The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a tier two daily behavior card intervention and differential effects based on function of problem behavior. The participants were 36 elementary school students nominated for additional intervention beyond universal School-Wide Positive Behavior Support. Measures included standardized behavior rating scales and rate of office discipline referrals before and after 8 weeks of intervention. A multivariate analysis of variance was used, and results showed statistically significant differences in response to intervention based on teacher-identified function of problem behavior. Results are discussed in terms of considering function of behavior in selecting tier two interventions and implementing a three-tier response to intervention model.

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived importance of specific contextual variables for initial implementation and sustainability of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS). A large, national sample of 257 school team members completed the School-Wide Universal Behavior Sustainability Index: School Teams, a research-validated measure of variables influencing sustainability of schoolwide behavior interventions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to assess perceptions of the most and least important variables for initial implementation and sustainability, as well as variables perceived as more important to sustainability than initial implementation. Across quantitative and qualitative analyses, results indicated that administrator support and school team functioning were rated as the most important features for both initial implementation and sustainability, whereas barriers to SWPBS were rated as relatively less important. Staff support, integration into typical practice, and parent involvement were rated as significantly more important to sustainability than initial implementation. These results were consistent across types of raters and schools. Implications for enhancing implementation and sustainability of SWPBS are discussed.

High school is an important time in the educational career of students. It is also a time when adolescents face many behavioral, academic, and social-emotional challenges. Current statistics about the behavioral, academic, and social-emotional challenges faced by adolescents, and the impact on society through incarceration and dropout, have prompted high schools to direct their attention toward keeping students engaged and reducing high-risk behavioral challenges. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) on the levels of individual student problem behaviors during a 3-year effectiveness trial without random assignment to condition. Participants were 36,653 students in 12 high schools. Eight schools implemented SW-PBIS, and four schools served as comparison schools. Results of a multilevel latent growth model showed statistically significant decreases in student office discipline referrals in SW-PBIS schools, with increases in comparison schools, when controlling for enrollment and percent of students receiving free or reduced price meals. In addition, as fidelity of implementation increased, office discipline referrals significantly decreased. Results are discussed in terms of effectiveness of a SW-PBIS approach in high schools and considerations to enhance fidelity of implementation.

In this article, we provide an overview of School‐wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), an approach to building protective school cultures and preventing the development of problem behavior through instruction, environmental redesign, and attention to systems‐level variables. We define the critical features of SWPBS within a prevention science lens, including identification of its conceptual foundations, proximal mediators of student outcomes, and current research base and goals. Given its evidence of effectiveness, we describe efforts and a research agenda in the area of sustainability of SWPBS, including a description of a proposed model of sustainability and a case study of statewide implementation with steps taken to promote sustained implementation. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Educators today are being challenged to meet social behavior needs in addition to academic objectives, in an environment where time and resources are already stretched to capacity. Rising dissatisfaction with reactive and punitive approaches to school discipline has resulted in a paradigm shift toward more broad-based, preventive, and ecological approaches to supporting student behavior needs. School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS; Horner et al., 2009) is one example of a framework for supporting student behavior that incorporates the principles of applied behavior analysis, contextual validity, systems change, inclusive ethics, and stakeholder collaboration to enhance learning and social environments with a preventive, systems-level approach. SWPBIS has emerged as an effective, efficient, and socially valid approach for improving behavior outcomes and social competencies