A Review of Classwide or Universal Social, Emotional, Behavioral Programs for Students in Kindergarten

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to synthesize the existing research on classwide social, emotional, and behavioral programs for kindergarten students. The researchers identified 26 studies in peer-reviewed journals and dissertation databases to review. Each study was examined and coded in terms of study characteristics, strength of evidence, and quality of evidence. The interventions represented in the studies were grouped into four categories: socialemotional learning, behavioral, coping skills, and other. The studies of behavioral interventions demonstrated the strongest effects on increasing prosocial behavior and decreasing antisocial behavior. These studies also included the highest quality of research. The social-emotional learning intervention studies consistently demonstrated weaker effects and lower quality research. The remaining categories included too few studies to draw meaningful conclusions. Implications for practice and future research regarding classwide kindergarten social, emotional, and behavioral interventions are discussed.

A Meta-Analytic Review of Preschool Social and Emotional Learning Interventions

“…Gains from SEL interventions have also been found to last up to 2 years postintervention, though effect size magnitude decreased as increased amounts of time passed (Taylor et al, 2017). A recent meta-analysis with only kindergarten students showed the strongest effects for universal interventions that focused on behavioral training (Sabey et al, 2017). In this study, behavioral interventions showed the largest effects on the development of prosocial behavior and decreasing antisocial behavior compared with interventions that only targeted social or emotional development.…”

Do Curriculum-Based Social and Emotional Learning Programs in Early Childhood Education and Care Strengthen Teacher Outcomes? A Systematic Literature Review

“…Most reviews examining the effectiveness of ECEC-based SEL intervention have focused on child outcomes, suggesting a small-to-moderate impact on children's social-emotional functioning [26][27][28]. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis by our research group of 79 controlled intervention studies (capturing 51 distinct SEL programs) found that children who participated in universal, curriculum-based SEL programs showed significant improvement in social competence, emotional competence, behavioural self-regulation, and early learning skills, and reduced behavioural and emotional challenges post-intervention compared to control group peers [29].…”

Social and Emotional Learning Associated With Universal Curriculum-Based Interventions in Early Childhood Education and Care Centers

“…Schindler et al 20 found that SEL programs led to greater reduction in externalizing behavior compared with those without an explicit focus on SEL. In contrast, Sabey et al 21 found that SEL interventions (11 of 26 studies they reviewed) demonstrated weaker effects and lower research quality compared with programs focusing on behavior, coping, or other social-emotional skills. Bierman and Motamedi 18 identified only 2 preschool-based SEL programs with a robust evidence base (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies [PATHS] and the Incredible Years Teaching Program) and 3 that showed promise (Tools of the Mind, I Can Problem Solve, and Al’s Pal’s: Kids Making Healthy Choices).…”