Omicron, dizzying increase in hospitalizations and all that follows: who would have predicted, just a few months ago, that we would be here today? And who could say, with a minimum of confidence, where we will be in just a few months? Do we open the schools or not? With what effects? What will justify closing them?
I like to joke that I’m bad at making predictions, especially if they’re about the future. But the fact is that the crisis we are going through, which requires us to determine rules of conduct, makes Donald Rumsfeld’s remark more relevant than ever that it is appropriate, in order to predict and to act, to distinguish between the known known, the known unknowns and unknown unknowns.
I argue that the rational attitude is to reject dogmatism and make decisions based on the best available evidence, but also to recognize that it will be necessary, if the situation demands it, if our knowledge evolves, to revise our analyzes. and our practices.
This “fallibilistic” perspective is at the heart of the use of evidence in education and of its inseparable cousin, results-based management.
I would like to give you an example: Positive Behavior Support (PCS). For that, I turned to one of the researchers who know the subject best, who is working to implement this way of doing things in schools: Steve Bissonnette (TELUQ).
What is it exactly?
Bissonnette explains: “It is a model of response to intervention (RAI) which restructures behavior management by using a set of educational practices and strategies in order, on the one hand, to prevent and effectively manage deviations in behavior. conduct of students and, on the other hand, to establish and maintain an environment conducive to teaching and learning. The SCP was developed in the United States over 30 years ago by researchers Georges Sugai and Rob Horner at the University of Oregon. “
Good. But, concretely, how do we do it?
We act at the school level. We clearly define the behaviors we want in and outside the classroom; they are taught explicitly; and we can thus recognize them when we observe them. In addition, we define a continuum of interventions in order to act effectively on behavioral problems.
This requires that all staff adhere to the proposed change, that a steering committee be formed and that the school be accompanied by an experienced professional from the SCP in order to implement the system correctly.
The system encourages each school to determine its own needs by systematically identifying and analyzing data on behavioral problems experienced and by having staff work collaboratively to develop a cohesive and positive approach to discipline in the school. .
“For example, a school that advocates respect for its students forms a behavior committee that will concretely define the minimum behaviors expected of a respectful student in each of the premises of the establishment (classroom, corridors, stairs, toilets, outdoor courtyard, cafeteria, etc.). This committee then develops a lesson plan for each location in the school to explicitly teach (modeling, guided practice and independent practice) the expected behaviors associated with respect. The committee defines a continuum of interventions in order to act with students who do not adopt the behaviors taught. “
With what effects?
Bissonnette insists: the SCP is evidence-based. It works ! And he refers me in particular to the following document: Is School-wide Positive Behavorial Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Evidence-based Practice?, published by the Center on PBIS. What if it doesn’t work, or not enough? As it should be, we will then review our knowledge and adjust our practices.
But what about us?
Bissonnette replies: “I am taking up here some data provided, in 2016, by Antoine Déry, deputy director general at the Commission scolaire des Laurentides. [Centre de services scolaire des Laurentides] : “The implementation of the positive behavior support system (PCS) with us began in 2012 and its efficiency was demonstrated in the first year of experimentation. Four years later, more than 90% of students are exposed to the recognized effects of this behavior management system. “
For the first cohort of primary schools exposed to this system, a 53% reduction in school trips was observed over a period of four years (which happens to a pupil whose behavior disturbs the proper functioning of the classroom and prevents the teacher to teach); a 62% reduction in major events (behavior that is dangerous for the student or others, that is illegal or that disrupts the proper functioning of the school); and an 89% decrease in acts of bullying (certain behaviors, words, acts or gestures that generate feelings of distress and aim to harm, hurt, oppress or ostracize).
One can consult the “Publications” section of his teacher’s page to learn more about the effectiveness of the SCP.