Positive behavior support in school – the causal mechanisms and interactive processes

The project evaluates an intervention aimed at creating positive school climate and preventing behavior problems in schools.

School-Wilde Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports program (SW-PBIS) is well-researched, but less is known of under which conditions and for whom the program is effective.

The project addresses these questions through a mixed-methods design, in which a quantitative (study 1) and a qualitative study (study 2) make unique contributions.

Study 1 investigates a complex interplay of factors at individual, classroom, and school level when SW-PBIS is implemented at schools.

Quasi-experimental design encompasses 36 schools for students in grades 4-9 in experimental and 36 schools in control group.

Multilevel analyses of data, collected at four points in time, are used to explore factors that may mediate and moderate the relationship between SW-PBIS and the study outcomes.

Study 2 aims to get understanding of the processes that are created, shaped and negotiated by the students, teachers and other school professionals as they participate in the program.

Focusing on interactional processes that arise as SWPBIS is implemented in schools, the study enables us to obtain a detailed contextualized information of interactions in the different school contexts.

The results of the two studies are triangulated to further develop the theory of change behind SW-PBIS program and pinpoint critical questions of ethics and power when it is implemented at schools.