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Building and sustaining communities that prevent mental disorders: Lessons from the field of special education
Author(s) -
Reinke Wendy M.,
Herman Keith C.,
Tucker Carolyn M.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/pits.20153
Subject(s) - psychology , mental health , school psychology , special education , scale (ratio) , pedagogy , public relations , psychotherapist , political science , physics , quantum mechanics
Quietly, at least beyond the awareness of many psychologists, a relatively new technology based on school‐wide behavior management strategies has emerged in special education to answer the call to build healthy communities. The success of these strategies in changing the practices of school systems and creating positive school climates may offer insights for school psychologists interested in preventing mental disorders and promoting health on a broader scale. Spreading the influence of school‐wide behavior supports to ensure that all schools provide the nurturing environment needed to promote academic and life success for all children is an important and immediate goal. Beyond the school, the challenge will be to implement and evaluate the impact of positive behavior supports in other connected communities. The present article reviews the history and present state of school‐wide behavior supports and prevention research, limitations of current practice, and opportunities for integrating school‐wide programs with psychological science and practice. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 313–329, 2006.