Expanding the Effectiveness of School-Wide PBIS Implementation 2010 National PBIS Leadership Forum October 14-15, 2010

1. Expanding the Effectiveness of School-Wide PBIS Implementation 2010 National PBIS Leadership ForumOctober 14-15, 2010Chicago, Illinois Hill M. Walker, Ph.D. Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior, University of Oregon

3. Theme of Keynote: PBIS as an Exemplar of Evidence-Based Practice in Schools: Past, Present, Future • Creates a Positive School Culture • Engages All School Staff in Meeting Student Needs • Increases the Holding Power of the School

5. Bridging the Gap BetweenResearch and Practice • Time lag between the availability of an EBP and its adoption and effective use on a broad scale within routine contexts can be vast. -Cure for scurvy (Rogers, 1995). -Time lag in mental health is estimated to be 20 years. -Time lag is at least this long in K-12 education. • Typical barriers to adoption -Cost -Difficulty accessing -Philosophical objections -Resistance to change -Innovation takes too much time and effort

6. Factors Driving Interest in EBPs • National Legislation • No Child Left Behind • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004 Reauthorization) • Court Mandates • Threats to School Security

7. Factors (Continued) • Public Demand for Return on Investments in Federal Research • Growing Interest in Prevention • Especially as an Alternative to Specialized Accommodation and Special Education • Development of Quality Standards by Professional Organizations

8. Where are Schools Re: New Evidence-Based Practices? • Until the past decade, schools have been slow to adopt proven or promising EBPs. Impact • The vast majority of K-12 students have not accessed effective interventions. • Emerging pressures on educators to adopt and implement best and preferred practices that have a solid evidence base.

9. Development of Innovations in Better Serving At-Risk Students has Ramped UpSubstantiallyin the Past Decade • 3-tiered public health prevention model applied to school contexts • Advent of use of Response to Intervention approaches for screening, identification and treatment • Strong interest by psychologists in conducting school-based research on conduct disorders • Priority of adapting promising programs for routine usage in school practices

12. Aldous Huxley “The Single Greatest Tragedy of Science is the Cold-Blooded Slaying of a Beautiful Theory by an Ugly Fact.” • Randomized Control Trials are often the Cruel Means by Which this Tragedy Occurs.

14. What are the Origins of PBIS? • Grows Out of the Knowledge Base and Behavioral Technology of Applied Behavior Analysis • Applies the USPHS Model of Prevention to Schools (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary) • Adopts Policy Logic from Mental Health and Juvenile Justice

18. Outstanding Features of PBIS 3-Tiered heuristic provides a conceptual framework and a scaffold for a whole-school approach to behavior management Uses archival school records and disciplinary referrals that allow estimation of a school’s status and efficiency Applies the concept of continuous positive support to student behavior Addresses all school settings

19. What are the Factors that Make It Work? • Consistent with the Priorities, Routines, Values and Operations of the School Context • Is an Example of a Good Practice- Environment Fit • PBIS Considers the School as a Dynamic System within a District and Community Context.

20. Factors (continued) • PBIS Integrates-Coordinates Key Components that are Evidence-Based and Acceptable to Educators • Strong focus on Implementation Fidelity that is Measured Regularly and Prompts Actions • Allows Flexible Adaptation and Fine Tuning of PBIS Components

21. School Context • Factors that Influence Educator Adoption of New Practices: • Fits seamlessly into ongoing school routines • Consistent with school and educator values • Universal versus targeted interventions • Solves a high priority problem or issue • Time and effort costs are reasonable • Teacher perceives s/he has the skills and resources to apply practice effectively

22. Efficacy Vs. Effectiveness (Schoenwald & Hoagwood, 2001) • Efficacy – Intervention, practice or approach has been demonstrated to work under ideal conditions by their developers (e.g., under highly controlled, grant-funded conditions, with close supervision and monitoring of implementation fidelity). • Effectiveness – Refers to demonstration of socially valid outcomes under normal conditions of usage in the target setting for which the intervention was developed. • Demonstrating effectiveness is far more difficult. • Many promising practices or programs fail to bridge the gap between efficacy and effectiveness.

23. R. Detrich (2008)

24. Why Has PBIS Been So Widely Accepted? • Allows Schools to Respond to the Needs of All Students • Promotes the Concept of Continuing, Positive Behavioral Support • Carefully Defines Roles of Each PBIS Participant

25. Reasons (continued) • PBIS Provides Well-Developed Training Materials • Uses Checklists-Guidelines to Support User-Friendly Implementation • AtulGawande, The Checklist Manifesto • Allows Cost-Efficient Use of School Resources

26. Does PBIS Have a Role to Play in the Current Press for School Reform? • PBIS Represents a Model of the Effective, Accountable School that is the Focus of School Improvement Efforts. • PBIS Use of Discipline Referrals, the SET, and Regular Student Progress Monitoring are Essential for Improving Schools. • To Solidify its Role, PBIS Needs to be a Part of ESEA and IDEA Reauthorizations.

27. What are the Challenges Facing PBIS in the Next Decade? • Develop a Participant and Advocacy Role for PBIS Involving Families • Continue Focus on Innovation that Preserves the Dynamic Nature of PBIS • Re-Commit to High Quality PBIS Implementation and Its Assessment

28. Challenges (continued) • Continue Extending the Reach of PBIS to Diverse Populations, Contexts and Problems • Document the Cultural Responsiveness and Relevance of PBIS • Show that Sustained PBIS Improves Student Achievement as well as School Behavior