EDUC701 - Identify A Problem 2
Abstract
For this assignment, I will be writing about PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports) and the
impacts and outcomes of whether or not this type of intervention system really does work to help deter
classroom management issues throughout our schools today.
EDUC701 - Identify A Problem 3
Does PBIS Really Help To Manage Classroom Behavioral Issues Amongst Students In Our Schools Today?
To begin my writing for this assignment, I will first give some background information on the PBIS
intervention system and how to came to be put into practice in our schools as we see it today. “In the late
1990s, George Sugai and Rob Horner, researchers from the University of Oregon, developed the Effective
Behavior Supports (EBS) program, which has since come to be known as Positive Behavioral Interventions
and Strategies (PBIS.)” (Sugai et. al., 2000). The whole goal behind the PBIS model deals with the overall
promotion of and implementation therein of positive behavior support. Positive behavior supports deal with a
set of different strategies where procedures have been put into place, specifically in regards to helping with the
improvement of behavioral successes, by using many different proactive tools including, but not limited to,
positive reinforcements and enforcing behavior rules in classrooms, congratulations and rewarding for good
work done in a timely fashion, praise from administrators, teachers, and other school staff when positive
behaviors are seen and being utilized in place of negative behaviors that may cause disruptions, etc.
Randy Sprick is one of the leading researchers and developers behind the PBIS system as we see it
today, and, back in the 1970s, he put out several books on the topic including, “The Solution Book,”
“Discipline in the Secondary Classroom,” and “Foundations.” “In these books and programs, Randy offers
guidance to teachers on how to structure a classroom to ensure student success, how to set classroom goals,
motivate students, deliver effective consequences, and how to develop an effective school wide discipline
policy by using proactive, positive, and instructional techniques.” (Sprick, 1981) Some of the most common
elements of PBIS models throughout schooling systems today include:
Stakeholders sharing in many different beliefs and values with purposes to help reform and
change the overall environment or culture of a school/classroom where classroom
management or behavioral issues may be a problem.
Making sure that students feel connected to one another and their educators by making them
feel as though they are part of the overall group or class.
Data-driven decision making on the parts of teachers to see where students may be struggling
and how to help inform better teaching or classroom management practices to help benefit the
EDUC701 - Identify A Problem 4
class as a whole.
Staff, educators and teachers being cognizant of positive behaviors and rewarding them.
Making sure that said positive behaviors are being looked upon more and praised where the
emphasis isn’t placed more on negative behaviors or disruptions within a given classroom.
Administrators being actively a part of the process throughout implementation of the school
wide PBIS system.
To answer the question of whether PBIS models work in school systems today, one must first look to
the schools that are actively participating and utilizing these types of models to help with classroom
management and overall organizational health within an education system. “There is a broad and
ever-increasing body of evidence that PBS works. Countless schools, districts, and educational
service districts across the country have implemented PBIS models with great success as measured by:
reductions in referrals, suspensions, and expulsions, and increases in student and staff attendance and
connectedness.” (Sugai, Horner, & McIntosh, 2008) According to one article on the subject,
“Although not statistically significant, the tendency of staff in PBIS schools to report positive growth
in their perceptions of academic emphasis might be a result of enhanced behavior management,
thereby providing more opportunity to focus on academics and greater emphasis on positive
behaviors, like academic excellence.” (Hoy and Tarter, 1997) Therefore, one can conclude, when a
more positive system in regards to dealing with classroom management and behavioral issues is put
into place, students and their academics see a trend upward. The study used from the aforementioned
article on the subject speaks to PBIS school efforts and their outcomes, too, stating, “The findings
indicate that training in school-wide PBIS is associated with improvements in several aspects of
organizational health.” (Lipsey, 1998) The article goes on to say that although it is rather hard to
figure out exactly which parts of a PBIS model were responsible for upward trends in organizational
health in a specific school, it is “likely that participation in high quality training, convening regular
PBIS team meetings, promoting consistency among staff regarding student discipline, and receiving
ongoing technical assistance from the PBIS coach contributed to observed outcomes.” (Barrett et. al.,
2008)
EDUC701 - Identify A Problem 5
References:
Barrett, S., Bradshaw, C. P., & Lewis-Palmer, T. (2008). Maryland state-wide PBIS initiative:
Systems, evaluation, and next steps. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 10, 105–114.
Hoy, W. K., & Tarter, C. J. (1997). The road to open and healthy schools: A handbook for change,
Elementary Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Lipsey, M. W. (1998). Design sensitivity: Statistical power for applied experimental research. In
L.Bickman & D. L.Rog (Eds.). Handbook of applied social research methods (pp. 39–68).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sprick, R.S. (1981). The Solutions Book: A guide to classroom discipline. Chicago: Science Research
Associates.
Sugai, G., Horner, R. H., Dunlap, G., Hieneman, M., Lewis, T., Nelson, C. M., et al. (2000). Applying
positive behavior support and functional behavioral assessment in schools. Journal of
Positive Behavioral Interventions, 2, 131-143.
Sugai, G., Horner, R. H., & McIntosh, K. (2008). Best practices in developing a broad scale system of
school-wide positive behavior support. In A. Thomas & J. Grimes (Eds.), Best practices in
school psychology V (pp. 765�780). Bethesda, MD: National Association of School
Psychologists.
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