THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SCHOOL-WIDE POSITIVE BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS AND SUPPORTS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD SETTINGS: A MIXED MODEL RESEARCH

Abstract

It is important to support children’s appropriate behaviors and social skills to extinguish problem behaviors at an early stage as much as possible. Therefore, researchers are in search of effective evidence-based interventions to deal with the problem behaviors of young children. The “Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Approach” seems to be the most widespread approach since the 2000s. PBIS aims to increase the quality of life of the child by making positive changes in the environment of the child. The study explores the effectiveness of the School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Turkish education model (SWPIBS-TR) on problem behaviors and social skills within the early childhood settings. The intervention was carried out in four main stages and 14 steps. The study was conducted with the school managers, teachers, school staff, primary caregivers, and all children with and without disabilities in a preschool/kindergarten in Turkey. The research is mixed-method research and the "parallel convergent research" model has been adopted. The findings indicated significant decreases in the problem behaviors of children and increases in the social skills level. So, researchers, policymakers, and teachers should put the SWPBIS-TR approaches in their curriculum in Turkey. 

Keywords: Behavioral problem, positive behavior/al support, school wide positive behavior/al support, early intervention, social skills.

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