School-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports and students with extensive support needs: a scoping review

Abstract

School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) is an inclusive multi-tiered system of behavioral supports that has been widely adopted by K-12 schools in the United States. SWPBIS focuses on creating safe, equitable, and inclusive school environments and has been linked to both positive behavioral and academic outcomes for students and improved perceptions of efficacy and job satisfaction for school personnel. However, there remain concerns about the involvement of students with extensive support needs (ESN) in SWPBIS despite calls to action in 2006 and 2016 for research in this area. Addressing these concerns, we conducted a scoping review to examine the current research literature on SWPBIS and students with ESN. We found that only 10 studies have been conducted since the 2006 call to action. Studies primarily focused on stakeholder perspectives regarding the importance or availability of SWPBIS for students with ESN. Although few studies examined SWPBIS effectiveness, findings from these studies lend support to the effectiveness of Tier 1 SWPBIS for students with ESN. We describe several key implications for supporting the inclusion of students with ESN in SWPBIS and future research initiatives.

Keywords:

• school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports
• SWPBIS
• multi-tiered systems of support
• extensive support needs
• severe disabilities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This document was supported from funds provided by the TIES Center grant supported by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) of the U.S Department of Education (#H326Y170004) and the Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports cooperative grant supported by OSEP and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) of the U.S. Department of Education (#H326S180001). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, or enterprise mentioned in this document is intended or should be inferred.