Positive Enough? A Meta-Analysis on Positive Behavior Support for Young Children

A growing call for equity-based school policies aims at providing positive learning opportunities for every child by reducing the disproportionate use of exclusionary practices across gender, race, disabilities, and their intersections. Positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) have been widely adopted across many countries to foster positive student behaviors and improve school climate. Yet, fewer efforts have been made to standardize effect sizes of PBIS implementation for young children, specifically those under the age of 10. This meta-analysis and meta-regression sought to examine the overall effect and variability of PBIS outcomes in early childhood through 5th grade, along with the relationship between estimates of intervention effectiveness and selected sample- and study-level characteristics. After reviewing 952 studies and synthesizing 43 effect sizes from 9 eligible studies, this meta-analysis shows that PBIS interventions do not lead to statistically significant changes in children’s outcomes in early childhood education and elementary schools. However, the results of the meta-regression suggest that PBIS may serve as a more effective tool in pre-K and kindergarten settings than in elementary schools.