The Effect of Positive Behavior Support on High School Student Academics and Behavior

The Effect of Positive Behavior Support on High School Student
Academics and Behavior

by
Antonio L. Napier

An Applied Dissertation Proposal Submitted to the
Abraham S. Fischler School of Education
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Education

Nova Southeastern University
2015
Approval Page

This applied dissertation was submitted by Antonio L. Napier under the direction of the persons listed below. It was submitted to the Abraham S. Fischler School of Education and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education at Nova Southeastern University.

Shery Bennett, EdD Date
Committee Chair

Jeffery A. Cantor, PhD Date
Committee Member

Ronald J. Chenail, PhD Date
Interim Dean

Statement of Original Work
I declare the following:

I have read the Code of Student Conduct and Academic Responsibility as described in the Student Handbook of Nova Southeastern University. This applied dissertation represents my original work, except where I have acknowledged the ideas, words, or material of other authors.

Where another author’s ideas have been presented in this applied dissertation, I have acknowledged the author’s ideas by citing them in the required style.

Where another author’s words have been presented in this applied dissertation, I have acknowledged the author’s words by using appropriate quotation devices and citations in the required style.

I have obtained permission from the author or publisher—in accordance with the required guidelines—to include any copyrighted material (e.g., tables, figures, survey instruments, large portions of text) in this applied dissertation manuscript.

Antonio L. Napier
Signature

Antonio L. Napier
Name

February 10, 2015
Date

Abstract

The Effect of Positive Behavior Support on High School Student Academics and Behavior. Antonio L. Napier, 2015: Applied Dissertation Proposal, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler School of Education. ERIC Descriptors: Behavior Problems, High Schools, Academic Achievement, Classroom Techniques, Discipline

This applied dissertation is designed to establish whether the implementation of positive behavior support (PBS) will increase student achievement with Grade 10 students in an urban high school. This study will determine whether the strategies implemented from PBS will improve academic performance and what impact, if any, it has on behavior.

With the growing behavior problems among high school students in the United States, school administrations are under pressure to introduce effective behavioral change strategies. In the past, educators approached student behavior problems through the use of traditional reactive methods such as detention, suspension, and even expulsion. However, increasingly, literature has pointed to the implementation of proactive and evidence-based practices such as PBS. It is therefore important to investigate the effect of the PBS approach in addressing behavior change in high school students and its impact on the students’ academic achievement.

The participants will be Grade 10 students from a public high school in a Southeastern coastal state, chosen using a purposive sampling method. The proposed study will entail monitoring of student behaviors and their academic performance. The treatment group will receive a PBS intervention; data will be compared pre- and post-intervention and to a control group of students not receiving the PBS. After collecting data for 6 months, analysis will be conducted using inferential statistics.

Table of Contents

Page
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Statement of the Problem 2
The Research Problem…………………………………………………………….2
Definition of Terms 11
Purpose of Study 14
Chapter Summary 14

Chapter 2: Literature Review 15
Conceptual Framework of the Study……………………………………………………………15
PBS in Public School Systems 16
PBS in Urban Schools 25
PBS and ODRs 25
PBS and Student Performance and Achievement 26
Theoretical Perspectives of PBS 30
PBS Intervention Strategies 37
Basic Considerations for Effective PBS Implementation 39
PBS Implementation Teams 39
Stakeholder Engagement in PBS Implementation 41
Student Behavior, Engagement, and Learning………………………………………………42
Research Questions 46
Chapter Summary 46

Chapter 3: Methodology 49
Participants 49
Instruments 51
Validity and Reliability of the Study 52
Procedures 53
Ethical Issues 59
Limitations 60

References 65

Appendices
A. Data Collection Form……………………………………………………….74
B. Teacher Survey………………………………………………………………76
C. Student Progress Report……………………………………………………..78
D. PBS Intervention Discipline Rate……………………………………………80

Figure
Conceptual Framework of the Study 15

Chapter 1: Introduction
School administrators and teachers are facing a challenge in the form of student misbehavior. For long, they have tried to solve student misbehavior by use of traditional, exclusionary, punitive and reactive approaches but with little success (Skiba, 2008). The main concern is that student misbehavior leads to a loss of instructional time, which would impact negatively on student achievement (Georgia Department of Education, n.d.; Scott & Barrett, 2004; Lassen, Steele, & Sailor, 2006; Luiselli, Putnam, Handler & Fenberg, 2005).
These models frequently result in a loss of students’ instructional time for the problem students that can least afford to lose the instruction. Doing so negatively impacts teachers since they take the time to address the errant student’s misbehavior. It will also prevent that teacher from providing instruction to other students thereby lessening their effectiveness. It will negatively impact on the school environment and impedes student learning (Yeung, Mooney, Barker, and Dobia, 2009).
Schools have also implemented zero tolerance policies with the aim of preventing future misbehavior and ensuring safety of other school users. It has proven problematic to implement since it lacks the flexibility and common sense , and it does little to curtail misbehavior, in some cases even increasing it (Skiba et al., 2008).
There is a growing pressure among school administrators to provide an orderly and safe learning environment for students, amid growing behavior problems. As a result, school administrators have widely adopted various positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS) programs. Bradshaw and Pas (2011) defined PBIS programs as nonacademic, universal intervention models that are based upon principles of reinforcement, management, and behavioral change. The models are aimed at altering the school environment and promoting positive behavior change among staff and students by motivating them through incentives and positive praise. Implementing a specific positive behavior support (PBS) model requires a detailed analysis of the individual school to determine the best incentive program to implement, because programs always require various resources and coordination to ensure quality (Bradshaw & Pas, 2011). Most schools implement such programs as mandates by their state or district (Bradshaw & Pas, 2011; Wandersman et al., 2008). Implementation of the practices and principles of PBS has proved vital to minimizing problem behavior.
Statement of the Problem
Since the inception of PBS at this particular high school in 2010, it has been noted that there has not been any positive measures in place to assist in deterring disruptive classroom behaviors or to reduce the amount of office referral written on students. The proposed dissertation will examine the effectiveness of positive reinforcement such as PBS in improving academic performance and behavior of students. Investigating the effect of PBS is of significant importance because it helps strengthen the existing program by identifying its weaknesses. PBS is a proactive approach based on a three-tiered model of prevention and intervention aimed at creating safe and effective schools (Bohanon & Wu, 2014).
The study will help establish whether implementation of PBS can result in improved school outcomes in an urban high school in Miami-Dade County.
The Research Problem
The problem addressed by this study is that high schools nationwide face behavioral challenges from students and need empirically-supported interventions to improve behavior and academic achievement. High schools have faced various challenges in educating students. Apart from effectively teaching academic subjects such as mathematics, science, reading, writing, and the arts, educators have to deal with nonacademic issues that shape the learning process. Among these factors, some of the most challenging are emotional and behavioral concerns. It is estimated that about 10% of adolescents and children in the United States are suffering from some form of mental illness, which considerably impairs their ability to perform well in academic undertakings (George & Kincaid, 2008). Not all students with challenging behaviors present a diagnosable disorder, but behavioral and emotional problems, particularly violent and disruptive behavior, consume a great deal of teacher and school resources and efforts (Horner et al., 2009).
Reviews on school-based interventions aimed at reducing problem behavior in schools have found a program of behavioral reinforcement and monitoring of appropriate behavior is an effective tool in improving behavior in schools (Bradshaw et al., 2008). Horner et al., (2009) reported on descriptive data that suggested a relationship between school-based PBS programs and academic achievement, noting the necessity for further scrutiny of this area of interest. The components of school-based applications of the PBS program include, but are not limited to, (a) establishing a planning team, (b) defining school-based behavioral expectations, (c) clarifying positive behavioral expectations to students, (d) developing techniques for acknowledging suitable behaviors while discouraging inappropriate behavior, and (e) monitoring and evaluating relevant expected outcomes (McKevitt & Braaksma, 2008).
As a framework for the study and application of PBS, the positive effect of the school context on the improvement of student academic achievement is students’ change of attitude about themselves as learners, and as a result behavior that leads to academic success, staff satisfaction and school safety. The framework has indicated that the students’ level of previous academic achievement and their background can manipulate behavior, attitudes, academic achievement, and their perception of the school environment. If anything, while all schools have a wide array of student makeup, some seem to have a higher increase in unsuitable behavior than other schools. These schools have a higher risk of failing than others since they are being plagued by poverty, come from high crime areas, single parent homes, and other family risk factors. These children need more intense help and guidance therefore educators, where you can find such students, face far greater challenges than others, so they need to know all about PBS (McCurdy & Mannella, 2003).
The Concept of Positive Behavior Support. PBS is a mechanism to address challenging behavior through positive feedback rather than punitive measures. PBS includes a broad spectrum of individualized and systemic strategies aimed at refining individual quality of life in general (McKevitt & Braaksma, 2008). Initially, the main aim of PBS was to reduce behavior problems in persons with developmental disabilities (George & Kincaid, 2008). Recent efforts have focused on expanding PBS programs to general school populations and other learning institutions.
In most school contexts in the United States, educators and school administrators in particular face challenges that can result in student behavior problems. Such challenges range from school budget cuts to over enrollments to high-stakes testing, among others. Moreover, teachers face increasing pressure due to rising societal expectations to accommodate the needs of diverse students and satisfy the test conditions stipulated by the No Child Left Behind Act (2002). PBS can offer a number of strategies that can help educators to cope with instructional delivery pressures while mitigating student behavior problems (McIntosh et al., 2013). If the diverse needs of students are not properly managed in the school, family, and community contexts, discipline problems can result, impacting instruction in the classroom. Common discipline problems that inhibit learning include classroom defiance and bullying (Sailor et al., 2009). Traditionally, schools have used reactive approaches such as expulsion, suspension, and even detention to deal with discipline cases in schools. However, such reactive approaches have proven ineffective in helping educators to change student behavior in schools (Sailor et al., 2009).
Strategies that utilize systematic, proactive, and evidence-based approaches to address student behavior problems have proven more effective (Sailor et al., 2009). PBS, a proactive and evidence-based approach, focuses on the identification and supporting of the students’ behavior challenges through intensive behavior support programs, which are implemented within the contexts of PBS. Intensive behavior support entails a data-driven framework and team-based approach that helps schools to meet the needs of their behaviorally challenged students. In most cases, intensive behavior support helps students who have difficulties in responding to PBS programs (Sailor et al., 2009). Consequently, educators have to identify students with behavior problems, assess the extent to which PBS interventions have been exhausted, and monitor the outcomes. Chitiyo, Makweche-Chitiyo, Park, Ametepee, and Chitiyo (2010) explained that the use of school data can help in identifying students who may not be responding to behavior-management programs with a view of complementing PBS with intensive behavior support.
The McCurdy & Mannella, (2003) study is unique in that it examines such circumstances. The study identified a school that was culturally diverse; problem behaviors were on the increase while parental, and community support was at its lowest. School leaders didn’t have a solution. The most common problem behavior was assault and fighting. There were 500 students whereby over 80% are economically disadvantaged. Asian/Pacific Islander students accounted for 44% of the student population; 33% were African American while 18% were European Americans.
The Kruskal-Wallis test was used by the researchers to examine the ODR data and determine mean averages. Using the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET), The gauge for PBS implementation indicated it as being over the recommended goal 30 of 80%. During a two-year period, fighting and assaults reduced by 55%. Schoolyard and classroom fights experienced a reduction of 53% and 37% respectively. The researchers then decided to compare and determine if there was a success following the use of PBS during years 1 and 2 of the study by the use of the Mann-Whitney U-test of comparison. The data derived showed a significant decrease in problem behavior between years 1 and 2. Surveys gauging staff satisfaction showed an average mean score of 3.03 to 4.57. It portrays staff as being optimistic about the implementation and positive effects of PBS on the study school (McCurdy & Mannella, 2003).
There is a notion among teachers that the demands placed on them are unreasonable considering the resources allocated to them. PBS can prove an important tool to help level out this imbalance. It can improve a teacher’s confidence in themselves thus improve efficacy and, in essence, affect student learning. Caldarella et al. (2011) study recorded a response rating of 74%-81% of teachers as having noticed noteworthy positive change in school climate among students since the introduction of PBS.
Implementers of PBS in high schools may consider a more individualized approach for students who do not respond to the initial behavior-management interventions. For educators to identify problem behaviors among their students, all the stakeholders must agree on an operational definition of the program (Shirilla, Gass, & Anderson, 2009). With the identification of the behavior, the setting in which such a behavior occurs should be addressed. These initial steps help the team to draw a hypothesis based on the behavior noted and the setting identified. The process of monitoring and identifying behavior and its settings requires at least three people who are involved in the setting of short- and long-term goals and the monitoring process (Bohanon & Wu, 2011). Such goals must be addressed frequently and using school-wide data. School-wide data required for behavior management and intervention should be focused on discipline referrals and points earned, dependent on the methods utilized for the implementation of PBS. Generally, most literature has suggested that the use of data on academic achievement and behavior is important in effective PBS programs in high schools (Bohanon & Wu, 2011).
Background and Justification. The school that will be used in this study is an urban school located in a low-socioeconomic community in the southeastern United States. The school has 70 teachers serving a population of 890 students in Grades 9-12. The 2013/2014 school year, there were 70 teachers serving a population of 800 students in Grades 9-12. The 2012/2013 school year, there were 68 teachers serving a population of 825 students in Grades 9-12. The 2011/2012 school year, there were 65 teachers serving a population of 815 students in Grades 9-12. Each year brought about changes in the Administration. The 2011-2012 school year, the school’s Provost was promoted to Associated Superintendent of schools in Miami-Dade County. The 2012/2013 school year brought about more changes in the administration, the above mentioned school received a new Principal and Vice-Principal. The very next school year of 2013/2014 school year, the school received a new Vice-Principal and two new Assistant Principals. With everything come new policies and procedures that will affect behaviors. This past school year the school witnessed the end of the Sunshine State Standards and adopted the New Florida Standards. The administrators and teachers saw a shift in behaviors, not only with the students but with the teachers as well. This change brought about much scrutiny and confusion.
The school’s student population is 91% Black, 8% Hispanic, and 1% White non-Hispanic. Further, 13% of the students have disabilities, and 178 are limited English proficient, with 290 students in the English for Speakers of Other Languages program. According to the School Improvement Plan from 2013, 87% of the student population received free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of low socioeconomic status. Grade 10 students are preferred for this research because accountability is placed on this grade level in terms of state testing. Teachers are looking for ways to motivate these students not only to perform well on a test, but also to be respectful to themselves and their surroundings.
Traditionally, schools often have addressed the concern of challenging behavior by improving the student-to-teacher ratio and intensifying punitive disciplinary measures (McKevitt & Braaksma, 2008). McKevitt and Braaksma (2008) affirmed that such measures have increased substantially, especially in the wake of the commonplace school shootings reported throughout the 1990s and the early 2000s. Such measures have included adopting zero-tolerance strategies, engaging security officers, installing metal detectors, suspending and expelling students with deviant behavior, as well as placing difficult students in alternative correctional education facilities. One of the most stunning realities of the moment is that the effectiveness of such measures has not been examined sufficiently, and some researchers have for one reason or the other suggested that punitive and reactive measures could even escalate problem behavior (Bradshaw, Reinke, Brown, Bevans, & Leaf, 2008).
Another important aspect that has not been addressed adequately in most research studies on institutional applications of the school-based PBS program is the role of treatment fidelity. Yet again, barely one published work has incorporated a measure of fidelity to the PBS principles and procedures (McKevitt & Braaksma, 2008). This is surprising because of the emphasis on defining the critical features of a PBS program. McKevitt and Braaksma (2008) asked whether the mediation occurred as envisioned. According to George and Kincaid (2008), answering such a question can articulate the treatment processes and is a vital component of developing an empirically reinforced intervention that can be efficiently disseminated and nurtured in a variety of settings. Investigation of the effect of the school-based PBS program in urban areas is likely to provide sufficient or accurate information concerning whether the program is attaining its intended objectives.
The study will provide educators with valuable and significant information related to PBS aimed at encouraging high schools to implement it which will reduce student misbehavior, promote a positive school climate and provide a secure learning environment. The study will provide evidence for the effectiveness of using PBIS to reduce student misbehavior and promote a positive school climate.
The Topic. The topic of the study is a quantitative analysis of The Effect of Positive Behavior Support on High School Student Academics and Behavior. The effect of a pedagogical approach on tenth grade students’ behavior and how it can increase student achievement. The problem addressed in this study is low academic success and bad behavior during instruction time in the classroom with tenth grade students. Low performance and many referrals written that limits success on assignments and tests that prohibit students from being doing well in the classroom.
Deficiencies in the evidence. A growing body of research has shown that preventative and proactive approaches to dealing with behavior challenges in schools have been positive (George & Kincaid, 2008; McIntosh, Horner, & Sugai, 2009). According to the U.S. Department of Education (2012), more than 33% of students who are bullied reported it happening in classrooms, according to research from the National Center for Education Statistics. The National Education Association (as cited in U.S. Department of Education, 2012) reported that only 55% of teachers have received training on bullying policies at their schools. Some considerations at the federal level to improve the school climate and reduce incidences of violence have focused on a proactive disciplinary strategy, establishing clear student expectations, and upholding appropriate behavior. Other evaluations of interventions focused on reducing teenage violence and youth risk factors established that effective school-based programs center on (a) improving student positive behavior through rewards and monitoring, (b) teaching social and life skills in the curriculum, and (c) utilizing nonpunitive approaches of behavior change (George & Kincaid, 2008). Bradshaw, Mitchell, and Leaf (2010) argued that the available literature on high school applications of a school-based PBS program consisted of only one study that recorded data from more than 1 year of continuous involvement.
Audience. The audience that is poised to benefit from this study includes school administrators, staff, and students. The staff will benefit by being able to recognize these negative behaviors and applying the correct strategy to redirect these behaviors. The students will benefit by being motivated through incentives and positive praises. The outcome will help administrators determine whether the PBS program may be successful at this particular school and identify the areas of the PBS program that require modifications to meet potentially changing student expectations and behavior problems.