Providing Positive Behavioral Support for All Students

Abstract

How educators respond to children and youth with challenging behavior has changed dramatically over the years. In the past, school professionals typically dealt reactively and punitively with “problem students.” There was little attempt to discover or understand the student’s point of view or contributing environmental, instructional, or cultural factors. We now have a much better understanding of the complexity of actingout behavior and the school and teacher’s role in exacerbating or ameliorating it. Currently, we have an arsenal of effective evidence-based strategies to help educators teach and reinforce positive school-wide and class-wide behavior. This issue of the Journal of Curriculum and Instruction highlights practices that encourage academic and social success for all students. We, as educators, understand the need to go beyond a reactive approach to problematic or atypical behavior to one that views schools and their culture from a systems’ perspective, seeks to prevent the occurrence of negative behavior, understands and meets the needs of students with a wide array of ability, maturity, and skill level, and is accountable for the success of all learners. Multi-Tiered Systems of Support In the lead invited article, “School-wide Systems to Promote Positive Behaviors