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Abstract. In this article, we report the results from a randomized evaluation of the Safe and Civil Schools (SCS) model for school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. Thirty-two elementary schools in a large urban school district were randomly assigned to an initial training cohort or a wait-list control group. Results suggested that SCS training positively affected school policies and student behavior. Surveys administered after the commencement of SCS training found large improvements in staff perceptions of school behavior policies and student behavior at schools receiving SCS training that were not observed at wait-list schools. Similarly, we observed reductions in student suspensions at schools implementing SCS that were not observed at control schools. The observed improvements persisted through the second year of trainings, and once the wait-list control schools commenced SCS training, they experienced similar improvements in school policies and student behavior.
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Student misbehavior has long been a problem for educators (Danforth & Smith, 2005). In today's schools, disciplining stu- dents who misbehave is one of the major tasks educators must face (Nelson & Colvin, 1996). Although major violent or criminal actions in schools continue to decrease, disruptive be- haviors (e.g., noncompliance, disrespect, tar- diness, truancy) seem to be increasing (Na- tional Center for Educational Statistics, 2007, 2010). In the public perception, discipline ranks second in the list of biggest challenges faced by public schools (Bushaw & Lopez, 2010).
Students' disruptive behavior can make other students feel unsafe in school (Mijano- vich & Weitzman, 2003), can reduce instruc- tional time (McEvoy & Welker, 2000), and is often cited as the primary reason new teachers leave the profession within 5 years (Schlichte, Yssel, & Merbler, 2005; Sprick, Garrison, & Howard, 1998; Sprick, 2009).
Traditionally, educators resort to puni- tive methods (e.g., verbal reprimands, time outs, restitution, referrals, suspensions) in their efforts to make students behave appro- priately, which are ineffective in improving student behavior (Gottfredson, 1997; Maag, 2001; Skiba, 2000). In fact, punitive methods often serve more to exert authority over the student than to change irresponsible behavior (Noguera, 1995; Sprick, Sprick, & Garrison, 1992). A consensus in the literature argues that punitive methods have no lasting effect on student behavior and, if successful at all, serve to mitigate misbehavior only...