General Education Behavior Supports: the Importance of Attitude, Training and Relationships

With more students with disabilities have been placed in mainstream classes over the last 50 years has increased exponentially.  In 1975, while there are no official numbers, it was exceptionally rare to see a child with disabilities being educated with their typical peers.In 2025, about two thirds of students with disabilities are in general education classes for more than 80% of their school day.This dramatic increase has not come without significant problems.  A major issue is the training and experience general education staff are provided to work with students who are more likely to display problematic behaviors.Teachers complain, rightly, that they have been left to fend for themselves, or receive inadequate support, to deal effectively with problem behaviors.Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) is an offshoot of Positive Behavior Support (PBS), which has been used successfully for many years for students with disabilities.  PBIS goes further, with district and school wide programs that involve all students.It employs a tiered system, with the first two tiers being implanted for all students as needed, and the third tier, which uses PBS methods to assess and intervene more deeply.Research has consistently indicated that PBS and its “parent”, Applied Behavior Analysis can effectively be adapted to broader populations. Resources:The PBIS tiershttps://www.pbis.org/pbis/what-is-pbishttps://www.pbis.org/pbis/tier-1https://www.pbis.org/pbis/tier-2 Article with teacher comments:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9135387/ SummaryThe host presents an overview of Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), a three-tiered framework for student behavioral and academic support. He discusses each tier’s purpose, from universal classroom practices to individualized interventions, and shares teacher experiences from a study on PBIS implementation with ADHD students. Key takeaways include the importance of teacher attitudes, training, and school-wide philosophy for effective PBIS use.Key takeawayPBIS Three-Tiered Framework OverviewPBIS is an evidence-based framework with three tiers for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social-emotional, and mental health.The first tier uses daily class-wide organization and positive behavioral practices for all students, such as recognizing appropriate behaviors and responding with instruction instead of punishment.Students needing further support are addressed in the second tier through group interventions like social skills groups, self-management, and academic supports.The third tier provides individual support for students with persistent problem behaviors, often involving a functional behavior assessment (FBA) and a formal intervention plan.Teacher Challenges and Barriers to ImplementationA study found that teachers with more negative beliefs about ADHD are less likely to use evidence-based behavior management strategies, indicating that negative beliefs are a barrier to implementing PBIS.Teachers reported frustration with the process, such as struggling to praise a student for a small positive action when overwhelmed or feeling it took until January to become proficient.One teacher noted that getting to know students deeply and being authentic in communication helps them know when praise is meaningful versus generic.Factors That Enable Successful PBIS ImplementationTeacher belief in the intervention’s effectiveness, as supported by research, helped sustain efforts.Principal support and alignment with the school’s vision were cited as important; teachers felt supported if they were doing what the principal had envisioned.Practical strategies included taking deep breaths, stepping away briefly to calm down, using a timer to track time, and developing routines for transitioning to independent work with students who need reminders.Attending training, receiving refreshers on staff development days, and observing other educators using the interventions were identified as key learning aids.Thanks to Soundimage.org for the free access to the AI generated music used in this podcast (https://soundimage.org/)