Applying positive behavioral support and functional behavioral assessment in schools

This action research project examined the current practices and challenges to implementing the Positive Behavior Support (PBS) strategies of conducting a Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and the Development of a Behavior Intervention Plan. The perceptions of 77 special education employees from 68 school districts from Southwest and West Central Minnesota participated in the study. The survey collected data to measure both quantitatively and qualitatively the attitudes, opinions, knowledge and amount of training special education staff in Southwest and West Central Minnesota public schools have in regard to PBS and FBA. Means and standard deviations were computed to identify the challenges special educators face. The findings revealed that implementing PBS and FBA is not a routine practice in many schools. In general special educators understand the essential objectives of PBS and FBA, but have difficulty carrying them out.