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While the positive outcomes of social-emotional learning (SEL) are well documented, few studies examine the mechanisms supporting students’ SEL. Seven elementary teachers participated in audio-recorded focus groups/interviews following the implementation of an evidence-based, implementation sensitive SEL intervention. The current study identifies key mechanisms for effective school-based SEL interventions: (1) a whole-class approach; (2) a new vocabulary and shared language; (3) implementation of short, easy, reliable practices; (4) emphasis on transferable SEL strategies; and (5) improvements in teachers’ SEL knowledge, confidence, and behaviour. Findings support prevention and intervention practices to educate, train, and support stakeholders on the importance of classroom SEL.

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This paper describes the implementation of BRISC, a brief evidence-based intervention within an implementation framework; specifically, we provide a 5-year retrospective on the successes and remaining gaps of the approach. Interviews were conducted with 13 clinical team leads from diverse school boards in Ontario. Seven themes emerged from our coding: BRISC being seen as an effective and efficient practice, clinicians’ attitudes and self-efficacy, promoting system readiness, high-quality training, data-informed decision-making, effective clinical supervision, and communities of practice to create ongoing learning and professional development. These themes highlight the importance of considering different levels and systems in developing an implementation plan.

The Let’s Talk in the Classroom (LTIC) Guide was designed to provide teachers with the education and support required to feel confident delivering mental health-related material in the Grade 7/8 classroom. The overall goal of this preliminary evaluation was to explore the acceptability, feasibility, and utility of the Guide using a mixed methods approach. A matched, pre/post-test evaluation of the Guide was conducted during the 2017/2018 school year among a sample of educators in Ontario, Canada (n = 42). Quantitatively and qualitatively, results demonstrated that teachers felt more confident and expressed fewer worries associated with teaching mental health-related lessons after engaging with the Guide and were suggestive of acceptability and utility, with continued challenges associated with feasibility identified.