A Promising Approach for Expanding and Sustaining School-Wide Positive Behavior Support

Educators and psychologists are concerned about problem behavior. Fortunately, effective interventions and practices have been documented for addressing this problem behavior. However, sustained and expanded uses of these interventions and practices have not been consistent or widespread. One promising approach to the systemic and sustained implementation of these practices is school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). The SWPBS effort emphasizes an integration of measurable outcomes, data-based decision making, evidence-based practices, and overt support systems for implementers. This behaviorally based, comprehensive systems approach is suggested as a means of achieving durable implementation of effective school-based interventions. Although the SWPBS approach is conceptually sound and comprised of supportable behavioral practices, further systems-level demonstrations and validations of efficacy, effectiveness, and expansion are recommended.