ECS, a research unit within
the College
of Education at the University
of Oregon, focuses on the development and implementation of practices
that result in positive, durable, and scientifically validated change in the
lives of students from kindergarten through high school and of individuals with
disabilities and their families.
ECS faculty and staff secure federal and state funding that targets
research, training, and practice to create new knowledge, guarantee
evidence-based practices, and provide technical assistance to benefit
individuals and organizations at the local, state, and national levels.
PBS Research Agenda
Our primary PBS research effort, the Research and Demonstration Center on
School-Wide Behavior Support, addresses two questions:
-
Does team-based training in school-wide positive behavior support (Effective
Behavior Support (EBS) Curriculum) affect the behavior support systems used in
schools?
-
If a school adopts School-wide PBS systems, are there changes in (a) rates of
reported problem behaviors, (b) suspensions and expulsions, and (c) academic
performance?
Secondary research foci will examine (a) the extent to which changes in systems
and student behavior endure across time, (b) the cost of problem behavior and
behavior change efforts, and (c) specific behavioral practices that improve the
efficiency or effectiveness of School-wide PBS efforts.
The Research and Demonstration Center involves a 90 school randomized,
control-group research design with schools from Illinois, Hawaii, Oregon,
Missouri and Florida. All participating schools will include grades K-3.
Approximately 30 schools will be selected from Oregon, Hawaii and Illinois who
already use School-wide Positive Behavior Support (PBS) and have a School-wide
Evaluation Tool (SET) mean score of at least 78%. Approximately 60 schools will
be selected from Illinois and Hawaii and randomly assigned into two groups
(Cohort 1 and Cohort 2). The schools in Cohort 1 will receive School-wide PBS
training during the 2001-2002 academic year, and initiate procedures in the
Spring or Fall of 2002. Schools in Cohort 2 will receive training in
School-wide PBS during the 2002-2003 academic year and initiate procedures in
the Spring or Fall of 2003. Data for all 90+ schools will be collected across a
five-year period to assess the impact of initial implementation and on-going
maintenance. An additional group of schools in Missouri (at least 9) and
Florida (at least 9) will be randomly assigned, and will implement School-wide
PBS.
Current PBS Projects
Several of our current projects examine the contributions positive behavior
supports (PBS) can make to educational improvement. PBS emphasizes the
establishment and maintenance of proactive, school-wide systems of support that
define, teach, and encourage appropriate behaviors in a way that fosters a
culture of competence within schools. PBS systems reduce the disciplinany
burden on teachers and administrators and create an environment conducive to
learning.
Technical Assistance Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
The goal of the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
(CPBIS) is to increase the capacity of schools, families, and communities to
support and educate children and youth with significant problem behaviors by
(a) enhancing both awareness and knowledge of positive behavioral interventions
and support as part of these systems and (b) emphasizing the features of a
comprehensive systems approach to sustain these interventions and supports.
Funded by The Office of Special Education Programs, U.S.
Department of Education, Grant No. H326S980003-00A.
Research and Demonstration Center on School-Wide Behavior Support
This Center will demonstrate with approximately 90 schools from representative
school districts and states across the nation over a five-year period through
experimental and programmatic research methods the effectiveness, efficiency,
durability, and relevance of school-wide behavior support. School-wide behavior
support is defined as the broad range of systemic and individualized strategies
designed to achieve important social and learning outcomes while preventing
problem behavior for all students. Although researchers throughout the nation
have established demonstrations of school-wide positive behavior support in
over 600 schools over the past 10 years, critical questions still exist. Within
and across schools, the Center will address three primary research questions:
Does a functional relationship exist between school-wide behavior support and
(a) change in the discipline systems within schools, (b) reduction in problem
behavior (e.g., rates of office discipline referrals, observed problem
behavior, suspensions and expulsions, referrals to special education), (c)
academic achievement (e.g., rates of engagement, state-wide test scores,
grades, reading rates), and (d) school climate (e.g., staff, student, and
parent knowledge and perceptions; quality of school environment)? If
school-wide behavior support is implemented, does a positive correlation exist
between the level and features of a "system" implementation and the durability
of school-wide practices and outcomes"? What are the comparative benefits
compared with the costs of implementing school-wide behavior support?
Funded by The Office of Special Education Programs, U.S.
Department of Education, Grant No. H324X010015.
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Positive Behavior Support
While the field of behavior support has advanced tremendously in the past 10
years, considerable need remains for (a) understanding the foundation
mechanisms that lead to problem behavior; (b) designing prevention and
intervention procedures that produce durable, lifelong effects; and (c)
embedding existing technical knowledge in typical educational, social, and work
environments. The RRTC is uniquely designed to build the needed scientific
knowledge base, extend knowledge to the support of a more diverse group of
people with disabilities, and dissemiate accurate information to families,
schools, community agencies and employment support organizations. Its five
research projects will address (a) comprehensive applications of positive
behavior support, (b) prevention of severe problem behavior, (c) maintenance of
intervention effects, (d) self-management, and (e) functional assessment. In
addition, three training projects focus on (a) inservice and preservice
training, (b) dissemination of knowledge and technology, and (c) technical
assistance to families, schools, and community support agencies.
Funded by The Office of Special Education Programs, U.S.
Department of Education, Grant No. 5830-357-LO-A.
High School Positive Behavior Support: Increasing Success for All Students
Elementary and middle school educators have shown that it is possible to create
and sustain learning and teaching environments that are safe, secure, positive,
inclusive, competent, and accommodating. Unfortunately, the same level of
school-wide PBS implementation has not been demonstrated and validated at the
high school level. What makes the high school culture and context so different?
This research project has two main purposes:
-
identify and study the factors that contribute and/or inhibit comprehensive
school-wide systems of PBS for all students and
- establish and study intensive
demonstrations of high school level implementations of school-wide PBS.
Funded by The Office of Special Education Programs, U.S.
Department of Education, Grant No. H324D020031.
Project FIVE: Functional Interventions in Versatile Environments
Project FIVE
examines how school environments may be "turned around" for students at-risk
for school failure if teachers and other school staff understand and readily
apply themselves to the new tasks required to implement function-based
supports. Function-based support, because it respects the individual's
perspective while taking into consideration the requirements of the school, is
likely to prevent emotional disturbance and promote successful inclusion of
students with disabilities. Students who stand out as having more frequent
discipline referrals than the vast majority of their peers are at-risk for
emotional disturbance requiring special education and related services,
alternative placements, expulsion, dropout, and juvenile delinquency.
Funded by The Office of Special Education Programs, U.S.
Department of Education, Grant No. H324C020051.
For more information about these and other ECS projects, please visit our
Projects page.
PBS Surveys Personnel
Co-coordinators:
Rob Horner , George Sugai
Web Site:
Joseph Boland developed and maintains the PBS Surveys site and its
associated databases.
Data Collection Management:
Jody Esperanza
Technical Assistance Coordinator:
Anne Todd