NASP Communiqué, Vol. #29, No. 6
March 2001

The Role of School Psychologists in Establishing Positive Behavior Support:
Collaborating in Systems Change at the School-Wide Level

by Robert H. Horner, Deanne A. Crone & Bruce Stiller

School psychologists today are in a unique position to contribute to the redesign of behavior support systems in schools. The present political, social and professional climate offers an opportunity for school psychologists to collaborate in the development of both preventive and reactive behavior support systems.  The thesis of this paper is that (a) there is intense pressure to improve the behavioral climate in schools; (b) an effective intervention technology exists to both prevent patterns of problem behavior school-wide and respond to individual students with disruptive behavior; (c) implementation of this technology requires mastery of conceptual theory as well as basic procedures; and (d) school psychologists are in a position to lead dramatic change in behavioral systems because they are both trained in behavioral theory and serve as members of school-wide teams charged with building new systems.

Pressure to Improve Behavioral Climate

The first goal of schools is to educate children.  However, a consensus exists that schools will be effective learning environments only if strategies are in place to build and maintain appropriate social behavior (Dwyer, Osher & Warger, 1998; Sugai et al., 2000; Walker & Epstein, 2001).  Instances of extreme violence and examples of destabilizing disruption have led to calls for broad change in schools (Skiba & Peterson, 2000).  Statewide standards now ask for documentation of behavioral stability as well as gains in academic achievement.  With an impressive intensity, schools are being challenged to change the way that discipline practices are applied.  The solutions vary dramatically, from recommendations for zero tolerance (Skiba & Peterson, 2000) to recommendations that schools invest proactively in defining and teaching school-wide behavioral expectations (Lewis & Sugai, 1999; Serna, Neilsen, Lambros & Forness, 2000; Taylor-Greene et al., 1997).  The common theme across current recommendations, however, is that schools must be safe, predictable and socially stable settings.  The call is not just for minor policy change or simple redesign of existing procedures, but for a radical restructuring of the role schools play in teaching and demanding appropriate social behavior (Walker et al., 1996).

An overt example of the focus on behavior support is apparent in the recent amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which stipulate conditions in which schools are expected to consider "functional behavioral assessment" and "positive behavior support" procedures (IDEA, 1997).  The amendments apply directly to implementation of special education requirements for individual students, but also address the broader concern that the social climate of schools be safe, constructive and supportive (U.S. Department of Education, 1999).

Effective Behavioral Systems and Procedures Exist

School psychologists have the opportunity to lead efforts to redesign behavior support in schools in part because practical solutions exist and these solutions come from the field of psychology.  We know how to make schools safe and effective learning environments (Nelson, Martella, & Marchand-Martella, in press; Walker & Epstein, 2001).  Research conducted over the past 15 years has demonstrated the effectiveness of strategies that foster positive behavior for individual students and for entire schools. Even schools with intense poverty, a history of violence and low student skills have demonstrated change in school climate when effective behavioral systems have been implemented (Warren, Edmonson, Turnbull, Sailor, Wickham & Griggs, in press).  Implementing effective behavior support at the school-wide level involves defining, teaching, monitoring and rewarding appropriate student behavior in addition to traditional redirection and punishment of inappropriate behavior.  Behavior support for individual students is most effective when individualized functional behavioral assessment is used to pinpoint the most appropriate intervention and sufficient resources are targeted to ensure that the support actually alters the behavioral trajectory of the child (Carr et al., 1999; Walker, Colvin & Ramsey, 1995; Walker, Kavanagh, Stiller, Golly, Severson & Feil, 1998; Zigler, 1994).

We have never known as much about how to help children with behavior problems as we know today.  While a great deal remains to be learned, the more impressive gap lies in the difference between what is known and what is implemented.  The potential for improvement in implementation of school-wide and individual student behavior support is dramatic.

Successful Behavioral Systems Require Conceptual Understanding

Implementing effective behavior support within schools, however, will require more than simple implementation of a prescription from experts.  Schools that are successful using research-proven procedures adapt those procedures to the unique cultural and demographic characteristics of their student population.  Just as the mechanic who understands the mechanisms of an engine makes better use of the tools to repair an engine, so the educator who understands the behavioral theory behind effective discipline practices is more successful at the design and implementation of behavior support systems.  School psychologists often have training in fundamental behavioral theory.  They understand the behavioral mechanisms that guide the strategies for both individual and school-wide behavior support.  This conceptual knowledge will be of tremendous value as school teams struggle to design new discipline and behavior support systems (Sugai & Horner, 1999; Todd, Horner, Sugai & Colvin, 1999).  In fact there is emerging evidence that school teams using functional behavioral assessment are less able to use that technology effectively if a member of the team is not versed in behavioral theory (Hasio & Albin, 1999).

Collaborating to Change Behavior Support Systems in Schools

If school psychologists are to realize the potential for influencing behavior support systems in schools, the district (or school principal) will need to support a new role that encourages the use of school psychologists' time and skills in positive behavior support. School psychologists will also need a constellation of skills that meets the needs of schools, students and families.

 The role of school psychologists is evolving.  Traditional test and placement responsibilities remain in high demand.  However, there is an increasing emphasis across the country on enlisting school psychologists in the active problem solving that is the grist of daily school activity.  School psychologists are core contributors in these daily efforts to redesign, reform and reshape schools.  School reform occurs in response to many factors, but just as with "all politics," so too all school reform is local.  Real change in the way children are educated and supported requires investing in the systems and tools needed to allow a faculty, staff, student body and community to collaborate on unified goals.  If schools are to realize the current opportunity to build effective behavior support systems, school psychologists should be enlisted as active change agents.  Within this role school psychologists can contribute by performing at least six functions:

1. Build a commitment to effective behavior support

The first function school psychologists can provide is to assist a faculty to define a commitment to effective behavior support.  A continuing obstacle to establishing safe and predictable schools is the belief that student behavior is not an obligation of the school.  There remains an unspoken assumption that student behavior is the responsibility of the family and that, if students do not have appropriate social behavior, they should be excluded from school.  This assumption simply does not fit the demographics or expectations for American schools.  Students in a school today are more heterogeneous than ever before.  They are more likely to speak different languages, have different cultural backgrounds and come from radically different home environments.  It is unreasonable to expect such a diverse constellation of children to define a cohesive social culture on their own.  School psychologists have the skills to work with school staff as they build their school's social culture.  A first step, and an essential step, is for the staff of a school to target effective behavior support as both a school-wide and individual student support goal.

2. Conduct functional behavioral assessments

Two recent advances in behavior support technology are changing the way schools assist children.  The first is a major emphasis on prevention of behavior problems over remediation, and has led to a growing focus on school-wide behavior support efforts (Chapman & Hofweber, 2000; Sadler, 2000; Taylor-Greene & Kartub, 2000).  The second is a shift from diagnostic-based interventions to function-based interventions for individual students.  Current research has demonstrated that behavior support is most effective when it is designed not based on the diagnostic label of a child (e.g. autism, conduct disorder) but on a systematic assessment of the consequences that maintain the problem behavior (Carr et al., 1999; Marquis et al., 2000).  The process of functional behavioral assessment has been a long-advocated approach to building behavior support, but only recently has become a practical element in the behavioral systems used in schools (Crone & Horner, 2000; Moore, Doggett, Edwards, & Olmi, 1999; Sugai, Lewis-Palmer, & Hagan-Burke, 2000).  Functional behavioral assessment is a process for identifying the events that reliably predict and maintain problem behavior.  Functional assessment is done through interviews with the student, teacher and/or family, through direct observation of the student in the school, and through systematic manipulations of school conditions (Carr et al., 1999; Horner & Carr, 1997; O'Neill et al., 1997; Sugai & Horner, 2000).

A central function for school psychologists as change agents in schools will be to conduct functional behavioral assessments for those children who have the most intense behavior support needs.  This commitment will require the time to conduct interviews, collect direct observation data and in some cases to construct the systematic manipulations needed to isolate the variables that control problem behavior (i.e., functional analysis).  These assessments will lead to clear statements about variables controlling student problem behavior that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of resulting behavior support plans.

 

3. Teach other school personnel to conduct functional behavioral assessments

A third function for school psychologists will be to teach other personnel within a school how to conduct functional behavioral assessments.  Although research has yet to address this element, our experience is that functional assessments are most efficient if they are conducted by people who know the child well and are staff of the school.  Most schools, however, do not have staff who are trained to conduct functional behavioral assessment.  An important function for school psychologists will be to provide training on the process of conducting functional assessment interviews and direct observations.  This training will most likely involve both didactic sessions and direct coaching through initial assessments.  The central idea is to use the skills of school psychologists, not just to perform assessments, but to build capacity within schools for local personnel to perform assessments.

4. Build behavior support plans

Teacher-assistance teams across the country review behavioral challenges presented by individual students and build plans of support.  School psychologists with training in behavioral theory will be in an important position to guide the design of these plans.  Given the shift to function-based behavior support, and the emphasis on functional behavioral assessment, teams need the assistance of at least one person with the conceptual knowledge to help guide support plan design.  The collaboration provided through sound application of theory and detailed knowledge of the child and setting is exactly what may be expected to result in efficient and effective plans of support (Horner, Sugai, Todd & Lewis-Palmer, 2000).

5. Use data for ongoing decision-making

A central tenet of behavior support is the ongoing collection and use of data for decision-making.  Data collection, however, can often become a time-consuming, inaccurate and punitive process.  An important function that school psychologists can provide in schools is the design of efficient data collection systems and leadership in the use of data for ongoing decision-making (Horner, Sugai & Todd, in press).  This latter contribution will be of special importance as school teams evaluate the effects of behavioral interventions, monitor progress and continually adjust behavior support plans to meet changes in behavior.  When teams gather and use data for decision-making, they are more likely to identify the need for intervention early and target intervention procedures to the specific behavioral challenge.

6. Build operating procedures for efficient team functioning

Efficient behavior support within schools cannot occur by recreating the wheel with each crisis.  Schools and school teams need functional operating procedures for identifying behavioral challenges, determining the level of support needed, gathering relevant assessment information, designing specific intervention procedures and implementing those procedures.  Examples of efficient team process and the durable implementation of team-based behavior support procedures are increasingly well documented (Nersesian, Todd, Lehmann & Watson, 2000; Colvin & Fernandez, 2000; Todd, Horner & Sugai, 1999; Todd, Horner, Sugai & Colvin, 1999).

A function that school psychologists can provide in establishing effective behavior support will be to help school teams develop and maintain operating procedures such as (a) defining how teachers request behavioral assistance, (b) building predictable, functional team meeting procedures and (c) defining formats for functional assessment, behavior support development and documentation of team decisions.  The behavioral technologies for changing the behavioral climate of schools and supporting individual students with intense needs will not be successful unless they are used within host environments that nurture and sustain them.  School psychologists have the opportunity to help school teams build the skills and systems that will make functional interventions effective.

Summary

The current emphasis on improving the capacity of schools to provide behavior support places school psychologists in an unprecedented position to influence school reform.  Taking advantage of this opportunity will require that school administrators redefine the tasks they assign to school psychologists and expand the role of school psychologists as capacity builders within local schools.  Experience suggests that, to effect real change, a school psychologist will need to devote approximately 100 hours per year to building positive behavior support with a school that is committed to redefining discipline procedures and building effective behavior support.  This investment, however, should result in substantial savings throughout the school year through reduction of staff time spent addressing student problem behavior.  The real issue is whether school psychologists will have the opportunity and initiative to respond to this unique and exciting challenge.

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The development of this paper was supported in part by Grant No. H326S98003 and Grant No. H133B980005-00 awarded by the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education.  Opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Education, and such endorsements should not be inferred.

Robert Horner, Ph.D., & Deanne Crone, Ph.D., are on the University of Oregon faculty; Bruce Stiller is a school psychologist in the 4 J School District in Eugene, OR. This article was invited by NASP Assistant Executive Director Ted Feinberg.