PBIS in Al Amanah College High School
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Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Al Amanah College - An Overview Al Amanah College is a non-selective, co-educational, Islamic faith-based college, operating across two campuses: Bankstown (Kindergarten to Year 6) and Liverpool (Kindergarten to Year 12). The College is committed to pursuing academic excellence and fostering individual abilities in a caring and challenging educational environment. In 1998, the College was established in Bankstown, where classes commenced with 88 students (Kindergarten to Year 3). Since then, the school has grown rapidly and to such an extent that by 2010, the original Bankstown campus had reached maximum capacity with 288 students. In 2002, the College expanded to include the Liverpool campus with an initial intake of 168 students – secondary classes commenced with only Year 7, and by 2007 it had progressed through to its first Year 12 classes. The school is multicultural with 100% of its students coming from non-English-speaking backgrounds. The majority of students come from homes where Arabic is predominantly the spoken language of the household. Since Arabic and Religious Studies form an integral part of the college’s school curriculum, extra teaching staff are employed in these two subjects. Parents and the local community are encouraged to support the College through participation in various school programs, fundraisers and other activities. Al Amanah College is recognised by the wider community as a major educational and learning institution, catering specifically for the needs of the Muslim demographic through its Religious 1 and academic programs. Accordingly, the College appeals mainly to Muslim parents seeking to equip their children with quality education where faith based knowledge is the core. Al Amanah College uses PBIS to manage the behaviour of its students. Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support (PBIS) is a school-wide system that provides clear expectations of appropriate behaviours – and consequences for inappropriate behaviours – across all classrooms and school settings (PBIS.Org, 2011). The focus of PBIS is to provide a system for expected behaviours at Al Amanah College High School. Although most staff members and students may have an idea as to what constitutes expected behaviours, it cannot and should not be assumed that everyone’s perception is one and the same. PBIS aligns this perception and establishes a productive and safe environment whereby all school community members have a clear understanding of the proper expected behaviours as well as the importance of their roles as participants in this system. In conceptualizing this research, three elements are necessary: A clear and specific statement identifying the problem in question A statement outlining what is hoped to be achieved, and An awareness of how PBIS was first thought of, regulated and implemented: the bedrock axiom …the problem for the research dictates the research methodology (Leedy, and Ormond, 2005) In late 2008, the College decided to implement PBIS with the assistance of the Association of Independent Schools (AIS). AIS consultants met with the school executive and teaching staff to introduce PBIS. An action plan was devised with plans to implement the system in 2009. 2 1.2 Purpose of this study The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the PBIS action plan on Al Amanah College High School students and to decide whether or not amendments are necessary to maximize its benefits. As Leedy and Ormond (2005) noted: We address the holes in our knowledge and those unresolved problems by asking relevant questions and then seeking answers through systematic research. It should be noted that the introduction of any new program or strategy necessarily brings about change. This naturally brings about some anxiety and calls for certain obstacles to be overcome in order to achieve its successful adoption. However, many improvement initiatives actually align with generally accepted beliefs as to how schools should conduct their business, and are merely refinements of existing approaches consistent with underlying beliefs and traditions. Some initiatives require a deeper understanding on the part of the school staff as they include a rethink of fundamental beliefs of the problem and a willingness to adopt a strategy that is a radical departure from traditional policies and programs. This study examined how staff dealt with the implementation of one such initiative, namely PBIS. The researcher advocated changing an old detention system that was used at the school but was unable to garner any real support for that initiative. Thus when he learned of an alternative strategy for addressing student behaviour problems (PBIS), there was immediate interest in this initiative and enthusiasm for exploring the program further. The researcher recognized his role in the process of implementing PBIS at this high school. The researcher has had a significant role in introducing the innovation to the staff and thus was interested in studying various factors affecting the success of such initiative, mainly students’ behavioural needs, staff personal needs, and parents’ feelings towards its impact on their children’s behaviour. 3 1.3 Research Question The research question was whether personal, social, and environmental factors influence effective Change Management and Leadership when implementing a Positive Behaviour and Support model in a School environment. Unpacking this research question raises several issues: 1. How did staff respond to this school improvement initiative initially and over time? 2. To what extent did staff feel the improvement initiative conflicted with their personal needs? 3. To what extent did students feel that the school improvement initiative required behaviours that conflicted with the expectations of their peers? 4. To what extent did parents feel the improvement initiative has made an impact on their children’s behaviour at home? 1.4 Research Methods Action Research methodology is used as a framework to explore the research question. The methods, or techniques used to collect data, included interviewing, surveying and participant observation involving teachers, students and parents. This study employed qualitative data collection methods in order to understand and explain staff response to the implementation of PBIS. Quantitative data helped assess the degree to which PBIS strategies had contributed to the improvement of student behaviours and how staff responded to this new approach. It is important to note, however, that this study was not an attempt to evaluate the success or failure of the school improvement initiative itself. Action research is an appropriate methodology for this study as it exposes the myriad of school issues and problems and provides an insight into its professional development needs in order to meet the PBIS implementation requirements. 4 Qualitative data collection played a vital role in this project. The researcher’s observations as well as the perspectives and observations of secondary teachers and parents were invaluable in terms of telling the story that shed light on the research question. Data were collected from a variety of sources including interviews, questionnaires, surveys, school PBIS matrix, and personal observation. The researcher conducted student interview. A third party assistant conducted teacher and parent, surveys and questionnaires. 1.5 Thesis Structure This thesis comprises six chapters, with this (the first) chapter you have been introduced with an overview of Al Amanah College, and the purpose of the study. Chapter two provides a review of the literature, which places this study in the broad context of the existing research. It focuses on a number of different aspects of PBIS: the impact positive behaviour intervention and support has on the organisations adopting it, and a detailed analysis of change management and leadership associated with introducing PBIS. Chapter three describes the Action Research Methodology used in this study; it highlights the research questions, data collection methods, sampling strategies, instrumentation, and data collection and data analysis procedures. Chapter four presents detailed research results based on the collected data using the methods proposed in Chapter three. It discusses the different types of data collected, the data analysis procedures and findings. The similarities, differences and association between the many variables in response to PBIS will be presented in this chapter. 5 Chapter five provides a summary of results including the statistical analysis of data collected, with a focus on students, teachers and parents’ responses. The data analysis addresses the research question: Change Management and Leadership in the context of implementing a Positive Behaviour and Support model in a School environment. Chapter six provides a summary of the results, presents a discussion of the limitations of the study, and prospects for future research. 1.6 Definition of Relevant Terms ADKAR Model: The ADKAR model is one of the most well known models of change management. The ADKAR model is a goal oriented change management system, which allows teams to focus on the activities and the specific results of the business. The ADKAR model consists of five main aspects of change, which includes Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement (Prosci, 2007). AIS: Association of Independent Schools is the peak body representing the independent schooling sector in NSW. Their purpose is