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Trial lecture over chosen topic
"Et godt tiltak er ikke nok.... Implementeringskvalitetens betydning"
21st of May, 9.15 am, Zoom
Trial lecture over given topic
"Implementering og spredning av skolebaserte tiltak for å forebygge og redusere problematferd: utfordringer og muligheter sett i lys av nyere teoretiske perspektiver og empiri."
21st of May, 10.45 am, Zoom
Adjudication committee
- 1st opponent Adjunkt Martin Forster, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
- 2nd opponent Professor Sigrun Karin Ertesvåg, University of Stavanger
- Committee Chair Professor Björn Lyxell, University of Oslo
Chair of defence
Professor Ona Bø Wie, University of Oslo
Summary
School level impacts of the three-tiered school-wide prevention model SWPBS (school-wide positive behavior support, N-PALS in Norway) and an abbreviated version, the PPBS intervention (preventing problem behavior in school), were investigated in a sample of 65 elementary schools (28 N-PALS, 17 PPBS, 20 controls doing 'practice-as-usual' ). An underlying assumption, that differences between schools in prevalence of student problem behavior are related to psychosocial characteristics of the school context, was also addressed.
Using repeated staff and student ratings (Grades 4-7) over four school years and multilevel analyses, the main research questions were: 1) How can we produce valid effect estimates when a preferred randomized controlled design fails? 2) Are there significant main and differential effects of N-PALS and PPBS after respectively three years and six months of implementation on student problem behavior, classroom climate, inclusion, teacher efficacy, and behavior management?, and 3) Is perceived teacher collective efficacy related to student problem behavior? The effect iveness study was conducted by the Norwegian Center for Child Behavioral Development.
The findings based on staff ratings but not student ratings from this strengthened quasi-experiment indicated positive outcomes of N-PALS on moderate/severe problem behaviors, inclusion, the social and academic learning environment in class, the staff's individual and collective efficacy perceptions, and on their behavior management practices. Schools with high fidelity scores benefitted the most. Indicative short-term impacts of PPBS were found on several but not on all of the same outcome variables.
Conclusively, the study findings point to that the N-PALS model is a practically relevant system framework that schools can use to effectively prevent and reduce externalizing student problem behavior, promote a positive, inclusive, and supporting learning climate, and to enhance the school staff' s skills and perceived efficacy. For some schools, the PPBS intervention might be a less demanding "springboard" to their developmental work.