Including families in the implementation of school‐wide positive behavioral interventions and support: Dutch administrators and SWPBIS‐leadership team experiences

• Published in: Psychology in the schools 2024-10, Vol.61 (10), p.3942-3960
• Main Authors: Willemse, T. Martijn, Nelen, Monique J. M., Blonk, Anita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Behavior; Behavior modification; Communication; Emotional development; family‐school partnerships; Focus groups; Implementation; Intervention; Leadership; Parents & parenting; Partnerships; School psychologists; Schools; school‐wide positive behavioral interventions and supports; Social development; Strategic planning; Teams
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.23266

Despite the fact that research shows that collaboration between families and schools contribute to academic achievement, social‐emotional development and sense of well‐being of students, many schools struggle to establish family‐school partnerships. The current study explores keys to success and challenges in engaging families to the design and implementation of School Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). In a two‐step systematic assessment, consisting of an online survey (n = 27 participants) and five focus group interviews with administrators and members of SWPBIS leadership teams in schools for primary education (n = 15 participants), we found that all 27 participating schools considered partnerships and communication with parents important. However, most participating schools did not have a policy or strategic planning for engaging families, nor did they systematically evaluate their actions. Schools used one‐way approaches of communicating with parents and found it hard to adapt their communication to a diverse population of new parents and parents already familiar with SWPBIS. Schools did not communicate about what was achieved by implementing SWPBIS in their school. Including families in the SWPBIS leadership team was often considered challenging. Input from families on SWPBIS was not collected, nor did schools gather information about family's needs, (cultural) backgrounds to develop strategies for engaging families. Further research on actual school practices in engaging families is recommended. Practitioner Points Engaging families in the design and implementation of School‐Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is challenging. Schools need to develop tailor‐made policies and a more strategic, systematic and information grounded approach to establish effective family‐school partnerships. Defining valued outcomes, collecting input from families and exploring family's needs and cultural backgrounds helps to develop specific strategies. School psychologists can play a major role in pointing out the relevance and importance of solid FSPs.