PBS and Tootling to Reduce Bullying of Students With Disabilities

Introduction

Managing children's behavior is a common problem for educators (Anderson & Kincaid, 2005), particularly when there are aggressive students in the class who intimidate or victimize others. The problem is aggravated when victims are individuals who are mentally or physically disabled. The impact of bullying on any individual is never positive, but when directed at targets with special challenges, the ramifications can be particularly severe. Reinforcing negative messages can damage the target's self-esteem and worsen their condition, while also reducing the individual's psychological ability to cope with his or her challenges (Weiten, 2010). Most general and special education teachers report difficulty in restraining and managing aggressive behavior in young children (Fox et al., 2002).

School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) is a behavioral-based program structured to address aggressive and bullying behavior among young children in a positive and interventional manner (Sugai & Horner, 2006). SWPBS draws on the concepts of Positive Behavior Supports (PBS), which rely on empirical research, evidence-based positive outcomes, and both environmental and procedural change to alter problem behavior (ibid). The three core elements of SWPBS are: (1) prevention, (2) evidence-based research, and (3) implementation of that research. SWPBS has been consistently used to help teachers mitigate bullying and aggressive behavior on the part of certain students (e.g., Sugai & Horner, 2006).

Integral to SWPBS is the philosophy of PBS (Fairbanks et al., 2007), which promotes positive behavior and endeavors to model and reinforce a value system of prosocial behaviors in children who exhibit social aggressiveness (Hieneman et al., 2005). PBS works strongly on the recognition of positive traits in both classmates and in the problematic students themselves, with both students and teachers acknowledging and emphasizing these positive traits. Increasing a student's awareness of the positive traits of his or her peers has a rebound effect: the target individual's self-esteem is reinforced rather than depressed; the bullying student becomes more apt to see positive qualities in others; the teacher praises the bullying individual for small, incremental positive changes in behavior; and, ideally, this praise increases the probability that students will engage in desired prosocial conduct. With the entire class participating and with a focus placed on what is called "tootling" rather than "tattling" (Skinner, 2002), awareness and practice of prosocial behavior on the part of problematic individuals can be increased while their engagement in antisocial behaviors is decreased.

Tootling as a Positive Peer Reporting Strategy

"Tootling" is a term coined by Skinner (2002) to describe the recognition and reporting of classmates' prosocial behaviors. Prosocial behaviors include actions such as raising one's hand, sharing one's lunch, or opening the door for a teacher. Students report these positive acts to their teacher, either by writing them on a card and placing it with the teacher or by verbally announcing them in class (Skinner, 2000). Educators then reinforce these behaviors by adding their own verbal praise.

There have been few studies on the effects of tootling, but those that exist show generally positive results, though each has noted experimental limitations. Skinner (2000) found an increase in prosocial behaviors following the introduction of tootling; however, an unplanned procedure implemented during the study may have confounded the results. Cashwell et al. (2001) replicated Skinner's study, but both Cashwell and Skinner et al. (2000) failed to monitor the effects of tootling on the reduction of antisocial conduct.

Cihak, Kirk, and Boon (2009) examined the use of tootling in reducing disruptive behaviors in a third-grade elementary classroom. Nineteen students, including four with disabilities, were taught to report classmates' positive behaviors using the tootling intervention, combined with a group contingency procedure. Results showed that this integrated approach decreased disruptive behavior. Limitations, however, included the small range of student ages, abilities, and grade levels, as well as the fact that details about tootles — including the number reported daily, the distribution among students with and without disabilities, the distribution among students with and without behavioral problems, and the quality of tootles — were not tracked. Most importantly, the research of Skinner et al. (2000), Cashwell et al. (2001), and Cihak, Kirk, and Boon (2009) focused on generally disruptive behavior and prosocial conduct in broad terms. It would be valuable to assess the effect of tootling specifically on bullying and aggressive conduct directed at particular peers, and to determine whether the tootling intervention can produce a significant reduction in that problematic behavior.

The purpose of this study, therefore, is to extend the research in positive peer reporting (i.e., tootling) by investigating its impact on children's bullying levels and by addressing some of the limitations in Cihak, Kirk, and Boon's (2009) study — more specifically by tracking the number of tootles reported daily, the distribution of tootles among students with and without disabilities, the distribution among students with and without behavioral problems, and the quality of tootles. In all, the effects of tootling on reducing specific students' bullying behavior will be investigated, as well as the classroom teacher's opinions regarding the effect of tootling on the overall classroom environment.

Method

Participants are 19 second-grade students enrolled in an elementary school in the United States. Of these 19 students, two are identified as bullying others, particularly targeting two students with disabilities: one who has a learning disability (LD) in reading and another who may have cognitive deficit problems. The classroom teacher is a certified elementary teacher. All aspects of this study take place in the students' second-grade primary classroom.