Category: Social and Motivational Outcomes

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

Cultivating connections: Teacher-student demographic matching and student outcomes

There is a growing body of evidence indicating that students benefit from being in classrooms with demographically similar teachers. A recent EdWorkingPaper, authored by Cleveland and Scherer, explored the impacts of teacher-student demographic matching on student academic and behavioral outcomes. The study utilized a comprehensive dataset combining student-level survey responses and state administrative records for 5th-8th-grade students in Boston’s public charter middle schools from 2015 to 2019. Survey data on social-emotional development were collected, along with administrative records including enrollment, attendance, suspensions, and standardized test scores. The research also included teacher data, linking students to teachers based on demographics, and explored the proportion of teachers matching student demographics. The student sample consisted predominantly of Black students (47%), with a high percentage receiving free- or reduced-price lunch (67%). The teacher sample was mostly White (69%) and female (72%).

The research found improvements in social-emotional self-reported measures, particularly in grit and interpersonal self-management, with Black female students driving these positive effects. In terms of academic and behavioral outcomes, limited or negative effects were observed for standardized test scores when matching solely on race, but there was a significant positive effect for Black females taught by Black male teachers. Matching on race and gender significantly reduced absences, especially for Black students. Behavioral and test score effects were larger in the full administrative data sample, indicating that students who struggled more academically benefitted more from teacher matching. Overall, the results suggested a potential link between teacher-student matching, student connectedness, and improved academic and behavioral outcomes during middle school. The research contributes to understanding the broader impact of teacher-student demographic matching on various student outcomes, emphasizing the importance of continued efforts to diversify the teacher workforce.

 

Source (Open Access): Cleveland, C., & Scherer, E. (2024). The Effects Of Teacher-Student Demographic Matching On Social-Emotional Learning. In EdWorkingPapers.com. Annenberg Institute at Brown University. https://edworkingpapers.com/ai21-399… Read the rest

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K-12 Education Social and Motivational Outcomes

How effective are universal school-based SEL programs in the U.S.?

Promoting social-emotional learning (SEL) in schools has come under public scrutiny in the United States. Controversies aside, what are the benefits of SEL in U.S. schools? A meta-analysis by Cipriano et al. reviewed 90 studies from 2008 to 2020 on 47 universal school-based SEL programs implemented across the United States. This analysis sought to evaluate the impact of these programs on student academic, social, and emotional outcomes.

The meta-analysis found that SEL programs are effective in improving students’ perception of school climate and safety (ES =+0.32), student civic attitudes and behaviors (ES =+0.18), prosocial behaviors (ES=+0.18), SEL skills (ES =+0.17), and school functioning (ES =+0.10). Notably, SEL programs were found to improve student academic achievement (ES =+0.08). The programs also yielded benefits in reducing students’ externalizing behaviors (ES =+0.15) and emotional distress (ES =+0.12). The program effects were marginally significant in improving student physical health (ES =+0.31) and peer relationships (ES =+0.16). Teacher-delivered SEL programs demonstrated greater effectiveness than programs delivered by others (b =.107, p = .028). Programs were equally effective across elementary and secondary school levels (b = -.042, p = .450), and there were no significant differences in program effects across gender subgroups (ES =+0.01). The study also presented descriptive findings of how program effects differed by students’ racial and ethnic identities.

 

Source (Open Access): Cipriano, C., Ha, C., Wood, M., Sehgal, K., Ahmad, E., & McCarthy, M. F. (2024). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of universal school-based SEL programs in the United States: Considerations for marginalized students. Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy, 3, 100029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sel.2024.100029… Read the rest

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Primary School Education Programme Evaluation Social and Motivational Outcomes

Does teacher coaching matter? Insights from 4Rs+MTP

The implementation of social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions has shown significant benefits for students’ social-emotional and academic outcomes. However, studies indicate that low fidelity of implementation can undermine these results. In contrast, structured one-on-one coaching for teachers appears to enhance SEL interventions. Despite the benefits of the validated 4Rs (Reading, Writing, Respect, and Resolution) program, which integrates social-emotional development into language arts, challenges arose due to its original coaching model lacking structure, leading to implementation discrepancies. On the other hand, the MyTeachingPartner (MTP) model, an evidence-based approach, provides structured one-on-one video coaching and access to teaching practices exemplars, yielding positive effects on teacher-student interaction and student outcomes.

Following a successful randomized control trial demonstrating the effectiveness of combining 4Rs and MTP in improving students’ outcomes, a recent study employed a quasi-experimental design (QED) to evaluate the impact of integrating the 4Rs curriculum with the MTP coaching model while isolating the effects of MTP coaching support. To do so, Doyle and colleagues compared nine schools, where the 4Rs curriculum was implemented without MTP in 2005-2006, to six elementary schools from the same district that implemented both programs together during 2012-2013.

The classroom-level outcomes of combining 4Rs + MTP appear promising: there were significantly lower levels of hostile attribution bias (ES = +0.17) and aggressive interpretational negotiation strategies (ES = +0.29), alongside higher attendance rates (ES =+ 0.46) and teacher-reported academic skills (ES=+0.17). Additionally, there was a positive effect on social competence (ES = +0.13, p < .10) for the combined intervention, although it was not significant. This suggests that implementing 4Rs combined with MTP support could have an even greater overall impact. However, interpreting these results requires caution due to the inability to control for potential impacts of policy changes over the years, a higher risk composition, and a greater age variation for the 4Rs + MTP group (including 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students, compared to only 4th-graders in the 4Rs only group). Additionally, the reliance on teachers’ and students’ perceptions to measure SEL skills rather than using direct or observational SEL skill assessments needs to be considered. Nonetheless, the study highlights the importance of an evidence-based teacher coaching model aimed at supporting high-quality SEL implementation.

 

Source: Doyle, N. B., Gomez Varon, J. A., Downer, J. T., & Brown, J. L. (2023). Testing the integration of a teacher coaching model and a social-emotional learning and literacy intervention in urban elementary schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 132, 104232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104232… Read the rest

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K-12 Education Programme Evaluation Social and Motivational Outcomes

Examining the effectiveness of SEL program components

Numerous empirical studies suggest that social-emotional learning (SEL) programs generally yield positive outcomes for students. These programs have been shown to enhance academic performance and reduce conduct problems. Shi and Cheung conducted a comprehensive and rigorous meta-analysis to identify the program components that have a significant impact on SEL effectiveness across four domains: social-emotional skills, affect and attitudes, prosocial and antisocial behaviors, and academic performance.

The final sample comprised 12 high-quality SEL programs, 59 studies published between 1980 and 2020. The program components were classified into five categories: cognitive elements, pedagogical activities, teacher social-emotional skills, climate support, and family engagement. Each program could consist of more than one component, and each component was treated as an individual dichotomous moderator when it was indicated as included in the program.

Overall, SEL programs demonstrated significant improvements in youth social-emotional skills (ES=+0.17), affect and attitudes (ES=+0.09), academic performance (ES=+0.13), behaviors (ES=+0.14), and overall effectiveness (ES=+0.15). After controlling for methodological factors such as research design, duration, and dosage, the results of the meta-regression analysis are presented below:

  • Programs that included training for teachers’ social-emotional skills had a significantly higher effect on behaviors, academic performance, and overall effectiveness compared to programs without such training.
  • Programs with cognitive elements showed diminished effects on social-emotional skills and prosocial behavior, although these effects were not statistically significant.
  • Randomized controlled trials yielded smaller effect sizes compared to quasi-experiments, and low program dosages were less effective.

The author concluded that training teachers’ social-emotional skills and reducing cognitive elements in SEL curricula are ways to increase the effectiveness of SEL programs. However, pedagogical activities, climate support, and family engagement did not show significant effectiveness. Notably, individual SEL components do not significantly improve social-emotional skills when methodological factors are controlled.

 

Source: Shi, J., & Cheung, A. C. K. (2024). Effective components of social emotional learning programs: A meta-analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-024-01942-7… Read the rest

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Achievement Higher Education Secondary School Education Social and Motivational Outcomes

Psychological factors behind academic underperformance: Findings from a recent meta-analysis

Academic underachievement, the gap between potential achievement and actual academic performance, remains a critical issue, leading to the loss of significant societal contributions and heightening the risk of psychological problems such as depression, substance abuse, and behavioral issues. In November 2023, a meta-analysis was published with the aim of understanding the characteristics of underachieving students. The meta-analysis summarized 80 years of research, shedding light on the correlation between underachievement and various motivational and self-regulated learning factors that could potentially be targeted and modified through interventions.

The analysis of the 125 included studies reveals that underachieving students, compared to non-underachievers, demonstrated significantly lower levels of competence belief (ES=-0.48), autonomous motivation and task values (ES=-0.48), mastery goals (ES=-0.39), as well as self-regulated learning strategies (ES=-0.59). Additionally, underachievers exhibit a statistically significant higher external locus of control (ES=+0.30), and a non-statistically significant lower internal one (ES=-0.11). The analysis of performance-approach goals (ES=-0.03), performance-avoidance goals (ES=+0.07) and learned helplessness (ES=+0.64), based on a smaller number of studies, did not yield statistically significant results.

Consequently, underperforming students, on average, exhibit lower levels of self-esteem as learners, assign less significance to their learning endeavors, struggle with inadequate learning regulation, and lack the motivation to enhance their academic proficiency, attributing the outcomes of their actions to external factors.

In exploring additional factors that account for variation in this association, the authors identified the method of identification and grade level as significant moderators for competence belief, noting a larger effect for middle and high school compared to postsecondary education. Contrary to their expectations, however, they did not find gender-related differences or differences for gifted underachievers. These results could be useful in guiding practitioners in the selection of interventions targeting these psychological constructs with the aim of reversing underachievement.

 

Source: Fong, C. J., Patall, E. A., Snyder, K. E., Hoff, M. A., Jones, S. J., & Zuniga-Ortega, R. E. (2023). Academic underachievement and its motivational and self-regulated learning correlates: A meta-analytic review of 80 years of research. Educational Research Review, 41, 100566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2023.100566… Read the rest

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Primary School Education Programme Evaluation Social and Motivational Outcomes

Can an SEL intervention alleviate rural Chinese children’s psychosocial difficulties?

Over the past few decades, urbanization and economic growth have widened the rural-urban gap not only in living standards but also in education quality. Children in impoverished areas are particularly vulnerable to psychosocial problems. While there is an increasing body of evidence regarding social emotional learning (SEL) interventions, such interventions are rarely found among children in rural China. Li and Hesketh conducted a study to examine the effectiveness of a school-based SEL programme among primary school children in a poor rural area in central China. Two schools participated in the study, one intervention school and one control school, with a final sample size of 496 (intervention = 206), ranging from grade 2 to grade 6 students.

A Self-reported Strength and Difficulty Questionnaire and background information were collected 1 week before the intervention (T1) and 1 week (T2) and 5 months (T3) after the intervention. The SEL programme, mostly adapted from the Ministry of Education-UNICEF SEL resources, aimed to enhance five competencies: self-awareness, emotion management, empathy, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Students in the invention group attended 16 weekly 90 min sessions throughout a semester from September 2021 to January 2022. The programme employed various methods, including group discussion, role-play, art activities, story-telling, watching videos, handicrafts and educational games, tailored to different age groups.

After controlling for students’ background information and baseline scores, results of the linear mixed modelling are shown below:

  • Students in the intervention group showed greater improvement in SDQ difficult combined scores at T2 (ES = -0.19) and in the follow-up test at T3 (ES=-0.19).
  • Specifically, the intervention group showed greater reduction in difficult behavior at T2 (ES = -0.18) and T3 (ES = -0.19), in peer problems at T2 (ES = -0.19), and in hyperactivity at T3 (ES = -019).
  • Emotion symptoms, conduct problems, and prosocial behaviors showed no significant improvement.
  • The intervention had greater short-term effect on reducing SDQ difficulties in verbally abused children compared to non or occasionally abused ones (ES=-0.21), with a similar pattern in physically abused children (ES=-0.24).
  • A sustained effect was observed among children with good communication with their mother (ES=-0.23).

The authors suggested that further empirical research is necessary within the Chinese setting and provided some recommendations on how SEL programmes should be conducted in schools.

 

Source (Open Access): Li, J., & Hesketh, T. (n.d.). A social emotional learning intervention to reduce psychosocial difficulties among rural children in central China. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12481… Read the rest