Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) is a proactive approach to put behavioral/social skills strategies in place for all students while also building in support for those at risk for and/or those who receive special education services.

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Continuum of Procedures for Discouraging Inappropriate Behaviors

Feature Purpose: Providing ALL students who display problem behaviors with clear, consistent, and educative responses from ALL adults across ALL settings, ALL day, every day. “A primary underpinning of a proactive approach to school-wide discipline is that when problem behavior occurs, more can be done besides delivering negative consequences. It is important to assist the student to behave appropriately in the future” (Colvin, 2007, p. 64).

“To accomplish this goal, an instructional approach is used to correct problem behavior” (Colvin, 2007, p. 64). “Procedures for responding to problem behaviors are designed to communicate to and teach students, staff and family members which behaviors represent violations of schoolwide behavioral expectations. Severity, consequences, and behavioral supports are indicated” (Sugai & Horner, 2009, p. 313).

Feature Outcomes: Increasing consistency in corrective response increases predictability for ALL students. Predictability increases student initial compliance, student compliance with re-direction, and decreases the likelihood that student behaviors will escalate when they are approached by an adult for correction. “The goal is to develop a policy that (a) is implemented consistently schoolwide, (b) clearly differentiates what behaviors should be managed in the classroom and what behaviors should be sent to the office, and (c) provides a proactive strategy to identify and address the needs of students who have chronic problem behavior” (Lewis & Sugai, 1999).

Examples of a Continuum of Procedures for Discouraging Inappropriate Behaviors Include:

Establish a system to effectively provide corrective feedback that emphasizes re-teaching.
Differentiate between classroom-managed and office-managed behaviors.
Procedures are understood and practiced by administrators, staff, students and families.
Corrective feedback is appropriately matched to the function of the inappropriate behavior.

References

Colvin, G. (2007). 7 steps for developing a proactive schoolwide discipline plan. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Lewis, T. J., & Sugai, G. (1999. Effective behavior support: A systems approach to proactive schoolwide management. Focus on Exceptional Children, 31(6), 1-24. Retrieved April 2, 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3813/is_199902/ai_n8844924/pg_8/

Sugai, G., & Horner, R.H. (2009). Defining and describing schoolwide positive behavior support. In W. Sailor, G. Dunlap, G. Sugai, & R. Horner (Eds.) Handbook of positive behavior support (pp. 307-326). New York, NY: Springer.