School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) focuses on promoting social competence through the establishment of behavior expectations that are explicitly taught and reinforced by all teachers across all settings. This study investigated the validity of using adherence to SWPBS behavior expectations as a screening tool for predicting behavior…

Total group contingencies, a variation of interdependent group contingencies, provide educators with an efficient and effective mechanism to improve social behavior and increase academic skills. Their utility has not been examined in small educational groups. This is unfortunate as supplemental instruction frequently is delivered in small group…

Criteria for evaluating behavior support programs are changing. Consumer-based educational and behavioral programs, such as School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), are particularly influenced by consumer opinion. Unfortunately, the need for and use of social validity measures have not received adequate attention in the empirical literature…

Students at risk for, or with, emotional disturbance during preadolescence struggle to adjust socially, behaviorally, and academically and often make choices about relationships that support problem behaviors. Research suggests explicitly teaching self-determination skills as early as preschool may prevent referral to special education with a…

Elementary students (N = 104) at risk for severe behavior problems or with special education eligibility participated in three validity studies of the daily progress report (DPR) used in a Tier 2 behavioral intervention known as "Check, Connect, and Expect" (CCE). In Study 1, the relationship between teachers' ratings of students' externalizing…

In 2008, the "Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions" ("JPBI") celebrated 10 years in publication. As the flagship journal of positive behavior support (PBS), it is important to periodically examine the research published in "JPBI" to determine whether it reflects the basic principles of PBS, to explore the ways in which PBS is being…

Sustainability of effective practices in schools is a critical area for research in any domain. The purpose of this article is to describe and evaluate the validity and reliability of a recently developed research instrument designed to evaluate schools' capacity to sustain school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) efforts at the universal…

There is increasing demand for access to effective interventions for families who have children with autism. Self-directed learning models have been successfully used with other populations as a way to reduce the service-need discrepancy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, through a randomized clinical trial, whether the use of a…

In preschool settings, the majority of interventions are individualized for children at high risk for challenging behavior. However, a few early childhood sites have begun to conceptualize and implement prevention and intervention initiatives modeled after the principles and key features associated with school-wide positive behavior support. In…

As a follow-up to Horner et al., this study focuses on the internal consistency and validity of the School-wide Evaluation Tool (SET) at all school levels. Analyzing SET data from 833 elementary, 264 middle, and 93 high schools, the authors focused on (a) describing commonalities and differences in SET data across the school levels, (b) assessing…

Office discipline referral (ODR) data provide useful information about problem behavior and consequence patterns, social-behavioral climates, and effects of social-behavioral interventions in schools. The authors report patterns of ODRs and subsequent administrative decisions from 1,510 schools nationwide that used the School-Wide Information…

This study evaluated the efficacy of video modeling delivered via a handheld device (video iPod) and the use of the system of least prompts to assist elementary-age students with transitioning between locations and activities within the school. Four students with autism learned to manipulate a handheld device to watch video models. An ABAB…

This article is a description of a program that may be effective for reducing the aggressive behaviors of adults with intellectual disabilities. Data are presented in the form of a naturally occurring multiple baseline across two participants. Results suggest that an intervention anchored in teaching-family model (TFM) procedures was effective to…

The "Self-Assessment and Program Review" (SAPR) was developed to provide an assessment tool that schools could use to track their progress in implementing key practices related to all three levels of schoolwide positive behavior supports (SWPBS). The SAPR is a team-based assessment tool, using both individual and team ratings of 10 evidence-based…

This study investigated the effects of adding individualized, function-based support to the well-documented early intervention First Step to Success. A single-subject multiple-baseline design was applied across three K-1 students who did not respond to standard First Step to Success procedures. A functional behavioral assessment and individualized…