Category: Social and Motivational Outcomes

Categories
Primary School Education Programme Evaluation Social and Motivational Outcomes

Impact of Positive Growth program on rural children in China

Compared to their urban counterparts, children in rural China face greater risks of anxiety, depression, and other psychosocial issues. Left behind children in rural areas when parents have migrated for work are especially vulnerable. Cultivating social emotional competence (SEC) has been demonstrated as a promotive and protective factor against such difficulties. Fu and colleagues conducted a quasi-experimental study investigating the impact of a school-based social emotional learning program on 5th graders (mean age = 11 years) in Chongqing. The Positive Growth curriculum developed based on the CASEL framework by Rici foundation, focused on four components of SEL: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship skills.

The study involved two rural schools (n=648) receiving eight-session intervention from March 2022 to June 2022, delivered by trained school teachers using manuals, textbook, materials for activities, and videos of the adapted curriculum. Two matched schools that served as control group (n=599) followed the regular curriculum including didactic moral lessons. Students self-reported SEC using the Chinese version of Washoe County School District Social and Emotional Competency Assessments (WCSD-SECAs) before and after the intervention. The difference in SEC scores between post- and pre-intervention was used to assess the impact of the program. The results are listed below.

  • The treatment group outperformed the control group in overall SEC (ES=+0.21), self-awareness (ES=+0.34), social awareness (ES=+0.25), and relationship skills (ES = +0.19). No significant differences emerged for self-management or responsible decision making.
  • The program benefited boys’ overall SEC but not girls’.
  • Children of work-away parents showed significant gains in overall SEC, but children with non-migrating parents did not.

This preliminary study demonstrates that adapting an evidence-based Western SEC framework may yield positive outcomes for rural Chinese students, especially those left behind by migrant parents. As the authors acknowledge, the brief intervention period may not capture skills cultivated over the long term. Future studies are required to examine long-term outcomes from lengthier intervention.

 

Source: Fu, L., Zhang, Z., Yang, Y., & Curtis McMillen, J. (2024). Acceptability and preliminary impact of a school-based SEL program for rural children in China: A quasi-experimental study. Children and Youth Services Review, 160, 107579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107579… Read the rest

Categories
Achievement Primary School Education Secondary School Education Social and Motivational Outcomes

Student engagement and its association with academic achievement and subjective well-being

Student engagement is one of the key indicators of student motivation and student outcomes. Wong and colleagues conducted a systemic review including 137 studies to examine how student engagement (i.e., affective, behavioral, and cognitive) is measured and its correlation with academic achievement and subjective well-being (SWB). The review found following subtypes among included studies:

  • Affective engagement: divided into (a) relational engagement, (b) affective engagement in school, and (c) affective engagement in learning.
  • Behavioral engagement: categorized into (a) participatory and (b) effortful engagement.
  • Cognitive engagement included (a) motivational, (b) self-regulatory, and (c) effortful engagement, the latter overlapped with behavioral engagement due to same indicators.

The meta-analysis of 533 effect sizes from 110 studies revealed a moderate correlation between student engagement and academic performance (r=+0.33). Behavioral engagement had the largest correlation (r=+0.39), followed by cognitive (r=+0.31) and affective (r=+0.26). Findings of meta-regression with multiple moderators revealed:

  • Teacher reported engagement has a stronger association with academic performance than student reported measures.
  • School grades showed a higher effect size than standardized test scores.
  • Correlation was stronger when academic achievement was measured in the same year as student engagement.
  • Subtype of affective engagement was a significantly moderator, with affective in learning activities showing the largest effect size (r=+0.33). Participatory behavioral engagement also showed a stronger association (r=+0.40) compared to effortful engagement (r=+0.38).

A separate meta-analysis of 158 effect sizes across 18 studies found a significant correlation between student engagement and SWB (r=+0.35). Affective engagement showed the largest effect size (r=+0.40) compared to cognitive (r=+0.35) and behavioral (r=+0.31). Association was significantly smaller when SWB was measured as negative affect (r=-0.20), compared to positive affect (r=+0.36) or life satisfaction (r=+0.39).

The findings emphasize the importance of precisely defining and measuring the subtypes of engagement to avoid overgeneralization and improve conceptual clarity. The study encouraged scholars to refine and clarify the operational definitions used in engagement research.

Source: Wong, Z. Y., Liem, G. A. D., Chan, M., & Datu, J. A. D. (2024). Student engagement and its association with academic achievement and subjective well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 116(1), 48–75. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000833… Read the rest

Categories
Educational Administration and Leadership K-12 Education Social and Motivational Outcomes

Do teacher-student relationships associate with executive function performance of a child?

Research findings indicate that executive function (EF) is crucial for children’s learning and academic achievement. Moreover, the development of EF is closely related to environmental factors such as parental and educational support. Xu and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the associations between EF and teacher-student relationships (TSR) at the dyadic level (one-on-one) and classroom level, and explore the roles of cultural characteristics as moderators.

A total of 84 studies were included, involving participants attending regular preschool or primary education across 18 cultural regions. About 50% of the studies originated from the US and 25% including at least one non-Western sample population. Guided by Hofstede’s classifications, the authors assigned scores of cultural factors (individualism, power distance, and agentic goals) to each region. The results of the three-level meta-analysis were as follows:

  • A significant correlation was found between dyadic TSR and EF (r = +0.25). Regarding dyadic TSR subdimensions, positive effects were observed for closeness (r = +0.18), while negative effects were noted for conflict (r = -0.26) and dependency (r = -0.17). Classroom level TSR showed a rather weak link with EF (overall r = +0.09), with classroom management showing the strongest association (r = +0.14), followed by emotional support (r=+0.09) and instructional support (r=+0.08).
  • Culturally, individualism significantly moderated the TSR-EF link at both dyadic and classroom level negatively, indicating that the higher the degrees of individualism, the smaller the TSR-EF correlation. Power distance (refers to the extent to which individuals with less power in the organisation) only moderated the classroom-level TSR-EF link positively.
  • Several significant moderators were identified. Adult-reported EF measures yielded larger effect sizes compared to direct assessments. Hot EF (emotion and motivation-related) showed a stronger link with closeness than cool EF (cognitive-related). SES enhanced the classroom TSR-EF link.

Notably, after taking into account for the effect of EF instrument, the extent of individualism no longer moderated the dyadic TSR-EF link significantly. Similarly, after considering the type of EF instrument, the closeness-EF association showed no significant difference between hot EF and cool EF.

Source: Xu, C., Huizinga, M., Tekelia Ekubagewargies, D., Soetaert, J., Van Den Noortgate, W., & Baeyens, D. (n.d.). The relation between teacher–student interaction and executive function performance in children: A cross-cultural meta-analysis. Educational Psychologist, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2024.2315527… Read the rest

Categories
Educational Administration and Leadership Secondary School Education Social and Motivational Outcomes

Reviewing SEL programs for middle and high schoolers: A comprehensive guide

Social-emotional learning (SEL) continues to garner attention and funding as policymakers seek to address the growing mental health crisis among students. A review by The Easel Lab at Harvard’s GSE and the Wallace Foundation of 18 middle and high school SEL programs aims to provide guidance for practitioners selecting and implementing SEL programs. This comprehensive guide covers SEL program best practices (in design and implementation), possible integration with out-of-school time programming, and integrating equity and trauma-informed responses. Additionally, the resource compares the programs based on included skills, strategies, and components, and provides detailed program profiles.

Fourteen of the programs reviewed have shown positive impacts in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), while the other four are novel programs with only Tier IV evidence. The authors note that evidence on SEL programs for middle and high school students lags behind that for elementary-aged children. Additionally, the review does not include programs like PBIS or Restorative Practices, which are considered systems of support not solely focused on SEL.

Source (Open Access): Jones, S. M., Brush, K. E., Wettje, S., Ramirez, T., Poddar, A., Kannarr, A., Barnes, S. P., Hooper, A., Brion-Meisels, G., & Chng, E. (2022). Navigating SEL from the inside out: Looking inside & across leading SEL programs: A practical resource for schools and OST providers. Ecological Approaches to Social and Emotional Learning Laboratory, Harvard Graduate School of Education. https://wallacefoundation.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/navigating-social-and-emotional-learning-from-the-inside-out-middle-high-school.pdf… Read the rest

Categories
Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education Social and Motivational Outcomes

Student Success Skills’ effects on Hispanic students

Student Success Skills (SSS) is a program designed to help students reflect and develop purposeful academic, social, and self-management skills that ultimately lead to improved performance in school. A guidance counselor delivers weekly classroom lessons in academic goal-setting and in non-academic areas such as tracking health, wellness, and anxiety, which when addressed, have been shown in research to positively affect academic achievement.

Because the Hispanic student population is the fastest-growing of all student subsets, to ensure adequate cultural responsiveness, researchers examined the impact of SSS on attendance, self-regulation, and test anxiety on the subset of 681 Hispanic fifth grade students within a 2019 randomized controlled trial of SSS (383E, 298 C) from 30 schools in a single district. Following a one-day training, school counselors in the experimental group were randomly assigned to deliver SSS weekly for 45 minutes over five weeks, with a monthly booster session January-March. Control counselors continued with regular counseling practices. All students were tested two weeks before the experimental group began receiving treatment, two weeks after the fifth lesson and thirty weeks after the fifth lesson. Students were evaluated using three years’ attendance data and two student surveys: the Student Engagement in School Success Skills (SESSS) Self-Regulation of Arousal subscale and the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) test anxiety subscale.

Results showed that at 30 weeks post intervention, students who had been in the SSS group had better attendance and less test anxiety than controls. These improvements were not evident in at the first post-test, but were evident at the second, implying that time is needed both for students to create better habits and for schools to nurture the environments needed to encourage attendance and promote a safe environment. These findings mirror the findings of the overall RCT from which this data was drawn. Self-regulation showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups at either pre- or post-test—while experimental students’ self-regulation scores were indeed higher than controls’, the difference was not statistically significant.

 

Source: Villares, E., Bowers, H., Brigman, G., & Bottini, C. (2024). The effects of Student Success Skills on attendance and emotion regulation. Journal of Counseling & Development, 102(2), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12503… Read the rest

Categories
Kindergarten Programme Evaluation Social and Motivational Outcomes

Did a 3E program really enhance child social emotional competence?

A recent study by Lam and colleagues investigated the effects of a 3E (early prevention, early identification, early intervention) social and emotional learning program for second-year kindergarten students in Hong Kong.  A total of 18 kindergartens were recruited evenly from three socioeconomic strata based on district monthly median household income. Participating schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (9 schools, n=624) or the waiting-list control (9 schools, n=375) conditions.

The Little Garden curriculum, comprising 28 30-40-minute weekly lessons plus extended school and home activities, was delivered to the intervention schools in 2017-18. It targeted socioemotional skills through play, stories, hands-on exploration, and life themed activities. A second stage of intervention was conducted for children who underperformed in the first stage. The 9 treatment schools were randomly split into new intervention (4 schools, n=84) and wait-list control (5 schools, n=50) groups with similar socioeconomic statuses. Students with socioemotional competence scores below a pre-set threshold were identified from both groups. The Little Greenhouse curriculum comprised 16 30-40 minute weekly lessons conducted in the following school year for students assigned to the second stage of intervention.

Classroom teachers who implemented both curricula received a 120-minute training workshop and 90-minute on-site coaching for every 3-5 lessons. Children’s socioemotional competence and behaviour outcomes were rated by their classroom teachers using self-report questionnaires. After controlling prior scores and characteristics, analysis results are shown below.

  • Students completing the Little Garden curriculum outperformed the control group on all four socioemotional competence aspects (ES = +0.18 to +0.29), improved most behaviour problems (ES = -0.12 to -0.26), and Chinese word reading (ES = +0.11) but not arithmetic skills.
  • The Little Greenhouse curriculum enhanced empathy and prosocial behaviour (ES = +0.43), cognitive control (ES = +0.23), hyperactivity/attention (ES = -0.21), reading (ES = +0.11), and arithmetic (ES = +0.21) versus the wait-list control group.

While the 3E program was generally effective, children with greater socioemotional difficulties gained limited Little Greenhouse curriculum benefits. The authors suggested longer and tailored interventions for at-risk students. Notably, potential bias exists as classroom teachers conducted the interventions and evaluated the outcomes.

 

Source (Open Access): Lam, C. B., Li, X., & Chung, K. K. H. (2024). Improving Chinese children’s socioemotional competence, behavioral adjustment, and pre-academic skills: Impacts of the 3Es Program. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 68, 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2024.03.002… Read the rest