04/02/2021
By Robin Hall

The College of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Richard Poor on “A Program Evaluation of the Effectiveness of School-Wide Positive Behavior Systems in Decreasing Exclusionary Discipline Practices in an Urban Middle School.”

Date: Monday, April 19, 2021
Time: 9 a.m. EST
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should email
Stacy_ Szczesiul@uml.edu at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access to the meeting.

Dissertation Chair: Stacy Szczesiul, Ed.D., Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Dissertation Committee:

  • David Troughton, Ed.D., Adjunct Faculty, College of Education, University of Massachusetts
  • Donna Pobuk, Ed.D., Scholar of Practice
  • Erin Hagerty, Ed.D., Scholar of Practice

Abstract:

The available literature and general consensus regarding exclusionary discipline in public schools is that it is ineffective in correcting student misbehavior and can cause more harm than good for the student being disciplined. The more recent concept of the school-to-prison pipeline due to the strong bonds between schools and law enforcement forged through zero tolerance policies as a result of the War on Crime of the 1980s through the mid-1990s, paints a grim picture for American youth¾specifically male Students of Color (SOC) as well as Students with Disabilities (SWDs).

This evaluation sought to investigate the role of Positive Behavior Systems (PBS) in preventing misbehavior, and in turn, decreasing exclusionary discipline in a large, urban Title 1 school located in Massachusetts. The resulting program evaluation will discuss implementation of a PBS program based on research, in its second year at the start of the evaluation.
The evaluation found that although the use of exclusionary discipline had been decreased, the fidelity by which the program was implemented was lacking. The evaluation found that in addition to a lack of cultural responsiveness to implementation of PBS2.0, trust issues between staff as well as staff mindset were additional roadblocks to successful implementation.