The Evolution of Discipline Practices: School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports

1. The Evolution of Discipline Practices:School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports George SugaiRobert Horner 2002 http://faculty.unlv.edu/sloe/Courses/EPY%20715/SWPBS%20articles/Sugai%20and%20Horner_2002.pdf

2. Why need school wide PBS? • More behavioral issues in school today • Bullying • Violence • Increased psychiatric/behavioral problems • More general dysfunction in homes • More “kinds” of kids in classrooms • Better identification of problems due to special education laws (e.g., PL94-142; IDEA)

3. What need to do? • Monitoring the school system • Have rules and sanctions • A continuum of punishment • Staff consistency • Bottom line interventions

4. How have schools reacted? • Increased surveillance • Increased police/security presence • Zero tolerance policies • Increased punishments: in/out/sat. school detentions and suspensions • Alternative schools • All of these are reactive, not proactive!

5. A Better way? Use our learning theory • Break up contingencies that maintain antisocial behavior networks • Increase the opportunity and the rate of reinforcement for academic and behavioral success • Establish and maintain positive school and classroom climates • Be PROACTIVE not reactive

6. Lots of research supports these ideas: • punishment and exclusion are ineffective when used without aproactive support system (Gottfredson, Karweit, & Gottfredson,1989; Mayer, 1995; Tolan & Guerra, 1994), • behavioral principles exist for organizing successful support forindividual students with problem behavior (Alberto & Troutman, 1999; Kazdin, 1982; Kerr&Nelson, 1983; Vargas, 1977; Wolery,Bailey, & Sugai, 1988) • effective instruction is linked to reduced behavior problems (Becker,1971; Heward, Heron, Hill, & Trap-Porter, 1984; Jenson, Sloane, & Young, 1988; Lee, Sugai,&Horner, 1999; Sulzer-Azaroff&Mayer, 1986), • school-wide systems of behavior support can be an efficient systemfor reducing the incidence of disruptive and antisocial behavior in schools (Chapman & Hofweber, 2000; Colvin & Fernandez, 2000; Horner & Sugai, 2000; Lohrman-O’Rourke et al., 2000; Nakasato, 2000; Nelson, in press; Nersesian et al., 2000; Sadler, 2000; Taylor-Greene et al., 1997; Taylor-Greene&Kartub, 2000;Walker et al., 1996) • (Sugai and Horner, 2002, pg. 28) • Still, schools are slow to implement proactive positive change

7. Positive Behavior Support: 4 critical elements • Must have outcomes that are clearly defined and agreed upon by all in school • All staff (from administration to bus drivers and custodial staff) • Students must be part of decision making: need “ownership” • Must use a bio-social-behavioral approach • Don’t neglect medical and social needs • Must use empirically validated practices for achieving outcomes • Use well-established research practices, not latest bandwagon • Must implement best practices within context of the school system • Each school is unique, no cookie-cutter approach will be successful

8. Multi system? • implement new practices across: • School wide • Classroom • Out of classroom (bus, cafeteria, after school) • Individual student • Must have clearly stated expectations with behavioral examples! • Must have procedures for encouraging and catching expected behavior • Procedures for preventing problems • Procedures for minor to major rule violations • Procedures for record keeping and decision making

9. School wide systems: • Expected student behaviors are taught directly. • Expected student behaviors are rewarded regularly. • Distinctions between office vs. classroom managed problem behaviors are clear. • School administrator is an active participant on the behavior support team. • Staff receives regular (monthly/quarterly) feedback on behavior patterns. • School-wide behavior support team has a budget for (a) teaching students, (b) ongoing program needs • rewards, and annual staff planning (Sugai and Horner, pg. 43)

10. Non-classroom settings: • School-wide expected student behaviors are taught in non-classroom settings. • Supervisors actively supervise (move, scan, and interact) students in non-classroom settings. • Rewards exist for meeting expected student behaviors in non-classroom settings. • Staff receive regular opportunities for developing and improving active supervision skills. • Status of student behavior and management practices are evaluated quarterly from data. (Sugai and Horner, pg. 43)

11. Classroom Setting Systems: • Expected student behavior and routines in classrooms are taught directly. • Expected student behaviors are acknowledged regularly (positively reinforced) (> 4 positivesto1 negative). • Procedures for expected and problem behaviors are consistent with school-wide procedures. • Instruction and curriculum materials are matched to student ability (math, reading, language). • Students experience high rates of academic success (> 75% correct). • Transitions between instructional and non-instructional activities are efficient and orderly. (Sugai and Horner, pg. 43)

12. Individual Student Support Systems: • Assessments are conducted regularly to identify students with chronic problem behaviors. • A behavior support team responds promptly (within 2 working days) to students who present chronic problem behaviors. • Local resources are used to conduct functional assessment-based behavior support planning (~10 hrs/week/student). • Significant family and/or community members are involved when appropriate and possible. • Behavior is monitored and feedback provided regularly to the behavior support team and relevant staff (Sugai and Horner, pg. 43)

13. What about staff training? • Teach teachers/staff to engage in scanning • Teachers/staff must move around building/classroom • Staff must provide pre-correction guidance

14. Team approach • Must be allowed to build team-based individual student support systems • Team based • Function based • Individualized targeted social skills • Early identification and intervention • Continuum of support

15. Must be school wide! • Establish leadership team • Must have school-wide agreement/support (minimum of 80% of staff must be on board) • Develop action based plans • Arrange for “high fidelity” implementation • Conduct data based monitoring system from the start

16. Data assessment is critical piece: • Good, reliable data collected • Mechanisms/processes in place for data management • Must have structures and processes in place to allow for and support decision making • Data must be usable and accessible ASAP

17. School or System Wide interventions • Use best practices • Are research/data based • Involve everyone • Fit the context of the system • Are positive based but include punishers • Have accessible data for immediate use • Make use of the data to implement system wide and individualized change! • In other words, use good learning practices: