district to blend SWPBS implementation with training in cultural responsiveness.

The Relationship Between Implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) and Disciplinary Exclusion of Students From Various Ethnic Backgrounds With and Without Disabilities

This study examined disciplinary exclusion data from 77 schools implementing school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). The authors examined (a) patterns of exclusion in schools implementing SWPBS; (b) associations between decreased exclusions and SWPBS implementation at the whole school level, the classroom level, the nonclassroom level, and the individual student level; (c) the extent to which students from varying ethnicities were equitably represented in overall exclusions as well as long-term exclusions; and (d) the extent to which students with a disability from varying ethnicities were equitably represented in long-term exclusions. Whereas SWPBS implementation in the classroom appeared to be associated with decreased exclusions in elementary schools, SWPBS implementation in nonclassroom settings appeared to be associated with decreased exclusions in high schools. Although overall exclusions decreased, White students appeared to benefit most from this decrease, whereas African American students remained overrepresented in exclusions, in particular long-term exclusions. Small sample sizes limited generalizability of outcomes.

Examining the Evidence Base for School-Wide Positive Behavior Support

As the field of education embraces the task of adopting evidence-based practices, ongoing discussion will be appropriate about the standards and format for determining whether an intervention is supported by data on its effectiveness. We propose here six criteria that may be useful in this discussion and apply these criteria to assessment of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS). Because multiple systems and practices are combined within a three-tiered behavior support framework, SWPBS presents a complex, though useful, example. We propose that a sufficiently rigorous and voluminous body of scholarship establishes SWPBS as an evidence-based practice for use in public schools, by typical educational personnel, to decrease problem behavior and promote prosocial behavior. Further research is needed, however, to better assess the breadth, interaction effects with effective intervention, and sustainability of SWPBS implementation and outcomes. After decades of productive research on the development of effective educational practices, the focus is expanding from transforming practices that “work” as part of iso

Building District-Level Capacity for Positive Behavior Support

As more and more schools adopt school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) as a model for school improvement and the success of initial demonstration sites becomes evident, districts are faced with expansion and sustainability issues. Careful planning of these implementation efforts requires district personnel to be familiar with the resources and supports needed to implement and sustain such district-wide systems change efforts and build an infrastructure to support SWPBS initiatives. The purpose of this article is to expand upon School-wide Positive Behavior Support: Implementers' Blueprint and Self-Assessment (Sugai et al., 2005) by describing the how-to of the SWPBS implementation process with specific activities and providing user-friendly tools that can assist a district in “going to scale.” Obstacles to and future considerations for expanding the practice of SWPBS are also presented.

Measuring School-wide Positive Behavior Support Implementation

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) has been implemented in more than 4,000 schools as a means of addressing problem behavior in a systemic fashion. Preliminary outcomes (e.g., office discipline referrals, suspensions) indicate the effectiveness of SWPBS in decreasing school-wide behavior problems and creating a positive school climate. Although the results of a majority of the program evaluations yielded significant findings, there has been a lack of measurement of treatment fidelity, possibly due to the absence of expedient, effective assessment tools. This article describes the theoretical background and development, including a qualitative pilot study and psychometric properties, of the School-wide Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ; Kincaid, Childs, & George, 2005), a tool intended to measure the implementation of SWPBS. Descriptive data on the instrument, including internal consistency, test—retest reliability, interrater reliability, and concurrent validity, were collected and analyzed. Results indicate that the BoQ for SWPBS is a reliable, valid, efficient, and useful instrument for measuring the fidelity of implementation of the primary or universal level of PBS application in individual schools. Future considerations for evaluating the psychometric properties of the BoQ include extending the data collection and analysis to many more schools across multiple states.