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Author: Rick, Kayla, J. Title: Effectiveness of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports with Fifth

Grade Students The accompanying research report is submitted to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Graduate School in partial

completion of the requirements for the

Graduate Degree/ Major: MS School Counseling

Research Adviser: Barbara Flom, Ph.D.

Submission Term/Year: Spring, 2012

Number of Pages: 34

Style Manual Used: American Psychological Association, 6th edition

I understand that this research report must be officially approved by the Graduate School and that an electronic copy of the approved version will be made available through the University Library website

I attest that the research report is my original work (that any copyrightable materials have been used with the permission of the original authors), and as such, it is automatically protected by the laws, rules, and regulations of the U.S. Copyright Office.

My research adviser has approved the content and quality of this paper. STUDENT:

NAME Kayla J. Rick DATE: 5-7-12

ADVISER: (Committee Chair if MS Plan A or EdS Thesis or Field Project/Problem):

NAME Barb Flom DATE: 5-7-12

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This section for MS Plan A Thesis or EdS Thesis/Field Project papers only Committee members (other than your adviser who is listed in the section above) 1. CMTE MEMBER’S NAME: DATE:

2. CMTE MEMBER’S NAME: DATE:

3. CMTE MEMBER’S NAME: DATE:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- This section to be completed by the Graduate School This final research report has been approved by the Graduate School.

Director, Office of Graduate Studies: DATE:

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Rick, Kayla, J. Effectiveness of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports with Fifth

Grade Students

Abstract

To improve the education system and address the problem of misbehavior, schools across

the country have turned to a new framework for organizing interventions and promoting

desirable behaviors in schools – Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).

Current research shows evidence to support the use of PBIS in schools as an

approach for encouraging students to adhere to their school rules and expectations.

Research also supports PBIS as a method for reducing office discipline referrals and

improving academics.

This research study adds a new perspective to the current research base. Students

and teachers from the fifth grade of an upper Midwest elementary school were given

questionnaires which asked for the students and teachers to share their opinion about how

well the fifth graders understand and meet the behavioral expectations at their school.

Eighty-three percent of the students were able to list the three school rules, and 63%

indicated they very clearly understood them. Seventy-six percent said they believe they

usually or almost always meet the expectations. The fifth grade teachers also scored their

students positively. Overall, participants demonstrated and indicated satisfaction with

PBIS in their school.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to start by thanking my thesis advisor, Barb Flom for her support and

encouragement through this entire process. Your guidance, wisdom, and time were deeply

appreciated.

Also, I would like to express gratitude to all the professors whom I have had the

opportunity to learn from at UW-Stout, especially Denise Brouillard, Carol Johnson, and Barb

Flom. You are truly inspiring woman who I will always remember. Amy Gillet, thank you for

helping me get this process started! All of your time is greatly appreciated.

Thank you also to my internship site supervisors, Sherry Jasper and Justine Hildebrandt

for wonderful learning experiences. You both are amazing at what you do. A special thank you is

due to my elementary school internship site and the fifth grade teachers and students for allowing

me to include them in my research. I enjoyed being in your classrooms and getting to know you

and your students.

To husband, Matthew, I sincerely appreciated your love, support, and understanding

while I have been a pursing my degree. Thank you for your honest feedback and for believing in

me. I am proud to call you my husband!

To my daughter, Adalina, I was pregnant with you when starting this thesis and a new

mother to you when finishing it. Thank you for coming into my life when you did. I am so happy

I had you to distract me at times when I really needed a break. I know I am blessed.

A final thank you to my parents, I do not know where I would be today without your love

and support. You have always encouraged and challenged me. You raised me to be independent

and to advocate for myself. You taught me to value education and allowed me to learn from

making mistakes. You taught me to recognize God’s blessings and use them to serve others.

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Without all of these values, skills, and lessons I likely would not have continued on to the

education I have now. For all of this, thank you.

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Table of Contents

.................................................................................................................................................... Page

Abstract ............................................................................................................................................2

Chapter I: Introduction ....................................................................................................................7

Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................10

Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................................10

Assumptions of the Study ..................................................................................................11

Definition of Terms............................................................................................................11

Chapter II: Literature Review ........................................................................................................13

Chapter III: Methodology ..............................................................................................................19

Participants .........................................................................................................................19

Instrumentation ..................................................................................................................19

Data Collection ..................................................................................................................20

Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................20

Limitations .........................................................................................................................21

Chapter IV: Results ........................................................................................................................22

Item Analysis ....................................................................................................................22

Figure 1: Student Questionnaire .......................................................................................23

Figure 2: Teacher Questionnaire .......................................................................................25

Chapter V: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations .......................................................27

Discussion .........................................................................................................................27

Conclusions ........................................................................................................................28

Recommendations ..............................................................................................................29

Recommendations for Educators .......................................................................................29

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Summary ............................................................................................................................30

References ......................................................................................................................................31

Appendix A: Student Questionnaire .............................................................................................33

Appendix B: Teacher Questionnaire ..............................................................................................34

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Chapter I: Introduction

While incidence of serious violent crimes in schools has declined, prevalence of related

problems such as bullying, relational aggression, and improving academic outcomes of students

remains a concern for schools across the nation (U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice

Program National Center for Education Statistics, 2010; Ravitch, 2011). Besides creating an

unsafe, unproductive learning environment, acts like bullying, vandalism, and other antisocial

behaviors in childhood often lead to more serious criminal and delinquent acts in adulthood

(Tuvblad, Narusyte, Grann, Sarnecki, & Lichtenstein, 2011). According to the National Center

for Educational Statistics, 32% of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school during the

2007-2008 academic school year (U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Program, 2010).

In comparison to the statistics report from two years prior, there was a 4% increase (U.S.

Department of Justice Office of Justice Program National Center for Educational Statistics,

2008). Schools continue to be under pressure to find a way to keep their students and staff safe

while competing on a global scale to improve academics.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 has influenced schools to reevaluate the

way student misconduct is addressed (Sugai & Horner, 2009). Legislative pressure to increase

standardized testing scores has created a greater need for classroom management, effective

instruction strategies, and interventions for all students. NCLB requires schools to use

scientifically-based instruction and programs to improve outcomes for all students. Response-to-

intervention (RTI) approaches are popular in schools to screen students for special education and

provide those students with appropriate support. The use of RTI is still favored, but NCLB has

influenced schools to take a more proactive approach to improve outcomes for students and

influence behaviors that indirectly change the learning environment for all students.

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Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive system which is

used to create a respectful, safe, and effective school environment for all students with the focus

being on rewarding positive social and academic behaviors (Horner, Sugai, & Lewis-Palmer,

2005). PBIS is a system which can be implemented at the school or district level. The main

theme is teaching behavioral expectations in the same way that core curriculum is taught. Within

a school, a team is formed by staff members of the school. This team attends a two or three day

course, taught by skilled trainers, to learn how to implement PBIS in their school and be the

trainers of other staff. As a school or school district, three to five behavioral expectations are

determined. These expectations are stated positively to tell students what they need to do instead

of rules of what not to do. Examples of behavioral expectations are from the school participating

in the research study are: Be Safe, Be Responsible, Be Respectful. These expectations are posted

in hallways and students are taught how to behave to meet the expectations in several situations.

According to Bradshaw, Mitchell, and Leaf (2010), the use of PBIS on a school-wide

basis was related to more effective learning and teaching environments. Schools using PBIS saw

a reduction in the number of office referrals for the school, reduction of suspensions, and

improved performance in academics in the fifth grade classes. Similar findings were reported in

a prior study which looked specifically at office discipline referrals, suspensions, and academic

performance after implementing PBIS over a three year period (Luiselli, Putnam, Handler, &

Feinberg, 2005). Both studies reported on the behaviors of students but neither considered the

perspectives or understanding of the students or teachers.

Wisconsin schools began implementing PBIS in the beginning in the fall of 2006 and

there are now about 800 schools in Wisconsin using this system, with that number growing each

year. The elementary school where research for this project was conducted began using PBIS

during the 2009-2010 school year. Tier 1 was implemented school wide at that time and has

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continued to be used. The rules for all students at the Tier 1 level are known as “The Three B’s,”

which are: Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible. This school chose to make reward tickets for

school staff to give students when they are demonstrating positive behaviors and meeting the

expectations of the school. The students put their names on their tickets and put them in the

classroom ticket bucket from which a winner is chosen each week. Throughout the school year

the students also participate in school celebrations where expectations are reviewed,

demonstrated, and encouraged through skits and songs. When a student is not being safe,

respectful, or responsible, that student may receive a quickslip which identifies which behavioral

expectation they were not meeting. After three quickslips, an office discipline referral is given.

An office discipline referral may be written immediately depending on the seriousness of the

violation.

During the 2011-2012 school year, trained staff implemented Tier 2. At the Tier 2 level,

students who have been identified as being unsuccessful meeting the expectations at school have

been enrolled into PBIS’s Check In, Check Out (CICO) program. Some of the specific concerns

being addressed through this program are truancy, disruptive behavior in class, and disrespectful

behaviors on the bus or playground.

According to the Wisconsin Information Network for Successful Schools (WINSS,

2011), the school participating in this research study is comprised of kindergarten through fifth

grade with a total of about 350 students attending for the 2011-2012 school year. Fifteen percent

of the school population is of minority status and identifies as either American Indian, Asian,

Black, or Hispanic. Economic status of the student population during this current school year is

52.2% not disadvantaged and 47.8% in the disadvantaged level.

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Statement of the Problem

Violence and bullying in society are learned behaviors which children can display in their

school environment, especially if a school staff is inconsistent or has poorly stated expectations

for the students. Such behaviors have a negative impact on the learning environment. PBIS is a

proactive system which demands school-wide consistency and requires school staff to explicitly

state and teach the appropriate positive behaviors. It is important for school staff to see desirable

behaviors in the majority of students, less office referrals, and appropriate special education

referrals as a result of their efforts to implement PBIS. With so much pressure on schools to

perform well on standardized tests, it is important for the students to have a clear understanding

of what is expected of them and how to behave in school before leaving the elementary school.

However, no research focusing on the student perspective and understanding has been published.

The problem becomes whether students understand and demonstrate appropriate behaviors in a

PBIS school by the time they reach the fifth grade. This would allow the fifth grade teachers to

focus less on teaching behavioral expectations and more on curriculum, preparing the students to

be successful students in middle and high school.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effectiveness of school-wide PBIS

with the fifth graders at an elementary school in the upper Midwest, as perceived by fifth grade

students and teachers. Data were collected in questionnaire format in the Fall of 2011.

Research Questions

The following questions were addressed through the research project:

1. Do fifth grade students understand the expectations in their school?

2. Do fifth grade students believe they meet the expectations?

3. Do fifth grade students believe their peers meet the expectations?

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4. Do the fifth grade teachers believe the strategies offered by Positive Behavioral

Interventions and Supports (PBIS) are effective with their students?

Definition of Terms

These terms are being defined for clarity:

Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS): PBIS is a framework or

approach for assisting school personnel in adopting and organizing evidence-based behavioral

interventions into an integrated continuum that enhances academic and social behavior outcomes

for all students (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, 2011b).

Response to Intervention (RTI): With RTI, schools identify students at risk for poor

learning outcomes, monitor student progress, provide evidence-based interventions and adjust

the intensity and nature of those interventions depending on a student’s responsiveness, and

identify students with learning disabilities or other disabilities (National Center on Response to

Intervention, 2010).

Assumptions

It is assumed that schools implement PBIS as a method of providing proactive

interventions to facilitate positive behaviors. It is also assumed that by the time students reach

the fifth grade, they will have reading skills sufficient for answering the simple questionnaire.

Another assumption is that the answers to the questionnaire will be provided honestly by fifth

grade students and fifth grade teachers.

Limitations

The subjects for this research project represent one elementary school in the upper

Midwest, where it was assumed that the fifth grade students have been exposed to their PBIS

school system longer than other grades in the school. A limitation to this is that some students

may be new to the school or the district, limiting the time they have had to understand the

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expectations of the school. Additionally, the findings relate only to the school involved in the

study and are not generalizable. Student and teacher participants were not selected randomly and

therefore are not representative of a broader population.

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Chapter II: Literature Review

In this chapter the development and use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and

Supports (PBIS) will be examined by comparing the models of Response to Intervention (RTI)

and PBIS, examining the organization of PBIS, and by looking at research on the effectiveness

of PBIS. Research considering the perspectives of staff and students in PBIS schools will also be

addressed.

RTI and PBIS

The model for PBIS is closely related to RTI, which focuses on systematically

documenting the academic performance of students over time as evidence for the need of

additional academic services (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, 2011a). RTI

approaches strive to provide high-quality instruction and interventions that are matched to the

academic needs of the student. Documenting student responses to interventions and using data to

support interventions are also an integral part of PBIS system. Supports for academics are the

main concern addressed through RTI. PBIS may also address those concerns but does so by

focusing more heavily on increasing desirable behaviors of all students school-wide. Both

models have a primary goal of increasing success to improve learning outcomes, but RTI focuses

on academic needs and PBIS focuses on behavioral expectations.

With the main focus of PBIS being to achieve appropriate social and learning outcomes,

the goals identified by PBIS are to: 1) prevent problem behaviors, 2) reduce on-going behavioral

problems, and 3) create a positive, predictable, and safe school environment to foster academic

success (Horner, Sugai, & Lewis-Palmer, 2005).

Organization of PBIS

PBIS is based on the RTI problem-solving model and aims to prevent undesirable

behavior through teaching and positively reinforcing appropriate behaviors (Positive Behavioral

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Interventions & Supports, 2011b). PBIS is designed to create proactive interventions at 3 levels:

Tier 1 (primary), Tier 2 (secondary), and Tier 3 (tertiary). In this model, each level is a screener

for the next level. If students are not able to be successful after the primary interventions are in

place, some students may need interventions at the next level in order to be successful. Staff at a

school must receive level-specific training before implementing additional supports, and a team

must be created. A school would begin by having selected staff attend a Tier 1 training. The

trained staff would be referred to as Tier 1 coaches and take the responsibility to train the

remaining staff.

At the primary level, which may be referred to as Tier 1 or the universal level, proactive

interventions for the support of all students in the school are used. According to the PBIS

webpage, 80-90% of students will respond at this level and require no further interventions to be

successful in their school environments (Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, 2011b).

This level includes teaching the students both academic and behavioral skills curriculum. For

behavior, the Tier 1 curriculum includes school-wide expectations, school rules, and lesson plans

that are used to teach and reinforce the expectations. The school creates a reward system such as

the chance to earn tickets from teachers for a drawing at the end of each week. Desired academic

skills may also be taught and reinforced in the same manner as behavioral expectations

(Sandomeirski et al., 2007).

After a school has successfully put into practice primary supports, a Tier 2 team is

selected and trained on how to set up secondary interventions. At this level, providing support to

students who have been identified as needing additional interventions to meet the behavioral

expectations is the main focus, with 5-10% of students requiring this level of support

(Sandomeirski et al., 2007). Students are chosen for this level when they have been identified as

having truancy issues or multiple office discipline referrals. Examples of Tier 2 supports are a

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check-in/check-out program, small groups counseling, and mentoring programs. Students are

typically in small group interventions with peers of similar needs.

When a school has found that Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions have been accurately and

successfully used, they can choose to have Tier 3 teams trained so they may use Tier 3

interventions as needed, which 1-5% of students will need (Sandomeirski et al., 2007). At this

point the PBIS team would have identified the students currently being provided with Tier 2

supports as not meeting the goals set up by the PBIS team. An in-depth analysis would be

performed and a Behavior Improvement Plan (BIP) would be created for individual students.

This level utilizes intensive individualized interventions for high risk students.

Effectiveness of PBIS

PBIS has been implemented in over 9,000 schools in at least 44 states across the nation to

increase desirable student behaviors. Specifically in Wisconsin, schools began implementing the

program in the Fall of 2006. As of July 2011, over 795 schools in 167 districts have attended

PBIS training to use PBIS in their schools. With the number of schools implementing PBIS on

the rise, research is being conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of PBIS in these public

schools. Since implementation is still occurring and research is being conducted, the amount of

available research is somewhat limited. The findings from completed research projects over the

last few years have shown promising results from PBIS.

Bradshaw, Mitchell, and Leaf (2010) conducted a five-year longitudinal randomized

controlled effectiveness trial in 37 elementary schools to examine the effectiveness of PBIS. By

using the School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET), Effective Behavior Support Survey (EBS), and

looking at office discipline referrals (ODRs), the researchers found evidence supporting the idea

that PBIS was associated with a decrease in problematic behavior. The EBS is a staff self-report

measure which assessed school-wide discipline, non-classroom management strategies, and

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systems for students who display chronic behaviors. In the schools where PBIS training had

occurred, there was a significant effect on the percentage of staff rating their school as having

school-wide, classroom, and individual student systems for improving behavior. The SET was

used to evaluate the school’s implementation fidelity and the current status of interventions by

interviewing administrators. When considering the five years of data, the rate of implementing

interventions was found to be significant in six of seven areas: defining expectations, teaching

expectations, rewarding students, monitoring outcomes, management, and district support.

ODRs were used as a measure for student outcomes (Bradshaw et al., 2010). The first

year of the study, the rate of ODRs was .201 per student, per day. By the final year of the study,

the rate dropped to .159. This rate was well below the national average, which ranged from .34 to

.37 during the academic years involved in this study. The percentage of students with an ODR

decreased significantly over the five years from 18.8% to 18.1% over the course of the study.

This decrease was found to be statistically significant (Bradshaw et al., 2010).

The influence on academics was also considered by these researchers (Bradshaw et al.,

2010). They compared previous standardized test scores in the schools to current test scores after

the implementation of PBIS. The difference in scores was not significant, but the more current

scores were higher indicating an improvement over the five year study. An identified limit in this

finding was that the scores may have improved due to a variable other than PBIS.

Luiselli, Putnam, Handler, and Feinberg (2005) completed a three year study on the

effectiveness of PBIS and its effects on office discipline referrals, suspensions, and academic

performance. PBIS was introduced in the first year of the study and was carried out for the

following two years. Discipline referrals and suspension were both reduced significantly over the

three year period. Academic performance increased 25% on a standardized test in math and

reading levels. No measures of significance were reported in this study.

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Academic underachievement and social misconduct of students are concerns for

educators, parents, and community members (Luiselli et al., 2005). These concerns have lead to

the development of many programs hoping to develop character and strengthen academic and

personal skills. Since PBIS is an evidence-based practice, it has been found to be successful in

the areas where other programs have failed.

Staff Perspective of PBIS Effectiveness

To understand the perspectives of teachers about the problematic behaviors and their

preferred approach to behavior management, a study was conducted by Tillery, Varjas, Meyers,

and Collins (2010). Participants were 20 kindergarten and first grade teachers from five

elementary schools where PBIS was in its infancy. Data were gathered through interviews.

Findings indicated that most of these teachers believed behaviors were a result of a student’s

reaction to their immediate environment and were closely related to the maturity level of the

students. All teachers were able to identify ways that they focus on rewarding acceptable

behavior instead of punishing undesirable behavior, a strategy congruent with PBIS. Although

these teachers were able to describe the ways they reinforced positive behaviors, the majority

were unable to clearly explain RTI or PBIS. Training on both systems was taking place at the

schools where these teachers were employed. The researchers discussed the necessity for

teachers having a clear understanding of PBIS and RTI so they could adapt their classroom

management appropriately for greater school-wide success. They found that individual student

behavior strategies were being used in most classrooms which is a potential barrier to PBIS

which suggests group strategies should be used first.

Miramontes, Marchant, Heath, and Fischer (2011) looked more directly at the perceptions

teachers hold in relation to PBIS by considering social validity of the program. Participants in

this study were mostly teachers but also included some administrative personnel from 35 schools

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in a western state. Perceptions of teachers were less positive than responses of administrators,

although all parties had very favorable responses. The researchers attributed this to the fact that

teachers were the staff who implemented the program interventions and administrative staff were

indirect supporters of the program. Where 100% of administrative personnel indicated the

program had made a positive impact on their school, 98% of teachers agreed. Fewer teachers

than administrators indicated that the program was worth their time and that they would

recommend the program to other school districts, with percentages being only 2-3% less than

administrators. Even though there were differences between these groups, overall satisfaction

was high, indicating a great level of buy-in at both levels.

The perceptions of teachers are very important because they can impact the

successfulness of the students. One research study investigated the extent to which teacher

fidelity of PBIS implementation influenced their students who had behavior plans for a school

year (Benner, Beaudoin, Chen, Davis, & Ralston, 2010). It was clarified by the researchers that

for the majority of general educators, the importance of fidelity in the implementation of PBIS

would be critical at the universal level, which includes the school-wide and classroom

interventions. This study focused on fidelity at all three levels for the teachers involved. Eight

teachers participated in the study, all of which were teachers in self-contained classrooms for

students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Due to the student population, the level

of concerning behavior was much higher than what it would typically be overall in a school. In

this particular situation, it was found that teacher fidelity in regards to PBIS was positively

correlated with student success with their behavior plan (Benner et al., 2010).

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Chapter III: Methodology

This chapter will explain the methodology of the research study. Participants,

instrumentation, data collection method, data analysis, and limitations of the study will be

discussed.

Participants

Prior to involving participants in this study, the University of Wisconsin-Stout's

Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviewed the plan for this research and consented approval for

the project.

The participants in this study were volunteers from among the fifth grade classrooms in

one elementary school located in the upper Midwest. All fifth grade students and teachers

received information about the research. The students were given permission forms for their

parent or guardian to sign. Thirty fifth grade students returned signed parental consent forms and

chose to participate on the day the questionnaire was scheduled to be administered. All three fifth

grade teachers chose to answer the teacher questionnaire.

Instrumentation

Two questionnaires were used for this research project – a student questionnaire and a

teacher questionnaire. They are included in Appendix A and B. Both questionnaires were

adapted from the School-wide PBIS Student Evaluation Survey provided by the PBIS system as

an optional student survey to monitor progress (Horner, Sugai, & Lewis-Palmer, 2005). The first

item on the student questionnaire was created to be specific to the school where the research took

place. The question asked the students to identify and list the three school rules for their

elementary school. Items 2, 3, and 4 were taken from the optional student survey offered by

Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) (Horner et al., 2005). This particular

elementary school was not planning to use the PBIS survey with their students. The researcher

20

rephrased items 2, 3, and 4 of the student questionnaire to create the teacher questionnaire and

gain teacher perspective. Space for comments about each item and general comments were added

to the teacher questionnaire for two reasons: 1) there were only three teacher participants, so

having comments written would be manageable, and 2) teachers may have had additional

thoughts about the questions which would be useful to the researcher. Both questionnaires were

designed to take students and teachers about 10 minutes to complete. Because the questionnaires

were designed specifically for this study, no measures of validity or reliability were documented.

Data Collection

Students who returned signed parental consent forms were added to a list of approved

participants. On the day the questionnaires were administered, students and teachers were

reminded of their right to withdraw from the research. Any students who chose to withdraw or

who had not returned a signed permission form were allowed to quietly work on homework or

read a book while their peers completed the questionnaires. Classroom teachers completed the

teacher questionnaire at the same time as their students. They received informed consent

statements before completing the questionnaire. All participants put their completed

questionnaires into an envelope to ensure anonymity.

Data Analysis

The questionnaires were used to measure the perspectives of the fifth grade students and

teachers about their understanding, practice, and satisfaction with the behavioral expectations in

the school, which were enforced through the PBIS model. Tables were created based on the

responses to the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were calculated and used to create a table to

best represent the data.

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Limitations

Due to the sample size and the fact that the participants were all from one school, the

study is not generalizable. The questionnaires were also tailored by the researcher for this study,

so no measures of validity or reliability have been determined.

Additionally, the sample may be biased toward the students who typically meet the

behavioral expectations in school. Students who may have opposing opinions of the behavioral

expectations or have difficulty understanding what is expected of them may be underrepresented.

Some students may also have been less likely to bring the parental permission form to their

parent or guardian and back to school meaning they could not participate in the questionnaire.

22

Chapter IV: Results

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of school-wide PBIS with

the fifth graders at one elementary school in the upper Midwest, as perceived by fifth grade

students and teachers. Chapter 4 will give an in-depth look at the questionnaires used for

gathering the data. The results from each questionnaire item on the student questionnaire and the

teacher questionnaire will be provided and analyzed.

Demographics

Data were collected at a K-5 elementary school in the upper Midwest. Around 350

students where in enrolled during the 2011-2012 school year when the data were collected

(Wisconsin Information Network for Successful Schools, 2011). Fifteen percent of the school

population is of minority status and identifies as American Indian, Asian, Black, or Hispanic.

Economic status of the student population during this current school year is 52.2% not

disadvantaged and 47.8% in the disadvantaged level.

A total of 30 fifth grade students from a pool of 59 total fifth graders returned consent

forms and participated in the study. Students were not asked for individual information about

ethnicity, gender, or economic status.

Item Analysis

Four questions on the student questionnaire and three questions on the teacher

questionnaire sought information about the research questions. Additionally, space was provided

on the teacher questionnaire for comments after each question and a space for general comments

at the end. The items on the two questionnaires will be described, and responses will be

analyzed.

Student Questionnaire Item 1 asked students to recall the three main school rules or

behavioral expectations, which were: be safe, be respectful, and be responsible. Of the 30

23

5.4 5.5

5

4

1

2

3

4

5

6

Item 1 - RecallExpecations

Item 2 -Understanding

Item 3 - MeetExpectations

Item 4 - OtherStudents

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respondents, 25 (83%) named all three rules. Three of the other five students named one of the

rules in combination with other related rules such as, “No hitting” or “Finish your homework.”

Two students did not answer this question. Mean response was calculated by awarding each

correct response two points for this item only, which allowed item 1 to be on the same 6-point

scale used for all other questionnaire items. Item 1 had a mean of 5.4 (see Figure 1).

Item 2 asked students to rate their level of understanding of the school rules and

expectations on a scale of 1 to 6, with 1 being “Not at all” and 6 being “Very clear”

understanding. No descriptive labels for response options 2-5 were given. According to the

results, 19 of the students, which is 63% of the total respondents, indicated they very clearly

understand the behavioral expectations. Mean response for this item was 5.5. (see Figure 1).

The third item asked how often the students believe they meet the behavioral

expectations at school. Using the scale of 1 to 6, with 1 being “not at all” and 6 being “almost

always,” students indicated how well they do. Twelve students (40%) believe they “Almost

always” meet the expectations. Eleven students (36%) marked a 5 instead of a 6. Four students

Figure 1: Mean response for each item on the student questionnaire; Item 2: 1 = “Not Clear,” 6 = “Very Clear;” Items 3 and 4: 1 = “Not at All,” 6 = “Almost Always”

24

(13%) marked the 3, and three students (11%) answered with a 4. Mean response for the third

item was 5 (see Figure 1).

The final item asked the students to rate their peers on how well they follow the rules at

school, using the same scale as item 3. The majority of students rated their peers closer to the

“not at all” numbers than they had for themselves, which brought the average response for this

item down to 4 (see Figure 1). Of the 30 students, 11 (36%) circled 3, and 10 students (33%)

circled the 4. Five students (16%) expressed their answer as a 5, and three students (10%) circled

the 6.

Teacher Questionnaire Item 1 asked the three fifth grade teachers to indicate their level

of satisfaction with the strategies and interventions offered by PBIS on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6

being very satisfied. All respondents indicated they were more satisfied than not satisfied. Two

of the respondents rated their satisfaction level as 4 and the other respondent said 5. Mean

response was 4.3 (see Figure 2). The two respondents who indicated their level as a 4, also wrote

comments which explained areas they would like to see improved. One comment said, “Overall,

things seem to be discussed and talked about. No concrete and written plan is in place that

explicitly states child does this, then this strategy should be used. Don’t see the practicing

happening.” The other teacher commented, “I feel as though the quick slips and ODRs do not

work for some of our students and there is not an alternative.”

Item 2 asked the teachers to rate how well they believe their fifth grade classroom

students understand the school’s behavioral expectations. One respondent rated the class’s

understanding at a 6 and commented, “Understand yes, abide – not always.” Another respondent

25

4.3 4.3 4.6

1

2

3

4

5

6

Item 1 - Satisfactionwith PBIS

Item 2 - StudentUnderstanding

Item 3 - MeetingExpectations

Me

an R

esp

on

se -

Te

ach

er

Qu

est

ion

nai

re

marked 4 and commented, “Understand rules, but some need lots of reminders.” The third

respondent circled the 5 and did not provide a comment. Mean response was 4.3 (see Figure 2).

Item 3 asked the teachers to again rate their classroom but this time to rate how often they

believe their students meet the school expectations. The ratings for this item were 3, 4, and 5.

Mean response was 4.6 (see Figure 2). The respondent who said 5 commented, “I have a good

group this year.” The other two respondents did not leave comments for the question. The

respondent indicating 4 for item 3 wrote a comment in the general comment section, “I feel they

know the expectations; however, they don’t always follow them.”

Research Questions

Research Question #1: Do fifth grade students understand the expectations in their

school? This question was addressed by items 1 and 2 on the student questionnaire. According to

the results, nearly all the fifth grade students (83%) were able to name the three school rules.

Five students (17%) listed other types of rules instead of the main rules. The majority of the

students (63%) also indicated that they understand the rules in their school. Mean responses for

the items addressing this question, item 1 and item 2, were 5.4 and 5.5 on a 6 point scale.

Figure 2: Mean response for each item on the teacher questionnaire; Items 1 and 2: 1 = “Not at all,” 6 = “Very Satisfied;” Item 3: 1 = “Never,” 6 = “Always”

26

Research Question #2: Do fifth grade students believe they meet the expectations?

This question was addressed by item 3 on the student questionnaire. According to the results,

there was a trend for the students to evaluate their compliance with the school expectations

positively. Since the rating scale was 1-6, there was no neutral answer. Twenty-six of the 30

students (86%) rated their compliance at a 4 or higher. Specifically, four students (13%) selected

4, ten students (33%) selected 5, and 12 students (40%) selected 6. The mean response was 5.

Research Question #3: Do fifth grade students believe their peers meet the expectations?

This question was addressed by item 4 on the student questionnaire. Students tended to rate their

peers less favorably than they rated themselves in this area. Of the 30 students who participated,

18 (60%) rated their peers on the positive side of the scale. Twelve students (40%) selected 3, ten

students (33%) selected 4, five students (17%) selected 5, and three students (10%) selected 6.

Item 4 on the student questionnaire had a mean of 4.

Research Question #4: Do the fifth grade teachers believe their students understand and

meet behavioral expectations? Items 2 and 3 on the teacher questionnaire were designed to

answer this question. The results from the teacher questionnaire indicated that the fifth grade

teachers believe their students have a firm understanding of the expectations at their school and

do a fair job at meeting the expectations. Some students are believed to understand the

expectations but their teachers do not frequently see those students meeting the expectations.

Mean responses for items 2 and 3 were 4.3 and 4.6 respectively.

27

Chapter V: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations

The purpose of this research was to determine the effectiveness of school-wide PBIS with

the fifth grade students at one elementary school in the upper Midwest, as perceived by fifth

grade students and teachers. This chapter will compare the research findings to previous

research. Conclusions and recommendations about the research will be made.

Discussion

Responses from the student questionnaires indicated that most students in the fifth grade

at this upper Midwest school were able to recall the universal school rules very well. The

majority of the students also reported they understood the expectations. Feeling as though they

meet the expectations may be an area some students struggle with, but most reported meeting the

expectations in their school most of the time. Considering the mean responses, some students had

difficulty recalling the specific rules, but the majority of students believe they and their peers

understand adhere to the behavioral expectations at school. Interestingly, the mean response for

item 4 on the student questionnaire, which asked students to rate their peers’ frequency of

meeting expectations, was one and a half points lower (4) than the mean for item 2 asking

students to rate themselves (5.5).

Although other published research has not taken this unique perspective on surveying the

students, the findings of this current study are in agreement with the related research base

available. The Bradshaw, Mitchell, Leaf (2010) study, as well as the Luiselli, Putnam, Handler,

and Feinberg (2005) study both concluded that schools which use Positive Behavioral

Interventions and Supports (PBIS) have a decrease in problematic behaviors and an increase in

acceptable behaviors. This current research project adds to the work of both Bradshaw et al.

(2010) and Luiselli et al. (2005) by asking students to report how often they meet the

expectations. Seventy-six percent of the participants indicated they usually or almost always

28

meet the expectations. Mean response was high, 5.5. The responses from the fifth grade teachers

support the students’ beliefs. The mean response from teachers when asked to rate how often

they believe their students met behavioral expectations was 4.3, indicating that these teachers

were somewhat satisfied with the way their students were behaving (see Figure 2).

Positive responses were given by the fifth grade teachers when asked to rate their

satisfaction level with PBIS and with their students’ understanding and compliance in regards to

the behavioral expectations at their school. Miramontes, Marchant, Heath, and Fischer (2011)

and Benner, Beaudoin, Chen, Davis, & Ralston (2010) had similar findings at the end of their

longitudinal studies. The comments written by the teacher respondents in this study also

indicated that they enjoy the students they are working with, but some students have a more

difficult time following rules when compared to other students.

Comparing the second item on both questionnaires shows an interesting inconsistency.

Students indicated they understand the behavioral expectations very well. The average response

was 5.5 (see Figure 1). The average response for this item on the teacher questionnaire was 4.3

(see Figure 2) indicating a discrepancy between the perceptions of the students and the teachers.

Since the level of staff acceptance in regards to PBIS seems to have a significant

influence on its effectiveness with students (Benner et al., 2010) it is commendable to have such

a high level of reported satisfaction by the fifth grade teachers.

Conclusion

Although PBIS is being used in many schools throughout the country, it is still a new

framework for a majority of districts, teachers, and students. Therefore, the research base on the

effectiveness of PBIS is limited. Specifically, the unique focus of this project, the student

perspective, seems to be the first of its type. This study demonstrated that these fifth grade

students believed they are able to understand their school’s behavioral expectation. The majority

29

of the students reported meeting those expectations on a regular basis and indicated they are able

to recognize when their peers or selves are not doing as expected, according to teacher and peer

ratings. The fifth grade teachers in this school are generally satisfied with PBIS and they believe

their students are meeting the behavioral expectations.

Recommendations

Future research should expand on the student perspective in PBIS schools. Expanding on

the research for this project could entail, comparing student perspectives to the perspectives of

the teacher for each class. This may help researchers compared the student perspectives to their

teacher’s perspectives to understand how they may influence each other. Information could also

be gathered about the ways teachers remind their students about the school rules. This insight

may strengthen the methods of reinforcement and form cohesion within a school. Additionally, a

small group of students could be randomly selected for interviews to gain further knowledge

about their level of understanding their school rules.

Recommendations for Educators

Educators may benefit from administering questionnaires about PBIS to their students

and teachers regularly. Gaining the perspective of the students will allow schools to track growth

each year and possibly identify any students or grades where additional support is needed to

strengthen students’ understanding of school rules.

The perspective of the teachers is equally important to investigate. To encourage teachers

to give honest feedback, grade level may not be necessary to collect every time the

questionnaires are administered, especially in smaller schools where there are few sections for

each grade. Administering questionnaires to teachers regularly would allow teachers to

anonymously voice their opinions about PBIS and bring up any concerns. Common concerns

throughout the school could be addressed.

30

Summary

Data about the effectiveness of PBIS were gathered focusing on the perspectives of fifth

grade students and teachers in an upper Midwest elementary school. The researcher found both

groups had positive perspectives overall. Students indicated they believe they understand and

meet behavioral expectations. Teachers indicated they are satisfied with their students and with

PBIS.

31

References

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Appendix A: Student Questionnaire

Grade 5 Questionnaire

1. List the 3 behavioral expectations (3 rules) at your elementary school. o ______________________________________________________

o ______________________________________________________

o ______________________________________________________

2. How well do you understand what is expected of you at school? (Circle a number to

describe the level of your understanding)

Not Clear Very Clear

1 2 3 4 5 6

3. How often do you believe you meet the expectations of your school?

Not at all Almost Always

1 2 3 4 5 6

4. How well do you believe other students follow behavioral expectations?

Not at all Almost Always

1 2 3 4 5 6

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Appendix B: Teacher Questionnaire

Grade 5 Teacher Questionnaire

1. Overall, how satisfied are you with the strategies and interventions offered by Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports?

1 2 3 4 5 6

Not at all Very Satisfied

Comments: ____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Considering your fifth grade classroom as a whole, how well do you believe your fifth grade students understand the behavioral expectations? (The 3 B’s)

1 2 3 4 5 6 Not at all Very well Comments: ____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Considering your fifth grade classroom as a whole, how often do you believe your students meet the school expectations? 1 2 3 4 5 6 Never Always Comments: ____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Other Comments: _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________