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“What Are We Doing?” Managing challenging behaviour and reducing the use of compulsion and power through legislative reflections and Positive Behaviour Support Markus Hernes Master’s Thesis Master of Philosophy in Special Needs Education Department of Special Needs Education Faculty of Educational Sciences UNIVERSITY OF OSLO Autumn 2018 !II “I found it challenging, and at the same time quite exhilarating. But also a feeling of, you know, what are we doing? We just can’t continue, we need to know what we are doing.” !III !IV Abstract This thesis is concerned with how and in what ways the technology of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) might help reduce the use of compulsion and power in schools. In Norway, legislative confusion in schools regarding the use of compulsion and power relating to legislative matters, is not a new or controversial issue. The Education Act §9 A-10 prohibits any use of restrictive methods, but the Penal Code §§ 17 and 18 might be applied in situations of a serious nature. This discrepancy might create a legislative vacuum in which the line between the duty of care, and the use of coercion, might be difficult to navigate or, in the worst case, lead to the unlawful use of compulsion and power in Norwegian schools. The study aims to investigate in what ways current legislation might contribute to the reduction in the use of compulsion and power, in what way PBS might help to clarify the current legislative confusion, and which components of PBS that might lead to the reduction in the use of compulsion and power. The data in this study is based on qualitative research interviews with four teachers working at a special needs department in an upper secondary school in Norway. The site of this study implemented PBS in 2014, specifically as a response to an audit by the county governor revealing unlawful use of compulsion and power, thus adding relevance to the research topic. Main findings: • Stand alone intervention-strategies at the site of study, specifically Active Support and the Low Arousal approach, were effective in reducing the use of compulsion and power. • The technology of PBS seemed to increase the impact of such intervention-strategies, specifically the systemic component. • The proactive component and person-centred approach of PBS, although somewhat abstract in nature, provided staff with some concrete and practical methods that helped reduce the use of compulsion and power, specifically the reflection-form and subsequent discussions. !V “What Are We Doing?” Managing challenging behaviour and reducing the use of compulsion and power through legislative reflections and Positive Behaviour Support !VI ©Markus Hernes 2018 “What Are We Doing?” Markus Hernes http://www.duo.uio.no Print: Reprosentralen, University of Oslo !VII Acknowledgements Firstly, I want to thank two wonderful people for enlightening conversations, inspiring thoughts and for being all-around good guys: Åsne Sandvik (Kapellveien Habiliteringssenter) and Ulf Wangensteen Berge (ViD Vitenskapelige Høgskole). Thank you for sharing all your wisdom and knowledge with me! Secondly, during my preliminary research, I reached out to the following professionals working in the field of research, for a conversation about the use of compulsion and power: Børge Stave (Verge Opplæring AS), Silja Nicoline Angellsen (Kapellveien Habiliteringssenter), Ingunn Midttun (Kapellveien Habiliteringssenter), Kristian Rusten Finvold (Nordvoll Autismesenter), Anne Berit Aarstad (Karlsrud Skole, byomfattende gruppe for autisme), and Christine Spence (prosjektleder, Stavanger Kommune) I thank you all for your time, inspiration and generosity! Thirdly, a big thank you to my supervisors Kolbjørn Varmann (Universitetet i Oslo, UiO) and Ulf Wangensteen Berge (ViD Vitenskapelige Høgskole), and to all my informants. Thank you for your trust and patience. … Lastly, and most importantly, to all the people I have worked with whose challenging behaviour has tested me, caused both doubts and insecurity and brought me sleepless nights, but whom I nevertheless have grown to cherish and love. Thank you!! !VIII Table of Contents 1. Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 1.1. Background and relevance ........................................................................................2 1.2. The Problem ..............................................................................................................5 1.3. The Solution ..............................................................................................................6 1.4. Research question ......................................................................................................7 1.5. Clarifications and omissions ......................................................................................8 1.6. Abbreviations .............................................................................................................9 1.7. Structure ..................................................................................................................10 2. Theory .................................................................................................................................11 2.1. Challenging behaviour .............................................................................................11 2.2. Compulsion & Power ..............................................................................................12 2.3. Ethics .......................................................................................................................13 2.4. Restrictive practices .................................................................................................16 2.5. Restraint reduction ...................................................................................................17 2.6. Legislations in Norway ............................................................................................19 2.6.1. The Norwegian Penal Code ............................................................................20 2.6.2. The Education Act ..........................................................................................21 2.6.3. The Health Care Services Act and IS-10/2015 ...............................................22 2.6.4. Summary of legislations ..................................................................................25 2.7. Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) ........................................................................25 2.8. Active support and Low arousal approach ..............................................................27 2.9. Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) ..........................................................................28 2.9.1. Main components............................................................................................. 29 2.9.2. Multicomponent technology - The Pyramid Model ........................................31 2.9.3. Summary .........................................................................................................33 3. Methodology ......................................................................................................................34 3.1. The qualitative method ............................................................................................34 3.1.1. Phenomenology and hermeneutics ..................................................................35 3.1.2. Semi-structured interview ................................................................................36 !IX 3.2. My preconceptions ..................................................................................................37 3.3. Instrumentation and data collection ........................................................................38 3.3.1. Sampling method .............................................................................................39 3.3.2. Data analysis ...................................................................................................39 3.3.3. Coding of semi-structured interviews ..............................................................40 3.4. Validity and reliability ............................................................................................41 3.5. Ethical considerations ..............................................................................................44 4. Findings ..............................................................................................................................48 4.1. The presentation of findings ....................................................................................48 4.1.1. The use of legislations in reducing restrictive practises .................................49 4.1.2. PBS as an approach for reducing restrictive practises .....................................54 4.1.3. Focal shift ........................................................................................................58 4.1.4. Values and reflective practise ..........................................................................60 4.1.5. Methods for reducing the use of compulsion and power .................................62 4.1.6. The importance of the PBS-plan...................................................................... 67 4.2. Summary of findings ...............................................................................................70 5. Discussion of findings ........................................................................................................71