The implementation challenges of programs “Support for positive behavior” and “Social emotional development” in children’s home – shelter: experience of Latvia

Author(s):

Linda Daniela(submitting)Dita Nimante(presenting)Baiba Martinsone

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

01. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations

Format:

Paper

Session Information

01 SES 03 A, Supporting Teacher Learning for Diversity and Inclusion

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-22

17:15-18:45

Room:

K3.17

Chair:

Claire McVeigh

Contribution

The program „Support for Positive Behaviour” (SPB) has been developed in the framework of the project of European Structural Funds „Development and implementation of support programs for establishing a support system for young people at risk of exclusion” and has been piloted in 39 educational institutions and 15 municipalities in Latvia in the time period from 2012 till 2014. The program was developed in 2011-2012 in the framework of the project of the University of Latvia by experts B. Martinsone, D. Nīmante and L. Daniela, based on ideas expressed by L. and M. Canter (Canter, Canter,2001), R. Dreikurs (Dreikurs & Cassel,1974, 1991,Dreikurs, Cassel, Dreikurs-Ferguson, 2004,Dreikurs, Grunwald, Pepper,1998), J. Nelsen (Nelsen, Lott, Glenn,1997,Nelsen, 1987) and other authors as well as the foreign good practice examples– USA program School–wide positive behavioural interventions & supports (PBS), Norwegian program Positive behaviour, interactions and learning environment in school (PALS), as well as studies on the results and effectiveness of these programs (Sørlie & Ogden, 2007; Sørlie & Ogden, 2009; Sugai et al., 2000; Walker et al., 1996).

SPB is an all-embracing, universal school-wide program the implementation process of which takes into consideration democratic principles, gradualness and the involvement of all parties interested in the work of the school – school administration, teachers, support staff, technical staff, students and parents. The program envisages the establishment of a unified support system for positive behaviour – jointly working out regulations at school, mastering them in everyday life, maintaining comprehensive positive communication with students, teachers, technical staff, parents, developing positive reinforcement system as well as introducing particular consequences in case of violating the regulations. The outcome of implementing the SPB is the increase of cases of pro-social, positive, safe, respectful and responsible behaviour and the decrease of cases of problematic and antisocial behaviour at school. The program “

The program “Social emotional development” has been developed on the basis of SEL (social and emotional learning) program and adapted specifically for environment of children home – shelter. The purpose of the original SEL program is to develop the emotional intelligence of pupils, while schoolteachers are introduced to principles necessary for combining academic and social and emotional learning. Since the school year 2012/13 the school-wide SEL program has been introduced in 41 schools in Latvia (including more than 13 000 pupils and 668 class teachers).

Since May, 2016 both aforementioned programs were adapted for the educational needs of Irlava Children's Home – shelter personnel. The educational needs of the staff were explored through the interview with the administration of Irlava Children’s Home - shelter. In a result programs "Promotion of Positive Behaviour in Children with Institutional Care Experience" and “Social emotional development” had been developed. Several new content units were introduced in both programs, taking in account that there will be no parents as main partners in the implementation process of the programs. Since most of the employees did not have the necessary pedagogical competency to implement any systematic pedagogical program, most of the program content units were connected with basic pedagogical knowledge, such as principles of the socialisation process, upbringing, problem-solving, general pedagogical competencies. Since september 2016, both teachers' professional development/non-formal educational programs: “Social emotional development" and" “Promotion of Positive Behavior in Children with Institutional Care Experience” were implemented in the Irlava’s Children’s Home - shelter. The program “Social emotional development” was focussed on developing the social and emotional competencies of the personell of children home – shelter as well as to their capacity to implement appropriate activities during the formal routine.

Method

To evaluate the changes after implementation of both programs, two questionnaires were developed: Children's prosocial and antisocial behaviour questionnaire (teachers/personnel form), Children's home - shelter environment questionnaire (children aged 12-18). Additional two questionnaires were adapted for the specific of children home- shelter. They were The Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test ( SREIT, Schutte et al., 1998), Norwegian Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale, NTSES (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007). The data collection took place at the beginning of the implementation of the research and is planned to repeat it at the end of the implementation stage of both programs. The research sample comprised of 18 (16 female and 2 male) staff members of Irlava children home – shelter. The age range of the respondents was from 37 to 66 years of age (with mean age 51 years) and their amount of work experience ranged from 10 to 44 years (with mean age of 26 years).

Expected Outcomes

Summarised results show that there are multiple levels of the ongoing challenges, which can be divided into two groups: 1) children's home staff lack the pedagogical competence to work with children. The reason for this can be found in the legislation of the Republic of Latvia, because the people who work in the social care sector, are not requested to have pedagogical education, despite the fact that they are working with children. Often they lack even basic knowledge about conditions necessary for child development, about consistent behaviour rules and consequences, about the possibility to provide social and emotional support, promote the moral development etc. Social workers of children home often act intuitively, taking account their personal experience in cases when they face behavioural problems. 2) children living in a children's home mostly have experienced the trauma, which could affect their behaviour and attitude toward caregivers. Some of these children have different types of special needs. This affects their attitude to different rules of behaviour and sometimes it takes the form of a conscious desire to break the rules. Both developed programs “Promotion of Positive Behavior in Children with Institutional Care Experience" and “Social emotional development” have lead to changes in the employees' understanding of the pedagogical and psychological conditions of work with children who do not have adequate family support, as well as the introduction of the proposed pedagogical solutions promoted the shift in the behavior of children, thus reducing the number of different problems with breaking the behavioral rules, improving the relationship in the children's home among children and staff.

References

Canter, L. & Canter, M. (2001) Assertive Discipline. Positive Behaviour Management for Today’s Classroom. Los Angeles: Canter & Associates. Daniela, L., Nīmante, D., Kraģe, G. (2014) Development of support system for decreasing social exclusion. Teacher of the 21st century. Newcastle upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholar Publishing. Dreikurs, R., Cassel, P., Dreikurs-Ferguson, E. (2004) Discipline Without Tears: How to Reduce Conflict and Establish Cooperation in the Classroom. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Dreikurs, R., Grunwald, B. B. & Pepper, F. (1998) Maintaining Sanity in the Classroom. Second edition. Accelerated development. Levittown: Taylor & Francis Group. Elbertson, N., Brackett, M., & Weissberg, R. (2010). School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programming: Current perspectives. In A. Hargreaves, A. Lieberman, M. Fullan, & D. Hopkins (Eds.), Second international handbook of educational change (1017-1032). London: Springer Landy, S. (2002). Patways to competence. Encouraging healthy social and emotional development in young children. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Metzler, C. W., Biglan, A., Rusby, J. C. & Sprague, J. R. (2001) Evaluation of a comprehensive behavior management program to improve school-wide positive behavior support. Education and Treatment of Children, 24, 448-479. Nelsen, J., Lott, L. & Glenn, S. (1997) Positive Discipline in the Classroom. Rocklin: Ck Prima Publishing. Nelsen, J. (1987) Positive Discipline. New York: Ballantine Books. Nīmante, D., Daniela, L., Samusēviča, A., Moļņika, B. (2013) Jauniešu sociālās atstumtības mazināšana: situācijas raksturojums pašvaldībās . Latvijas Universitāte, 61 lpp. ISBN978-9984-45-560-0 Patterson, G. R., Debaryshe, B., Ramsey, E. (1990) A development perspective on antisocial behvior. American Psychologist, 44, 329-335 Sørlie, M. & Ogden, T. (2007) Immediate Impacts of PALS: A school-wide multi-level programme targeting behaviour problems in elementary school. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. Routledge, 51 (5), 471-492. Sørlie, M. & Ogden, T. (2009) Implementing and Evaluating Empirically Based Fa¬mily and School Programmes for Children with Conduct Problems in Norway. In¬ternational Journal of Emotional Education, 1 (1), April, 96-107. Sugai, G., Sprague, J. R., Horner, R. H. & Walker, H. M. (2000) Preventing school violence: The use of office discipline referrals to assess and monitor school-wide discipline interventions. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 8 (2), 94–101. Yoder, N. (2014). Self-assessing social and emotional instruction and competencies: A tool for teachers. Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Research.

Author Information

Linda Daniela (submitting)

University of Latvia, Latvia

Dita Nimante (presenting)

University of Latvia

Pedagogical department

Riga

Baiba Martinsone