MOO08423 1 Why Positive Behaviour for Learning: The How’s and Why’s of Translating a US Model for Local Sustainable Education Mary Mooney, Brenda Dobia, Anne Power, Kevin Watson, Katrina Barker, Alexander S. Yeung University of Western Sydney Anne Denham, Gerry McCloughan, Jill Schofield Department of Education and Training Western Sydney Region Paper presented in the symposium: Positive Behaviour for Learning: Changing Student Behaviours for Sustainable Educational Outcomes at the Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Brisbane, November 2008. This research was supported by a Partnership Grant of the University of Western Sydney. Enquiries concerning this paper should be directed to Alexander Yeung, Centre for Educational Research, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC NSW 1797 or via email to a.yeung@uws.edu.au Abstract Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) is an initiative of the New South Wales Department of Education and Training Western Sydney Region (NSW DET WSR) that has been progressively introduced into schools. In adapting the US model of Positive Behaviour Interventions and Support (PBIS) program, DET WSR changed more than the name of the Australian model of the intervention The original model was extended beyond behaviour management to emphasise the facilitation of learning outcomes. As a result of local adaptations, various changes occurred at both the school level and regional level. From fieldwork data comprising focus group discussions and individual interviews with stakeholders, the reasons for these changes and their effects, expected or unexpected, provided rich information that may facilitate further improvement of the intervention. Distinctive features of the WSR schools’ adaptation of PBL were observed in terms of cultural and contextual factors. The implications of student behaviour for learning are becoming an increasingly major concern of teachers, parents and policy makers in Australia. Disruptive student behaviour not only impedes learning outcomes for students but also impacts negatively on teacher efficacy and wellbeing (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001; Lewis, 1999). Poor student behaviour, low student engagement and motivation can overwhelm teachers who often become less effective in the classroom, experience less satisfaction and are more likely to resign their positions, leading to an exacerbation of poor educational outcomes and associated behavioural problems and contributing to the problem of ‘hard-to-staff’ schools (Howard & Johnson, 2002). A recent study of primary teachers in Western Sydney found that even teachers who felt confident about their teaching abilities expressed concern about student disobedience, distractability and disruption of others, as well as less frequent but more challenging behaviours such as physical aggression and bullying (Stephenson, Linfoot & Martin, 2000). In the New South Wales Department of Education and Training Western Sydney Region (NSW DET WSR) there had been dissatisfaction with the ways that behaviour problems in schools were being managed. The NSW DET recently revised its discipline policy guidelines to emphasise that ‘quality learning environments’ should provide ‘an environment free from disruption, intimidation, harassment and discrimination. To achieve this, all schools are expected to maintain high standards of discipline’ (NSW DET, 2006a). In some cases, managing problems at the school level frequently led to an escalation of conflict. This is consistent with research findings that show that coercive discipline aggravates problem behaviour (Lewis, 2001). As well, the DET WSR noted disparities across the Region in the capacities of different schools to deal effectively with student behaviours. As a result, DET WSR emphasised that schools and teachers should employ more effective behaviour management programs by adopting a consistent region-wide initiative for managing student behaviour (NSW DET, 2006b). This initiative is derived from the Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports (PBIS) process that was developed in the United States and renamed as Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL). This strategic initiative of DET WSR has been progressively introduced into schools across the region since November 2005. Despite the apparent success of PBL in improving student behaviour and school-wide behaviour management practices in the short period of PBL implementation, it was unclear how the implementation of this initiative, adapted from another culture, could accommodate features that are specific to the local Australian school environment. Consequently, research was conducted by the University of Western Sydney during 2007 with a cross-section of WSR schools that had implemented the PBL process. The purpose of the research was to examine the reasons for changes and their effects, whether expected or unexpected when adapting PBIS from the USA to suit specific school needs in Western Sydney.