The power of peer-mediated reinforcement: Nurturing culture and classroom behaviour with tootling in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

This study aimed to extend the literature on tootling interventions within primary school classrooms in Aotearoa New Zealand. Tootling is a peer-mediated behavioural intervention in which students are taught to identify and report instances of their peers’ prosocial behaviour. A single subject multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention on student on-task behaviour and teacher occupational stress across three Year 7-8 classrooms in a school with a 100% Māori student population, including two English-medium and one Māori-medium setting. Five teacher nominated students participated in the study. Students recorded instances of peers’ prosocial behaviour, which were later shared with the class and linked to a collective goal through an interdependent group contingency. Results indicated increases in on-task behaviour following the introduction of the intervention across classrooms, while outcomes for teacher occupational stress were mixed. Treatment integrity remained high, and teachers and students reported the intervention to be socially acceptable.