McKay School of Education > PBSI > Positive Behavior Support Initiative :: Overview

PBSI Overview

The McKay School of Education sponsors the Positive Behavior Support Initiative, which is directed by Dr. Paul Caldarella and Lynnette Christensen. Three faculty members, Drs. K. Richard Young, Michelle Marchant, and Ellie Young developed the initiative in collaboration with administrators and teachers from Nebo and Provo School Districts, as well as BYU students and staff.

Overview

The Positive Behavior Support Initiative is one of several McKay School initiatives designed to facilitate the development of noble and God-like character. Positive behavior support (PBS) is a comprehensive approach designed to improve the quality of life for children, youth, and adults and to reduce problem behaviors and conflicts. PBS involves a collaborative effort among many individuals to re-engineer environments to provide sufficient encouragement and commendation, instruction in life skills, and behavioral interventions to ensure the development of lifestyles that promote success and happiness in schools, families, and communities.

PBS is a multi-level approach that can and should be implemented at a basic level for all students school-wide, at a more focused level for students who are identified as being at risk for developing future academic and social problems, and at an intense level for those who are currently displaying challenging behavior problems and academic deficiencies. When implemented well, the PBS approach creates a culture of caring, teaching, and nurturing, where everyone can succeed, be safe, and feel needed; a school where civility is taught, understood, and practiced; a community where students, teachers, administrators, and parents consistently practice the "golden rule." PBS is based on empirically validated strategies and system change procedures, structured to produce socially important outcomes. PBS proactively teaches social interaction skills, self-management skills, and other life skills necessary for living a quality life. When problem behaviors do occur, more functional and appropriate replacement behaviors are taught, and an environmental support network is established.

The BYU-PBSI began in 2000 in one elementary school in Provo. Expansion to the Nebo School District began in 2002 with one elementary school and has grown into a current district-wide initiative.  Both elementary and secondary schools are served by the initiative. Further expansion will occur as resources become available.

Publications and Presentations

Over the past years, BYU-PBSI publications have been accepted in peer-reviewed professional journals, with others currently under review by journal editors (see the PBSI Publications).  Staff members from the BYU-PBSI group have also presented their work at local, regional, and national conferences. For detailed information regarding BYU-PBSI presentations (see the PBSI Presentation Search Engine).

Mission Statement:

We envision strength-based education as a positive school environment that nurtures the development of social emotional and behavioral skills, competencies, and characteristics necessary for meaningful relationships, academic success, and individuals’ ability to deal with adversity, stress, and the challenges of life. Educators operating from a strength-based perspective view a student who is failing to perform successfully or emitting inappropriate behavior, not as deficient or pathological, but as an individual that has not had sufficient opportunities to master necessary academic and/or life skills. Those embracing a strength-based approach assume that all students have strengths and that we as educators must acknowledge those strengths and use them as the foundation to assist students in reaching their full potential. The mission of strength-based education is to develop within all youth, noble character, social competence and academic excellence.