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This study evaluated the implementation of the school-based Prevent-Teach-Reinforce (PTR) model within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) for elementary school students engaging in high levels of problem behavior. Three students and their classroom teachers in two public schools participated in the team-based PTR process during which they engaged in teaming and goal setting, functional behavior assessment, intervention, and evaluation. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to evaluate the impact of using the PTR model on student problem and replacement behaviors. Direct and indirect observations of student behaviors were conducted across target and generalization academic time periods. Findings indicate that the PTR intervention effectively reduced problem behavior and increased replacement behavior for all three participating students in both target and generalization academic time periods. Social validity assessments with the participating teachers and students indicated high levels of acceptability of and satisfaction with the PTR intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes. Implications for using the PTR model within MTSS for students who are not responding to Tier 2 interventions are discussed.

Positive Behavior Support (PBS) programs are being implemented in schools in the United States to support faculty, staff, and students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a PBS system at a rural west Texas middle school to discover what improvements are necessary for district-wide implementation and sustainability. The study drew on Bandura's social learning theory, which posits that people learn from each other through observation, imitation, and modeling. PBS systems provide the framework for exhibiting specific behavior expectations so students and teachers can get the most from their educational experiences. A program evaluation was completed using discipline data from 2008-2012 from the middle school, observations at the middle school, and archival campus improvement plan results from the campus needs assessment from 2012. The research instrument used to assess the information was a pre-established PBS evaluation system called the School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET) designed for programmatic assessment. The SET assessment tool guided the evaluation of information gathered from 100 students, 15 teachers, and an administrative team survey to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the PBS program in the school and district, identify necessary changes to improve its effectiveness, and determine how to best implement the system district-wide. These findings were used to inform a white paper outlining how to implement a successful program and how to maintain the program over time. This evaluation provided specific steps to strengthen each component of a PBS program to ensure school-wide application and sustainability. A positive social change is experienced by students, teachers, and parents by the enhancement of a PBS system that improves student behavior in the school and district.

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This study investigated the effects of the positive behavior support program Family HOPE conducted in homes of families of children with disabilities. Graduate students conducted an 8-10 week collaborative method of training for parents of children with disabilities to reduce problem behaviors of their child with a disability. The Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI) and Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised (SIB-R) were given to both experimental and control group families to investigate the program effects on parents' perceptions of limit setting, parental support, frequency and severity of problem behaviors. Results indicated that there was not a significant pre-post difference for either group on limit setting and parental support. There was a significant decrease in the frequency and severity of problem behaviors on the SIB-R for the treatment and control groups; however, no significant difference was found according to group membership. On subscales of Limit Setting and Parental Support on the PCRI no significant differences were found between control and experimental groups. Implications for further research are suggested and include items such as the control group size and using measures that are sensitive enough to detect changes in behavior over a short period of time.

The purpose of this case study was to investigate the effects a service-learning tutorship had on the Social and Personal Responsibility Scale scores of middle school students identified as at risk for emotional and behavioral problems and enrolled in a one hour class that focused on social skills, self-management, and emotional resilience. Eight students identified through school-wide screening measures as at-risk for emotional and behavioral problems were involved in a pre/post quantitative survey, pre/post exploratory interviews, and a post focus group to analyze their level of growth in relation to social and personal responsibility. Currently, there is a limited amount of research identifying the influence service-learning has on students at risk for emotional and behavioral problems. This case-study found that service-learning is an effective tool at helping students increase their level of competence in relation to social and personal responsibility. Limitations of this study are addressed, suggestions for future research are noted, and implications for execution of future service-learning ventures are discussed.

Social skill instruction is needed in both targeted and universal contexts. This research utilized a universal social skill intervention, Book in a Bag (BIB), to increase the use of a specific social skill by all students within an elementary school, including students identified as at-risk for behavior problems. BIB was designed to integrate social skills into the curriculum by way of children's literature, specifically a read-aloud book using a direct instruction strategy. The results indicate that BIB had a positive effect on students' behavior in the classroom both for students identified and those not identified as being at-risk for behavior problems. Outcomes suggest that students used the skill across a variety of instructional, independent work, and group work settings. Teacher perceptions of the research were reported as acceptable. Teachers noted positive changes in their classroom. Implications of this research for practice include using BIB as a universal intervention to target specific social skill deficits in students, and using social skill instruction to increase positive student behavior.

Student behavior problems in school and classroom settings are of great concern to parents, teachers, and school administrators. These behaviors range from talking out and noncompliance to more serious behaviors such as violence and vandalism. Effectively managing student behavior problems lays the foundation for creating a safe school environment and is a critical concern for all teachers. A school wide positive behavior intervention and support system (PBIS) is an effective and proactive way to prevent misbehavior. All teachers and staff teach and reinforce a specified set of positive behaviors. These positive behaviors are expected of each student. This study analyzed teachers' perceptions of one aspect of a school-wide PBIS, a written praise note system associated with four identified social skills. The participating elementary school served 655 students in 1st through 6th grade. At the request of the school, Kindergarten students and teachers were not included. During the 2012-2013 school year, the number and type of praise notes were analyzed on several levels: (a) all students, (b) students categorized by grade level, and (c) students who received one or more office disciplinary referrals (ODRs). When analyzing the praise notes written by teachers, on average—across the school year—each student received an average of approximately 12 praise notes. During that same time frame, on average, each of the students who received an ODR received 7 praise notes. Based on this data, in comparison to the general student body, students who were identified as exhibiting problematic behaviors tended to receive fewer written praise notes from teachers. Focus groups were conducted with the participating teachers to determine their perceptions of the feasibility and effectiveness of their school's written praise note system, as part of a PBIS system. Overall, teachers perceived the participating school's praise note system as effective in preventing the majority of classroom behavior problems. The majority of teachers expressed their support for both the feasibility and effectiveness of awarding praise notes and reported fitting praise notes in with their daily classroom routines. This research implies that teachers are able to use a written praise notes systems to meet the general behavior needs of most students (Tier 1). However, based on focus group discussions, a few teachers also reported having challenges when attempting to implement the praise notes with fidelity. The majority of teachers identified the need for additional individualized strategies to address the needs of students with more severe behavioral challenges. Implications of this research indicate the need to consider additional options to reinforce desired behaviors of children with more extreme behavioral challenges.

Social and emotional learning is an important element in educating the whole child. When social skills are taught and reinforced in a school-wide model, which incorporates positive behavior support, both students and faculty experience a better learning environment. The Book in a Bag intervention invites parent volunteers to teach social skills in the classroom. Supplementing this school-wide intervention, parents also receive a monthly newsletter informing them of the identified social skill and recommending associated children's picture books, which further reinforce the skill. The purpose of this study was to determine parent perceptions on the effectiveness of the Book in a Bag program, which was implemented in the target school. Questionnaires (N=327, 47.74% participation rate) were completed by parents who responded to questions about their perceptions of the program's influence on their children's behavior, the importance of parent involvement in the program, and the importance of the school-wide social skills program. Parents expressed an overall positive response to the school-wide social skills program. In addition to reporting and describing data, observations of the questionnaire's weaknesses and strengths are discussed. Future research possibilities and recommendations to further strengthen parent involvement in school-wide social skills programs are offered.

In the United States educators often feel underprepared to manage student behavior in the classroom, which management is crucial for students with or at risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) to learn effectively. Research on School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) programs has reflected how effective simple principles, such as increasing teacher praise and decreasing teacher reprimands, can be. The current study is a secondary analysis of data originally gathered from 65 teachers and 239 students across three states. Results of these analyses bring principles of effective SWPBS programs and educator needs together by identifying how teacher behaviors correlated with at-risk student behaviors in different ways than the behaviors of students who were not at risk. Using multiple linear regression, we illustrated how students at risk for EBD were more sensitive to teacher praise and reprimands than students who were not at risk, which adds support to SWPBS theory and invites teachers to consider that who they praise and reprimand is just as important as how.