Making a Difference in New Brunswick Schools
Positive Behaviour Intervention Supports (PBIS) is a holistic approach to improving behavioural, socio-emotional, and academic outcomes for all learners.
PBIS is a proactive, evidence-based framework for establishing a positive, safe and inclusive whole-school culture. It involves systematic and individualized behaviour support strategies based on data that empowers individual schools and communities to focus on social and learning outcome achievement. As an organizing framework, PBIS helps schools to determine how they want to operate as a community, what type of learning environment they want to create, and what that means in terms of learner behaviour and academic growth and achievement.
PBIS involves all stakeholders in student education to be active participants and supporters: school staff, learners, parents, student council, and key community members. The PBIS tiered system allows for an informed understanding of the factors that may be influencing an individual or group of learners challenging behaviour(s) and why those behaviours may be supported by reinforcement in the learning environment. Research has shown that school staff may inadvertently reinforce undesired behaviours by providing objects and/or attention because of the behaviour. Behaviours are difficult to change because they are functional; they serve a purpose.
What does PBIS involve?
Setting up the learning environment to be positive, predictable and consistent to support learners to be successful socially and academically.
Strengthening relationships/connections between all members of the school community, acknowledging, encouraging, supporting each other. Teaching and modelling the value of being a positive, contributing citizen.
All school personnel working together to effectively identify learners in need of additional supports to be successful, and using practices and approaches proven to be effective by research.
Understanding why your PBIS team is collecting data from various sources to strengthen/support each tier. PBIS expectations are developed with the local cultural context in mind. It is critical that these expectations are implemented in a culturally responsive manner in each tier.
PBIS allows us to bring different teams at a school together to teach and support behaviour expectations. By supporting the specific needs of each school, district and by extension the larger school community through a personalized approach, we create effective support networks in our schools.
Deputy Minister Ryan Donaghy, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, New Brunswick, Canada