
An analysis of a school behavior strategy SWPBIS found that these types of programs significantly reduced children's aggressive behaviors and office discipline referrals. It also improved problems related to concentration and emotional regulation. The strategy is abbreviated as School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). The study is the first randomized control trial to examine the impact of SWPBIS programs over multiple school years. The study was conducted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The results were published October 15 in the journal Pediatrics as an eFirst publication.
SWPBIS is a prevention strategy that aims to alter student behavior by setting universal, positively stated expectations for student behavior that are implemented across the entire school. Policies and decisions related to student behaviors are based on data analysis. SWPBIS programs are used in more than 16,000 schools in the U.S.
"These findings are very exciting, given the wide use of SWPBIS across the country. These results are among the first to document significant impacts of the program on children's problem behaviors, as well as positive behaviors, across multiple years as a result of SWPBIS," said Catherine P. Bradshaw, PhD, MEd, lead author of the study and associate professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health.
Overall, the study found significant improvement in children's behavior problems, concentration problems, social-emotional functioning, and pro-social behavior in schools using SWPBIS. Children in SWPBIS schools also were 33 percent less likely to receive an office discipline referral than those in the comparison schools. The effects tended to be strongest among children who were first exposed to SWPBIS in kindergarten.
"A unique feature of the model is the overall structure that is formed in schools to support sustainable services for students across a range of behavioral needs. Using this framework, school staff can identify students at greatest need of services and efficiently target programs and resources to them," said Bradshaw.
Source: Eurekalert