Identifying What Works in Behaviour Management

One of the leading sources of teacher frustration is behaviour management, students who consistently misbehave compromise their own quality of education and that of the other students, it’s also often cited as a reason that many teachers are looking to exit the profession.

There are many ideas about behaviour management and School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) is a research-based approach that has been rolled out across many schools. After twenty years of Positive Behaviour Support, the conclusion is that while the strategies work, the devil is in the application.

Dr Lorna Hepburn currently leads implementation of School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support in government schools in Queensland, providing technical assistance, professional development and coaching in using a positive, evidence-based whole school approach to behaviour support.

Dr Hepburn says, "Although evidence-informed classroom management practices are well established, implementation is patchy. Teachers may over-estimate their use of effective practices. There is often a reliance on reactive practices which aim to control or stop behaviour.

"Teachers may blame outside factors for student misbehaviour. Without an understanding of behaviour principles, teachers risk using ineffective or counterproductive practices which do not address the classroom environment or the underlying reasons for behaviour.

"Classroom management and instructional management overlap and are equally important to positive student outcomes. A proactive, evidence-informed approach to classroom management reduces disruptions and maximises learning time which has a positive effect on student wellbeing. Research also shows a positive association between classroom management self-efficacy and teacher wellbeing.”

A substantial body of research has identified key practices which reduce rates of unwanted behaviours, increase student engagement with learning and develop safe and supportive learning environments.

These practices can be grouped into six areas: one, setting up and organising the classroom; two, establishing and teaching classroom expectations; three, teaching classroom procedures; four, actively supervising; five, providing specific feedback on behaviour; and, six, actively engaging students through instructional strategies.

"Teachers need a common understanding of what the evidence-informed practices are, and how to implement each one. Teachers should also have opportunities to act as mentors or receive coaching and/or mentoring in classroom management," Dr Hepburn says.

Dr Erin Leif from Monash University believes that "Too often, initiatives to address student behaviour are treated as separate, add-on extras."

“Given the interconnected nature of academic, behavioural, and social and emotional challenges, there is an urgent need to address academic achievement, student behaviour, and student wellbeing within a unified framework within schools.

"However, too often initiatives designed to address student learning, behaviour, and wellbeing are siloed and separate. The siloed nature of these initiatives can result in an increased workload for teachers and, at times, too many competing priorities within a school. School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support offers a unified, multi-tiered framework for improving student behaviour in schools.

"SWPBS helps teachers explore the underlying causes of disruptive and challenging student behaviour and to develop educational interventions to support student academic, behavioural, and social-emotional success at school.”

Bullying on average affects 1 in 6 students at school in Australia and has been classified as the most common form of violence affecting young people around the world. Most of the research on bullying intervention concurs that a whole-school approach is desirable.

There are multiple interventions to choose from though and little guidance is available for schools on how to implement them or sustain them. A substantial number of schools around the country have implemented or are in the process of implementing SWPBS practices.

Dr Roberto Parada at Western Sydney University thinks that SWPBS is an approach that can tackle bullying along with other disruptive behaviour at school.

“The SWPBS approach already meets many criteria desirable for anti-bullying interventions and requires only minor changes and additions to tackle bullying.

“An advantage of this approach is that most anti-bullying interventions are specific only to bullying behaviours and do not target other disruptive behaviours at school. A SWPBS system, guided by best practices on bullying intervention, can do both.”

Everything learned about SWPBS has been compiled in School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support: The Australian Handbook, an authoritative resource based on two decades of experience implementing PBS.

Organised around the concept of a continuum of supports, the handbook highlights the extant knowledge base related to core features of SWPBS, and its implementation throughout the entire school. Each chapter offers research findings, real-life case studies, and practical examples, along with learning intentions, keywords, further reading recommendations, and advice on effective application in the Australian educational context.

See School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support: The Australian Handbook.

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