Content area
Full Text
Objective: To report long-term effectiveness of the Positive Action program. Methods: Used matched-schools design and school-level achievement and disciplinary data to evaluate program effects on student performance and behavior in elementary schools. Results: Participation in the Positive Action program improved student behavior, school involvement, and academic achievement at all 3 levels of schools, with the results showing a clear dose-response relationship. Conclusion: Results provide clear evidence that a coherent, comprehensive, and integrated program can have enduring effects in multiple domains.
Key words: positive youth development, comprehensive programs, problem behaviors, prevention, health promotion, academic achievement
Am J Health Behav 2003;27(Supplement 1):S6-S21
We and others have argued that a wide range of youth behaviors are related and have common causes1-4 and that effective positive youth development needs to combine the principles of effective character development, health promotion, disease prevention, and academics.1,5,6 However, schools cannot afford to use different programs to address each of these areas. Administrators, teachers, legislators, and the public are calling for a comprehensive approach.
A number of different kinds of programs have been developed to address problems of academic achievement,7 smoking,8,9 substance use,10 violence,11 and many other areas. Although many of these programs are initially promising, most are problem specific and unable to provide sustainable effects. Most programs address the micro-level predictors of problem behavior and do not attempt to affect the multifaceted, distal factors. A comprehensive approach that includes self-concept development, schoolwide environmental change, and parental and community involvement may successfully affect all outcomes together. Recent changes in Title 1 legislation have acknowledged and facilitated the development/funding of comprehensive school reform programs; however, there are few that have been fully evaluated.
The behaviors of children and adolescents are highly correlated and have many of the same risk and protective factors; and behavior, school involvement, and academic achievement are related (see Flay1 for a review). We need to address student character development, behavior, school involvement, and learning in a comprehensive and integrated way. The present paper reports on the long-term effectiveness of one program that provides schools with the means to achieve this.
The Positive Action Program
A detailed description of the theoretical basis, program structure, and prior evaluations of the Positive Action program (PA) can be found elsewhere.6 Here we summarize aspects...