Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS)
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a comprehensive, tiered approach designed to improve student behavior and learning outcomes in schools. Originating in the 1980s from research at the University of Oregon, PBIS aims to provide effective behavioral interventions for students with challenging behaviors, particularly those with disabilities, as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). Unlike traditional programs, PBIS functions as a decision-making framework that integrates evidence-based practices to enhance both academic and behavioral results for all students.
The PBIS model is structured into three levels: primary prevention focuses on all students and is implemented school-wide, secondary prevention addresses those at risk with more targeted support, and tertiary prevention offers individualized interventions for students with the greatest needs. By 2023, PBIS had been adopted in over 25,000 schools across the U.S. and internationally, demonstrating significant effectiveness in creating positive school climates, reducing bullying, and improving academic performance. Additionally, PBIS has been successfully adapted for use in various educational settings, including alternative education programs and early childhood initiatives, highlighting its versatility in addressing diverse educational needs.
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Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS)
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a three-tiered (school-wide, classroom, and individual) strategy implemented by schools to reduce behavior that disrupts the learning process. During the 1980s, researchers at the University of Oregon responded to a need for improved selection, implementation, and documentation of effective behavioral interventions for students with behavior disorders by developing PBIS, a behaviorally based approach rooted in psychological and sociological theory. The 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) mandated that positive behavioral interventions and supports and functional behavior assessments be implemented with students with disabilities whose behavior obstructs either their own learning or the learning of others. PBIS is the only approach to addressing behavior that is specifically mentioned in the law.
Overview
PBIS is not a program or a curriculum. According to the Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, it is a “decision-making framework that guides selection, integration, and implementation of the best evidence-based academic and behavioral practices for improving important academic and behavior outcomes for all students.” The approach emphasizes data on which decisions are based, measurable outcomes supported and evaluated by data, proven practices to achieve the outcomes, and systems that support implementation of these practices. Schools organize their practices and systems into a continuum. The primary prevention level is school-wide, or classroom-wide, involving all students, staff, and settings. The secondary level provides more concentrated support for those students who are not responsive and who exhibit at-risk behaviors, and the tertiary prevention is intended for students who require specialized, highly individualized support for at-risk behaviors. PBIS was implemented in more than 25,000 schools across the United States and in many other countries in 2023.
PBIS does not promise an instant solution to social and academic problems, but its effectiveness in schools that have implemented the framework with integrity and persistence is impressive. For example, these schools have more than 70 percent of their students who have not experienced an office discipline referral for a disciplinary rule infraction and substantial rates of recognition for contributing to a positive and safe school climate. Additionally, researchers have documented reductions in student bullying and peer victimization and improvements in academic achievement in schools using PBIS.
As data supporting the successes of the PBIS model have accrued, the framework has been adopted in other settings. Program-wide PBIS has been used in the federally funded Head Start program, private or district preschools, and childcare programs, and a growing body of evidence suggests the effectiveness of PBIS in decreasing young children’s challenging behavior and increasing their social emotional skills. PBIS has also been adapted for use in alternative education settings. About 800,000 students in the United States, most of them in grades nine through twelve, were educated in alternative education schools and programs in 2019. Many of them have disabilities, and nearly all face behavior challenges. Major reasons public school districts transfer students to alternative education facilities include physical aggression; disruptive verbal behavior; problems with controlled substances; academic failure; and truancy. Evidence demonstrates that PBIS within alternative education settings can decrease crisis interventions and aggressive student behavior and increase student achievement at the highest levels.
Bibliography
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