Effects of school‐wide positive behavior support on teacher self‐efficacy

This study examined the relationships between implementation of a school‐wide approach to behavior, School‐wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), and teacher self‐efficacy. Twenty‐two teachers from schools implementing SWPBS and 40 teachers from schools not implementing SWPBS completed a questionnaire measuring aspects of self‐efficacy. Differences in ratings of self‐efficacy were examined using multilevel modeling. Results showed that teachers at SWPBS schools reported significantly higher perceptions of teacher self‐efficacy when controlling for school‐level effects. Results are discussed in terms of implications for future research and practice. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Measures used in assessing outcomes of school‐wide positive behaviour support

School‐Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) is increasingly becoming a popular approach to managing challenging behaviour in schools. However, several issues still have to be addressed facilitate successful implementation of this approach in schools. One of these issues pertains to the appropriateness of the different measures used to determine the efficacy of the approach. Because many schools are using indirect measures to assess the effects of SWPBS implementation, determining which measures more accurately reflect the effectiveness of the SWPBS components may increase the effectiveness of school measurement systems. The purpose of this study was to examine the measures used in evaluating the efficacy of positive behaviour support. The paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of outcome measures regarding problem behaviour, prosocial behaviour, and implementation fidelity.     

Effectiveness of school‐based psychotherapy: A meta‐analysis of dissertation research

A meta‐analysis was conducted with 65 school‐based psychotherapy and counseling dissertations over the last 10 years (1998–2008) to assess if a file‐drawer problem (i.e., studies conducted but not published that, as a whole, have different results than studies in the same area published) exists in the school‐based outcome literature. An overall mean effect size of 0.44 was found for 73 treatment interventions. This effect size is comparable to Prout and DeMartino's 1986 meta‐analysis conducted with published school‐based studies and approximately half a standard deviation smaller than Prout and Prout's 1998 meta‐analysis of school‐based intervention studies. A bias does appear to exist but seems to be smaller than the bias found in the general child and adolescent psychotherapy outcome literature. Most of the dissertation studies evaluated group interventions and used a cognitive–behavioral or skills training intervention. Skills training and interventions with elementary‐school students yielded the largest effect sizes. Comparisons of the current study with previous school‐based intervention meta‐analyses are discussed as are suggestions for future research. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

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

School‐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.     

Project start: An evaluation of a community‐wide school‐based intervention to reduce truancy

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a community‐based court intervention aimed at reducing truancy in a large urban school district. A quasi‐experimental design was used to assess attendance outcomes for 567 truants matched on demographics and drawn from three categories of intervention (no court referral, traditional court referral, and court referral with community‐based services). A court group by time ANOVA was conducted. Truancy levels remained high and unchanged for nonreferred truants throughout the study. Both court groups showed a significant drop in absences 30 days post court. During the subsequent 30‐day period, the community‐based court maintained the reduced rates, while the traditional court group showed higher truancy levels than the community‐based court group. No significant interaction effects were found between court groups and sex, age group, or ethnic categories. At one year follow‐up, the community‐based court group continued to show significantly lower levels of unexcused absences compared to the other two experimental groups. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 657–667, 2005.     

Antisocial behavior and the prediction of violence: A meta‐analysis

Youthful antisocial behavior is often viewed as a precursor to later violent and threatening behavior. Olweus (1979) reported aggressive reaction patterns in males that over time approached the stability of intelligence. While Olweus did not examine violent behavior directly, his study is often cited as evidence for the stability of violence. To examine the evidence for this assertion, this study synthesized the evidence from 82 reports of 58 prospective studies that followed individuals over some period of their life span. After correcting effect sizes for exogenous study features, the grand mean correlation of antisocial and substance misusing behaviors with later crimes against persons was estimated to be r = .33, a far cry from the stability of intelligence. Because these predictors are often used to select people into intervention, this study estimated the conditional error rates associated with identification for preventive intervention. Overall, selection failed to identify 66% of those who displayed later violence, while on average, 60% of those engaging in antisocial or substance‐using behavior were not later violent. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Determinants of withdrawal behavior: An exploratory study

Research on college persistence has typically classified nonreturnees as dropouts. Recently, this practice has been criticized by Tinto (1987) who argues that such a practice merges together different types of withdrawal behavior whose determinants may vary as a function of the particular departure behavior under consideration. This paper empirically examines whether the determinants of decisions to withdraw from the institution are similar to those affecting decisions to transfer to other institutions of higher education for the 1984 entering freshman class at a large southern institution. Results provide support for Tinto's proposition of differentiating between different types of voluntary withdrawal behavior. While institutional commitment, academic performance, finance attitudes, and student perceptions of faculty concern for student development and teaching discriminated between persisters and dropouts, only final institutional commitment and final goal commitment discriminated between persisters and transfers.An earlier version of this paper was presented before the 1990 American Educational Research Association annual meeting.     

Comparison of correlates of classroom behavior problems in schools with and without a school‐wide character education program

System‐wide practices in schools should diminish the occurrence of children's problem behavior that is deleterious to academic achievement. The current study examined the relationship between variables that affect classroom behavior and observed behavior in schools with and without a theoretically based character education program. Observational data from 12 elementary schools compared control and treatment conditions on classroom disruption, and examined the influences of class size and percentage of students receiving a free or reduced price lunch (FRL). Results showed a weaker relationship between class size, FRL, and behavior problems within the character education schools than in control schools and that the character education program may have had a stronger influence in schools with a high percentage of students eligible for FRL. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Darren: a case study in school–college liaison

Some recent attention has been directed towards the role that post‐16 colleges can play in providing young people at risk of exclusion from school with opportunities to experience ‘alternative’ curricula and ways of learning. In this article the case of ‘Darren’ is considered, a boy for whom education in a mainstream secondary school setting appeared to have grown increasingly disjointed and irrelevant. This ‘case’ is used to highlight some of the challenges involved in school–college liaison in supporting young people who experience social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD).     

A professional development model for the positive practice of school‐based reading consultation

This paper reports on two years of a multiyear consultation/professional development project based on socioconstructivist principles (situated cognition, social context, and scaffolded instruction) that are consistent with key elements of positive psychology. The consultation model used a case analysis framework to engage 12 elementary school teachers in workshops, demonstration lessons, ad hoc inquiry groups, and coaching. Interview, questionnaire, and field note data from the participants identified “control and choice,” “focus on student needs,” “applicability to classroom practices,” “direct instruction of skills,” and “consultant feedback” as key elements of the model. Changes in classroom practices were reported by 78% of the participants with changes in confidence noted from pre‐ to posttests. Better learning for students was mentioned by 89% of the teachers. Discussion focuses on critical theoretical elements associated with positive psychology. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 51–65, 2004.     

Teaching social skills to children with autism spectrum disorders using tiers of support: A guide for school‐based professionals

The quintessential characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is having difficulty with basic social interactions. Due to the pervasiveness of their social skills difficulties, it is necessary that supports for increasing social skills of children with ASD are included as part of the educational plan within schools. The purpose of this article is to provide educators with a framework for using multiple tiers of instruction to teach social skills to children with ASD. Specifically, a number of evidence‐based strategies for teaching social skills are summarized within a systemic, multitiered approach. It is anticipated that such a model proves helpful as educators address issues related to service delivery provisions for students with ASD. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Barriers to implementing classroom management and behavior support plans: An exploratory investigation

Teachers are responsible for delivering classroom‐management plans and behavior support plans; however, many struggle to implement them consistently. Low levels of treatment integrity may be the result of various implementation barriers. No study has been conducted to examine teachers’ experience of these barriers within the context of specific interventions. This exploratory study involves the analysis of barriers reported during implementation planning by 33 teachers responsible for delivering classroom‐management plans or behavior support plans. Teachers most frequently indicate struggling to respond to problem behaviors and manage competing responsibilities. Strategies suggested to ameliorate barriers most frequently include re‐teaching the intervention and scheduling implementation.     

Addressing escape‐maintained behavior for students with developmental disabilities: A systematic review of school‐based interventions

Students with developmental disabilities have been found to exhibit higher rates of problem behavior in the classroom than their typically developing peers. Effectively addressing these students’ behavior concerns requires the identification of interventions that can be implemented in an educational setting. Furthermore, matching intervention strategies to the function of a student's problem behavior may increase its effectiveness. There are data to suggest that students with disabilities exhibit escape‐maintained problem behavior in the classroom twice as frequently as problem behavior maintained by other consequences such as attention or access to tangibles. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to identify school‐based intervention strategies that have been used to reduce the disruptive behavior of students with developmental disabilities. In total, 12 articles met search criteria, with escape extinction, curricular modification, and noncontingent escape serving as the most frequently employed intervention strategies. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Effectiveness of software training using simulations: An exploratory study

This study was designed to explore the effectiveness in student performance and confidence of limited and full device simulators. The 30 employees from an information technology company who participated in this study were assigned to one of three groups. Each group received practice for learning a complex software procedure using traditional interactions, a limited device simulator, or a full device simulator. A training portal was created for each practice method. Measurements of performance included the number of times the participants repeated the assigned practice activity, the total time required to complete the procedure, a test score representing the number of mistakes made in the 20‐step procedure, and the average time between mouse clicks as they selected items from menus or clicked buttons. Preliminary results indicated that a limited device simulator appears to be as effective as a full device simulator. Recommendations for further research and limitations of the study are also addressed.     

Professional development to increase teacher behavior‐specific praise: A single‐case design replication

Effective classroom instruction is contingent upon successful classroom management. Unfortunately, not all teachers successfully manage classroom behavior and need in‐service professional development. In this study, we replicated a targeted professional development approach that included a brief one‐on‐one training session and emailed visual performance feedback to increase novice teachers’ use of behavior‐specific praise, an evidence‐based classroom management skill. Dependent variables collected through direct observation included teachers’ behavior‐specific praise along with average student engagement and disruptions. Four elementary teachers participated and, based on a multiple‐baseline single‐case design, we found a functional relationship between the targeted professional development and teachers’ increased use of behavior‐specific praise. However, because of variability and one teacher's limited response, effect sizes were small for behavior‐specific praise and little change was observed in student behaviors. These findings warrant further research to determine which classroom management skills affect student behaviors overall, as well as continued evaluation of this professional development model and using school‐based coaches.     

Investigating the effect of school‐wide positive behavioral interventions and supports on student learning and behavioral problems in elementary and middle schools

Many states have scaled up School‐Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW‐PBIS) with the goal of improving student behavior and academic outcomes. Although the effects of SW‐PBIS on behavioral and discipline outcomes have been promising, the findings for academic achievement have been inconclusive and are often limited to cross‐sectional data. This paper examined the longitudinal effect of SW‐PBIS on student behavioral problems and academic achievement growth in elementary and middle schools using propensity score matching. We found no statistically significant longitudinal effects of SW‐PBIS on either student behavior problems or academic achievement among elementary and middle schools in this quasi‐experimental design, even though the positive direction of longitudinal changes would be identified. The result raised questions about the efficacy of SW‐PBIS using a statewide achievement test when scaled up to a state level. Additional research is needed to better understand the impact of SW‐PBIS using rigorous scale‐up designs.     

Enhancing visuospatial skills in second graders: An exploratory follow‐up study

This study was intended to assess the effect of a psychoeducational computer‐assisted and paper‐and‐pencil training designed to empower visuospatial skills in students attending the second grade of the primary school. At pretest, posttest and at the subsequent 3‐months follow‐up, 44 Italian second graders were presented with a battery of tests assessing nonverbal problem solving, imagery, speed of processing, visuomotor coordination, and verbal working memory. After pretest, 22 pupils were trained by the psychoeducational intervention for 15 weekly sessions (Fastame & Antonini (2011). RECUPERO IN… abilità visuo‐spaziali [Recovery in… visuo‐spatial abilities]. Trento, Italy: Edizioni Erickson). Posttest scores and a follow‐up assessment conducted after 3 months by the end of the training documented the positive effect of the psychoeducational intervention in enhancing visuospatial functions of the experimental group. These outcomes were also replicated when a questionnaire assessing visuospatial efficacy was proposed to the teachers of the participants.     

An exploratory study: using Danmaku in online video-based lectures

This exploratory study investigated the use of Danmaku in video-based lectures as a method to enhance learners’ interactions and course engagement in online instruction. Visually, Danmaku is real-time, horizontal, text-based display of commentary that uses subtitles in a manner widely employed in Animation, Comic, and Game (ACG) videos in Asian countries. To assess the potential value of Danmaku for online instruction and learner interaction, this study employed an inductive content analysis using Danmaku from 934 online lecture videos. Data were collected from Bilibili.tv, a video-sharing website based in China. This study concluded that Danmaku could function as an effective way to enhance learners’ interaction, increase course engagement, and improve learning experiences while participating in online video-based lectures.