Integrating the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania
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Integrating the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania 2 Integrating the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania Overview of Workgroup and Method This report was prepared with input from This report was produced to summarize the Pennsylvania OBPP-PBIS workgroup. the workgroup’s findings related to the The workgroup included representation following questions: from statewide leadership organizations that support the dissemination of Olweus • Is it possible to implement both OBPP Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) and and PBIS in a school? Positive Behavioral Interventions and • What strategies support co-implemen- Supports (PBIS) in the commonwealth, tation of OBPP and PBIS? as well as leaders from schools that have • What considerations are warranted experience with both programs/frame- when a school is selecting an evidence- works. The workgroup met on six different based school climate improvement occasions and conducted site visits of program, such as OBPP or PBIS? model implementation sites. Definitions of Bullying Among Youths Bullying is any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths who are not siblings or current dating partners that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated. Bullying may inflict harm or distress on the targeted youth including physical, psychological, social or educational harm. – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Department of Education (2014)1 Bullying is defined as an intentional electronic, written, verbal or physical act, or a series of acts: (1) directed at another student or students; (2) which occurs in or relates to a school setting; (3) that is severe, persistent or pervasive; and (4) that has the effect of doing any of the following: (a) substantially interfering with a student’s education; (b) creating a threatening environment; or (c) substantially disrupting the orderly operation of the school. – Pennsylvania School Code (2012)1 Integrating the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania 3 Why should schools be concerned about bullying and its prevention? Educators and school leaders should be • School-age bullying is a strong Social factors play a role in the bullying concerned about bullying prevention predictor of delinquency, anti-social dynamic and can affect bullying out- because bullying is a relatively common personality, depression and anxiety in comes. Peers and adults, for example, phenomenon among children and it is adulthood.6,7 These outcomes have may reinforce or discourage bullying associated with negative and costly high social costs, including the costs depending on how they respond to it.12,13 outcomes. National surveys suggest that associated with incarceration and Similarly, research suggests that social bullying and peer victimization affect treatment.8 support may mitigate some of the nearly one-third of youth on a moderate negative effects of bullying.14 Specifically or frequent basis.2 Further: • Exposure to violence, including bullying, when peers and adults demonstrate is associated with lower achievement active support for children who are • Students who are bullied are more than among youth.9 It also has a negative bullied, bullied students experience fewer twice as likely to experience depression effect on school climate and contributes emotional symptoms15,16 and are more and anxiety than students that are not to lower levels of overall student likely to disclose their bullying experiences bullied.3,4 They also feel less connected engagement in school.10 These effects to adults.17 to school and less safe at school.5 appear to extend beyond the child that is bullied. For example, schools with high rates of bullying and teasing performed lower on AYP measures than other schools in one study.11 4 Integrating the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania How do OBPP and PBIS address school climate and bullying? The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program Both frameworks also share a common and Positive Behavioral Interventions and emphasis on engaging parent and Supports are two common schoolwide community partners in activities that frameworks used in Pennsylvania to promote effective prevention, intervention improve school climate and address and youth support. While OBPP and PBIS bullying. Both frameworks are supported both provide a framework for organizing by research18,19 and engage district and/or efforts to improve school climate, they are school based leadership teams in distinct in focus and offer different benefits designing and implementing strategies to to schools. improve school climate through: • School-level procedures and systems • Classroom-level practices • Targeted interventions for individual students OBPP Framework OBPP is grounded in research on peer results of the Olweus Bullying Question- aggression and bullying and emphasizes naire (OBQ), to inform school- and the importance of aligning policies, classroom-level strategies. Through procedures and practices to ensure mem- ongoing training and implementation of bers of the school community respond in the OBPP framework, OBPP teams focus consistent ways to incidents of bullying on increasing adult and bystander and suspected bullying.13 Program responsiveness to peer aggression and developer, Dan Olweus, was among the bullying, while improving the quality of first to recognize the important role that students’ peer relationships. The latter is bystanders play in violence prevention done through regular class meetings and efforts. Thus, the program emphasizes the implementation of pro-social initiatives training and ongoing engagement of staff, across the school. students and parents in bullying preven- tion strategies. The goals of the OBPP framework are to: reduce existing bullying problems The implementation of OBPP is overseen among students; prevent the develop- by a leadership team, comprised of ment of new bullying problems; and school staff and parents. Leadership achieve better peer relations in the teams use a range of data, including the school.20 Integrating the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania 5 PBIS Framework PBIS is a framework for decision making not responsive to Tier 1 strategies. Tier 2 teams at the school and district levels and organizational change that sup- interventions tend to be delivered in small oversee implementation to PBIS, includ- ports the installation of evidence-based, group settings, using an evidence-based ing selection of valued outcomes, research-validated prevention and curriculum or program to build specific monitoring of school-level data and intervention strategies using a three-tiered skills in students. Tertiary strategies implementation of primary and selected approach to improving behavioral and (Tier 3), in contrast, are highly specialized strategies. PBIS leadership teams work in learning outcomes for students. Primary interventions delivered to individual collaboration with other school-level prevention strategies (Tier 1) are evidence- students with high risk behaviors. It is teams, including School Safety Teams, based approaches applied consistently estimated that one to seven percent of a Student Assistance Teams and Instruc- and systematically across the school school’s population will require specialized tional Support Teams, to minimize population. These strategies aim to individual supports.21 duplicity and streamline efforts. instruct all students in appropriate behaviors and skills to promote positive PBIS emphasizes operationally defined The goal of PBIS is to increase school climate and optimize learning. and valued outcomes for students, which student achievement through the use Secondary prevention strategies (Tier 2) are linked to the school’s annual improve- of research-based behavioral and are more focused and target specific ment objectives and aggregated through instructional principles. groups of students whose behaviors are data collection systems. Leadership 6 Integrating the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports in Pennsylvania Are OBPP and PBIS compatible? OBPP and PBIS share a number of behavioral expectations focus on bullying educators to spend class time teaching common elements, making co-implemen- behavior specifically, while PBIS calls for positive behaviors to students. tation possible for some schools. For behavioral expectations that can be example, both frameworks emphasize applied more generally across contexts. The following examples demonstrate how the importance of a simplified, common Similarly, both programs require a some schools have integrated these three language for describing behavioral leadership team to oversee schoolwide components of OBPP and PBIS. expectations to students. OBPP’s implementation and both require Behavioral Expectations Leadership Team Instruction Positive Consequences OBPP OBPP has four anti-bullying rules that OBPP recommends that a bullying OBPP requires that teachers conduct OBPP recommends that teachers and Component emphasize helping behavior, as well as prevention coordinating committee be class meetings 1-3 times per week, for other adults in the building provide the expectation that students not