Promoting primary pupils’ social-emotional learning and pro-social behaviour: longitudinal evaluation of the Together 4 All Programme in Northern Ireland

Ross, Steven M.; Sheard, Mary; Cheung, Alan; Elliott, Louise; Slavin, Robert E.

doi:10.1080/19415532.2012.665773

Cited by 13 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…[24][25][26][27][28][29] With one exception, 27 these US trials have consistently found small intervention effects across the range of outcomes noted at the outset of this chapter. Elsewhere in the world, RCTs of PATHS have been conducted in Switzerland, 30 Croatia 31 and the UK, 32,33 but have generally failed to replicate the positive effects noted above, with null intention-to-treat (ITT) results reported in all but one of the trials. The exception was a trial of PATHS conducted in Northern Ireland, which found small, positive effects for a range of outcomes, including pro-social and aggressive behaviour.…”

Section: The Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Curriculummentioning

confidence: 99%

The PATHS curriculum for promoting social and emotional well-being among children aged 7–9 years: a cluster RCT

et al. 2018

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BackgroundUniversal social and emotional learning interventions can produce significant practical improvements in children’s social skills and other outcomes. However, the UK evidence base remains limited.ObjectivesTo investigate the implementation, impact and cost-effectiveness of the Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum.DesignCluster randomised controlled trial. Primary schools (n = 45) were randomly assigned to implement PATHS or to continue with their usual provision for 2 years.SettingPrimary schools in seven local authorities in Greater Manchester.ParticipantsChildren (n = 5218) in Years 3–5 (aged 7–9 years) attending participating schools.InterventionPATHS aims to promote children’s social skills via a taught curriculum, which is delivered by the class teacher, generalisation activities and techniques, and supplementary materials for parents. Schools in the usual provision group delivered the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme and related interventions.Main outcome measuresChildren’s social skills (primary outcome, assessed by the Social Skills Improvement System); pro-social behaviour and mental health difficulties (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire); psychological well-being, perceptions of peer and social support, and school environment (Kidscreen-27); exclusions, attendance and attainment (National Pupil Database records); and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) (Child Health Utility 9 Dimensions). A comprehensive implementation and process evaluation was undertaken, involving usual provision surveys, structured observations of PATHS lessons, interviews with school staff and parents, and focus groups with children.ResultsThere was tentative evidence (at ap-value of < 0.10) that PATHS led to very small improvements in children’s social skills, perceptions of peer and social support, and reductions in exclusions immediately following implementation. A very small but statistically significant improvement in children’s psychological well-being [d = 0.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) –0.02 to 0.25;p < 0.05) was also found. No lasting improvements in any outcomes were observed at 12- or 24-month post-intervention follow-up. PATHS was implemented well, but not at the recommended frequency; our qualitative analysis revealed that this was primarily due to competing priorities and pressure to focus on the core academic curriculum. Higher levels of implementation quality and participant responsiveness were associated with significant improvements in psychological well-being. Finally, the mean incremental cost of PATHS compared with usual provision was determined to be £29.93 per child. Mean incremental QALYs were positive and statistically significant (adjusted mean 0.0019, 95% CI 0.0009 to 0.0029;p < 0.05), and the incremental net benefit of introducing PATHS was determined to be £7.64. The probability of cost-effectiveness in our base-case scenario was 88%.LimitationsModerate attrition through the course of the main trial, and significant attrition thereafter (although this was mitigated by the use of multiple imputation of missing data); suboptimal frequency of delivery of PATHS lessons.ConclusionsThe impact of PATHS was modest and limited, although that which was observed may still represent value for money. Future work should examine the possibility of further modifications to the intervention to improve goodness of fit with the English school context without compromising its efficacy, and identify whether or not particular subgroups benefit differentially from PATHS.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN85087674 (the study protocol can be found at:www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/phr/10300601/#/).FundingThis project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Public Health Research programme and will be published in full inPublic Health Research; Vol 6, No. 10. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

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Section: The Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Curriculummentioning

confidence: 99%

The PATHS curriculum for promoting social and emotional well-being among children aged 7–9 years: a cluster RCT

et al. 2018

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“…Future research may wish to include measures of 'general' SEL implementation/ quality in both treatment and control schools to explore this analytically. Furthermore, the current study was conducted in the UK, in which the effects of PATHS documented through other trials have been weaker and more mixed (Ross et al 2011) and in some cases null (Berry et al 2016) than in the US-based studies that preceded them. Therefore, the null results observed here may reflect a wider issue pertaining to cultural transferability (Lendrum and Wigelsworth 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the two RCTs of PATHS in the UK to date yielded mixed findings, and assessment of outcomes was focused on children's social and emotional skills, behaviour and/or mental health rather than their academic attainment. Thus, Ross et al's (2011) study of a Northern Irish cultural adaptation of the programme found that PATHS (rebranded as 'Together 4 All') produced effects that were 'weak and inconsistent, but generally in a positive direction' (p. 61), while a major trial of PATHS in Birmingham, England, yielded null results (Berry et al 2016). The study reported herein is the third UK RCT of PATHS, and the first to assess its impact on children's academic attainment.…”

Section: Paths In the Ukmentioning

confidence: 91%

Can social and emotional learning improve children’s academic progress? Findings from a randomised controlled trial of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum

Hennessey

Humphrey

2019

Eur J Psychol Educ

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Despite the significant evidence base demonstrating the positive impact of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum on children's social-emotional and mental health outcomes, there has been very little research on its efficacy in improving academic attainment. More generally, the relationship between implementation variability and PATHS intervention outcomes has been underexplored. A cluster-randomised controlled trial with two arms: intervention (PATHS-23 schools) and control (usual practice-22 schools) was implemented to assess the impact of PATHS on English and Mathematics for children in years 5 (aged 9-10 years, n = 1705 pupils) and 6 (aged 10-11 years, n = 1631 pupils) in English primary schools. Two-level hierarchical linear models (school, child) were used to assess both primary 'intention-to-treat' effects and secondary 'subgroup' effects (for children eligible for free school meals). Additionally, the moderating role of implementation variability was assessed in 31 year 5 (n = 712 pupils) and 32 year 6 (n = 732 pupils) classes across the 23 intervention schools, with fidelity, dosage, quality/responsiveness and reach data generated via classroom-level structured lesson observations. Intention-to-treat and subgroup analyses revealed no significant positive effect of PATHS on children's academic attainment. Cluster analyses of observational data revealed four distinct implementation profiles, differentiated primarily by dosage levels. However, these profiles were not significantly associated with differential academic outcomes. In light of our findings and their likely generalisability, it is not possible to recommend PATHS as an effective intervention for improving the academic attainment of children in English primary schools. Trial registration: ISRCTN85087674

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“…Numerous randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have consistently established small-to-moderate effects on a range of outcomes, including children's social and emotional skills, externalising problems (e.g. aggressive behaviour) and academic attainment [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. However, many trials finding positive effects of PATHS have involved or been led by the developer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost-Effectiveness of a School-Based Social and Emotional Learning Intervention: Evidence from a Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Curriculum

Turner

Sutton

Harrison

et al. 2019

Appl Health Econ Health Policy

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Background School-based social and emotional learning interventions can improve wellbeing and educational attainment in childhood. However, there is no evidence on their effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) or on their cost effectiveness. Objective Our objective was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum. Methods A prospective economic evaluation was conducted alongside a cluster-randomised controlled trial of the PATHS curriculum implemented in the Greater Manchester area of England. In total, 23 schools (n = 2676 children) were randomised to receive PATHS, and 22 schools (n = 2542 children) were randomised to continue with usual practice. A UK health service perspective and a 2-year time horizon were used. HRQoL data were collected prospectively from all children in the trial via the Child Health Utility Nine-Dimension questionnaire. Micro-costing was undertaken to estimate the intervention costs. Missing data were imputed using multiple imputation. Results The mean incremental cost of the PATHS curriculum compared with usual practice was £32.01 per child, and mean incremental quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were positive (0.0019; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.0009-0.0029). Assuming a willingness-to-pay threshold of £20,000 per QALY, the expected incremental net benefit of introducing the PATHS curriculum was £5.56 per child (95% CI − 14.68 to 25.81), and the probability of cost effectiveness was 84%. However, this probability fell to 0% when intervention costs included teacher's salary costs. Conclusion The PATHS curriculum has the potential to be cost effective at standard UK willingness-to-pay thresholds. However, the sensitivity of the cost-effectiveness estimates to key assumptions means decision makers should seek further information before allocating scarce public resources. Trial registration number ISRCTN85087674.This cluster-randomised controlled trial suggested that the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum is associated with a small increase in both QALYs and costs.School-based social and emotional learning interventions such as PATHS have the potential to be cost effective at conventional willingness-to-pay thresholds used in the UK.The probability of cost effectiveness is sensitive to assumptions made regarding the costs included.

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Promoting primary pupils’ social-emotional learning and pro-social behaviour: longitudinal evaluation of the Together 4 All Programme in Northern Ireland

Cited by 13 publications

References 17 publications

The PATHS curriculum for promoting social and emotional well-being among children aged 7–9 years: a cluster RCT

The PATHS curriculum for promoting social and emotional well-being among children aged 7–9 years: a cluster RCT

Can social and emotional learning improve children’s academic progress? Findings from a randomised controlled trial of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum

Cost-Effectiveness of a School-Based Social and Emotional Learning Intervention: Evidence from a Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial of the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies Curriculum

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