An examination of the implementation of class-wide positive behaviour support in a Chinese primary school

Classroom misbehaviour has been a major concern for effective learning and teaching in primary schools in Mainland China. Although Chinese society endorses academic achievement, Chinese teachers often feel more responsible for academic teaching than behavioural management; without an efficacious classroom management, effectiveness of classroom teaching may be affected. It is argued that traditional classroom management overlooks environmental deficit, and attempts to extinguish problem behaviour and deal with individual students. Thus, the great difficulty of Chinese teachers has been in the practice of school-based interventions that not only minimise problem behaviour but also facilitates students’ all-round development. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of implementation of class-wide positive behaviour support (CWPBS) in a Chinese primary school. CWPBS is a variant model of school-wide positive behaviour support (SWPBS). The three-tiered preventative model of SWPBS has been regarded the most effective school-based intervention and has been widely used in western societies over the past two decades. Implementation of SWPBS in Chinese primary schools is scarce, and thus, this study is preliminary and informative. Its research interest was exploring the outcomes of students and teachers, which are the most important stakeholders who are interactive in the context of classroom teaching and learning, in association with the implementation of CWPBS.