Promoting Childrens Social and Emotional Competence: Lessons Learned From the Intersection Between T

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Promoting Childrens Social and Emotional
Competence Lessons Learned From the
Intersection Between Theory and Practice

• Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D.
• Dept. of Educational Counselling Psych., Sp.
  Ed.
• University of British Columbia
• Circles of Influence Conference,
• Prince George, BC
• May 10, 2004

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My background . . .

• Classroom teacher
• Middle School
• Alternative school for at risk adolescents
• Child/Adolescent Therapist
• Orthogenic School-Institution for
  children/adolescents with severe emotional and
  behavioral disturbances
• Adolescent Psychiatric Unit
• Graduate student (Univ. of Chicago Univ. of
  Iowa)
• Applied Developmental Psychology
• Measurement/Research Methodology

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Research

• The social emotional development of children
  and adolescents
• Empathy, moral development, friendships
• Adolescent mental health and mental illness
• The relation of developmental theory to
  classroom/school practice
• Evidence-based practices
• Efficacy and implementation
• Frameworks that inform my research
• Constructivism
• Ecological Approach (Brofenbrenner)
• Risk and Resilience

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Overview

• Guiding principles
• Recent trends in childrens mental health
• Importance of social-emotional competence
• Essential ingredients for promoting
  social-emotional competence
• Examples from recent research
• Roots of Empathy
• School participation and significant non-related
  adults

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Three Guiding Principles

• Social emotional competence is central to
  childrens success
• Context matters Create caring spaces/places
• Relationships are central
• "Human beings of all ages are happiest and able
  to deploy their talents to best advantage" when
  they experience trusted others as "standing
  behind them." (p.25, Bowlby, 1973)

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The Ingredients
Social Emotional Competencies
Caring Contexts
Significant Relationships
Positive Development
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Why should we be concerned . . . ?

• There is a growing concern about childrens
  social and emotional adjustment and mental
  health
• 15 to 30 of school-age children are at risk
  for successful development and require support
  and assistance (OECD, 1995).
• 1 in 5 children (20) identified with mental
  health problems (Offord et al., 1991 Romano et
  al., 2001).
• 75 - 80 of children and youth do not receive
  the services they need (National Advisory Mental
  Health Council, 1990).

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Why should we be concerned . . .?

• Recent increase in the risks that children face
  in our society
• Social and economic changes have led to increases
  in number of children living in poverty.
• Loss of support from traditional neighborhoods
  and extended families.
• Reduced support and contact with positive adult
  role models.

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Why should we be concerned . . .?

• Childhood aggression gaining increasing attention
  as a target for prevention/intervention efforts
  (Institute of Medicine, 1994).
• Hymel et al. (2002)
• 10 - 12 of adolescents report being victimized
  weekly
• 8 - 10 report bullying peers
• Pepler Craig (2001)
• 14 bullies, 5 victims
• Peers are present in 85 of bullying episodes on
  the playground and in class

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A focus on violence prevention has arisen
because

• Antisocial/aggressive behaviors are associated
  with both short-term and long-term adjustment
  problems, such as criminality, unemployment, and
  mental health problems.
• Violence can quickly escalate, and schools that
  do not make explicit efforts to counteract this
  progression may create an environment in which
  violence is normatively acceptable.

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Recent Research on Childrens Aggression

• Examining Community Violence Exposure on
  Childrens Aggression (Guerra et al., 2003)
• Childrens aggressive behaviors and beliefs that
  aggression is okay increases during the
  elementary school years.
• Children who are repeatedly exposed to violence
  during childhood habituate to it and experience
  violence as less aversive.
• Conclusion Viewing violence as normative may
  desensitize children to its true consequences and
  create a context whereby it is accepted as a way
  of life, resulting in an increased readiness to
  behave aggressively.

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Why should we be concerned with childrens social
and emotional competence?

• A comprehensive mission for schools is to
  educate students to be knowledgeable,
  responsible, socially skilled, healthy, caring,
  and contributing citizens. (Greenberg et al.,
  2003)
• Academic achievement is not the sole predictor of
  success in life.
• Social emotional variables are integral rather
  than incidental to learning.

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Balancing Educating the Mind with Educating the
Heart

• Recently, Noble Peace Prize Laureate, Archbishop
  Desmond Tutu said
• Educating the mind without educating the heart
  has produced brilliant scientists who used their
  intelligence for evil.

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Links Between Social Emotional Competence and
School Success
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The Importance of Promoting Childrens Caring
Links to School Success

• Does Being Good Make the Grade? (Wentzel, 1993)
• Prosocial behaviours exhibited by students in the
  classroom were found to be better predictors of
  academic achievement than were standardized test
  scores (Wentzel, 1993).

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The Social Side of Learning The relation to
academic achievement . . .

• Changes in academic achievement in Grade 8 could
  be better predicted from knowing childrens
  social competence 5 years earlier than from
  knowing grade 3 academic achievement (Caprara et
  al., 2000).
• School interventions that increase social and
  emotional competence result in higher achievement
  levels, although the reverse is not true (i.e.,
  academic enrichment does not increase social
  responsibility) (Coie Krebhiel, 1984).

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Context for Change

• Prevention programs that work use a framework
  that involves families, peers, schools, and
  communities as partners to target multiple
  outcomes.
• What is needed is a set of coordinated,
  collaborative strategies and programs in each
  community (Dryfoos, 1997).
• It is importance to recognize the multiple
  spheres of influence on childrens development.

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Spheres of Influence
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What are the Essential Ingredients for Promoting
Positive Development in Children?

• A Developmental Approach
• Creation of a Caring Context
• A Strengths-Based Approach
• Utilization of Evidence-Based Practices

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Ingredient 1 A Developmental Approach

• Recognize the factors that influence childrens
  social emotional development and behaviour.
• Knowledge of developmental theory
• The importance of scaffolding knowing where
  children are and where they can be
• Child centered
• Consideration of the childs perspective
• Childrens voices are often left out of decisions

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Ingredient 2 Creating Caring Contexts

• Limited research exists that has examined the
  effectiveness of school-based programs (CASEL,
  2002).
• Of those evaluations that exist, many have been
  limited in scope and fraught with methodological
  shortcomings (Durlak Wells, 1997).
• Very few programs exist that focus specifically
  on the development of childrens emotions -- a
  factor identified as important for reducing
  aggression and promoting prosocial behaviours
  (Arsenio Lemerise, 2001 Izard, 2002).
• There is a growing awareness of the importance of
  evidence-based practices in schools.

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Ingredient 2 Creation of Caring Spaces and
Places for Children
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An Infant as a Catalyst for Change? The
Roots of Empathy Program
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What is the Roots of Empathy?

• ROE is a universal primary preventive
  classroom-based social emotional competence
  promotion program (Kindergarten grade 8)
  developed by Mary Gordon.
• The cornerstone of the program is a class visit
  by an infant, his/her parent(s), and the
  instructor over 9 months.
• The program was piloted in Toronto in 2
  classrooms in 1996.
• In the current school year, 20,000 children in
  800 classrooms across 8 provinces in Canada are
  receiving the program. The program is being
  piloted in Japan and is being considered in
  Australia and England.

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ROE Program Goals

• Overall, the ROE program is designed
• To foster the development of childrens empathy,
  emotional literacy, and social understanding,
• To foster childrens prosocial qualities (concern
  for others, helpfulness, and cooperation),
• To reduce levels of childrens aggression,
• To increase childrens knowledge of human
  development, parenting, and infant safety.

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ROE Theoretical Framework

• View of empathy as multidimensional (Feshbach,
  1979)
• Identification of emotions,
• Understanding emotions,
• Emotional regulation.
• Ecological Focus -- creation of a positive social
  milieu that is, a caring community in the
  classroom.

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Theoretical Model of Social-Emotional Competence
Development
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Why focus on empathy?

• Definition
• an individuals emotional responsiveness to the
  emotional experiences of another.
• Empathy has been identified as the most important
  of all personality characteristics because it
• stops people from behaving aggressively,
• leads people to act in prosocial ways (share,
  care, help).

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Lesson Themes

• Meeting the Baby
• Crying
• Caring and Planning for the Baby
• Emotions
• Sleep
• Safety
• Communication
• Who am I?
• Goodbye and Good Wishes

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Links Between Theory and ROE Curriculum

• Discussion of emotions (Saarni, 1999)
• Opportunities to take others perspectives
  (Selman, 1980)
• Opportunities to understand ones own emotions
  (Harris, 1995)
• Creation of a caring community (Battistich et
  al., 1996 Noddings, 1992).

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Roots of Empathy Mary Gordon
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ROE Evaluations-Overview

• Outcome Evaluations
• 2000-2001, Primary Grades, 5 schools
• 2001-2002, Multi-site, Intermediate Grades, 28
  schools
• 2002-2003, Rural/Urban, Intermediate Grades, 20
  schools
• 2003-2004, RCT, K-7, 20 schools

• Qualitative Evaluations
• 2000-2001
• Process in Relation to Child Outcomes by Helen
  Novak-Lauscher
• Experiences of ROE Classroom Teachers by April
  Wessel
• 2001-2002
• Voices of the Consumers Childrens Perspectives
  on ROE by Denise Buote, Shayna Rusticus, Celina
  Vergel de Dios, Helen Novak-Lauscher

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Year One 2000-2001 - Primary Grade Evaluation

• Participants
• 132 Primary Grade children
• ROE Program, n 74 Comparison Group, n 58
• 61 ESL (majority Chinese)
• 5 Comparison classrooms were matched with the 5
  ROE program classrooms.

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Child Outcome Measures

• Emotion Knowledge
• Infant Facial Expression of Emotion Task (Emde et
  al.,1993 Yau, 1999)
• Understanding of Mixed Emotions (Brown Dunn,
  1996)
• Social Understanding
• Chandler Cartoon Task (Chandler, 1973)
• The Relationship Questionnaire Interpersonal
  Understanding subscale (Schultz Selman, 2000)

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Child Outcome Measures(contd)

• Social Behaviours (Teacher Reports Child
  Behaviour Scale, Ladd Profilet, 1996)
• Aggressive Behaviors
• Proactive Aggression cold blooded
• Reactive Aggression hot-headed
• Relational Aggression (indirect) e.g., gossip
• Prosocial Behaviors
• Asocial Behaviors
• Hyperactivity/distractible
• Anxious/fearful

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Findings from 2000-2001 Evaluation (Vancouver,
grades 1-3)

• ROE children, relative to comparison children,
  demonstrated significant improvements in the
  following areas
• Increased emotion knowledge
• Increased social understanding
• Increased prosocial behaviors with peers
• Decreased aggression with peers
• Decreased proactive aggression (e.g., bullying)

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Finding of 2000-2001 Evaluation- Proactive
Aggression (Bullying)
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Of those children who evidenced some form of
proactive aggression at pre-test 88 of ROE
children decreased 50 of Comparison children
increased
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Year One 2000 - 2001 What did we learn?

• There was preliminary support for the efficacy of
  the Roots of Empathy program.
• Strengths
• Quasi-experimental, pre-, posttest, comparison
  group design,
• Diverse sample
• Reliable and valid measures utilized across
  multiple domains
• Limitations
• Focus on one age group -- question of
  generalizability.
• No evaluation of implementation in relation to
  child outcomes.
• Potential bias in teachers reports of social
  behaviors (e.g., teachers were not blind to
  intervention status).

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Year Two 2001-2002 Multi-site Evaluation

• Participants
• 585 children (Vancouver, Toronto) in grades 4 to
  7
• 14 ROE Program classrooms (n 306) in 14 schools
• 14 Comparison classrooms (n 279) in 14 schools
• 53 ESL (majority Chinese)
• Program and comparison teachers similar on
  demographic characteristics and ratings of
  importance of social/emotional development in the
  classroom.

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Child Outcome Measures

• Emotion Knowledge
• Infant Facial Expression of Emotion Task
• Emotion Causes
• Emotion Strategy Knowledge
• Empathy-related Responding (Interpersonal
  Reactivity Index Davis, 1983)
• Perspective-taking,
• Empathic concern

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Child Outcome Measures (contd)

• Peer Reports (Schonert-Reichl, 1999)
• Prosocial Behaviors (share, help, cooperate)
• Prosocial Characteristics (e.g., fair, trust,
  kind)
• Antisocial Behaviors (e.g., breaks rules, starts
  fights)
• Teacher Reports (CBS Ladd Profilet,1996)
• Aggressive Behaviors
• Proactive Aggression
• Reactive Aggression
• Relational Aggression
• Prosocial Behaviors

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Infant Facial Expression of Emotion Task
Changes in Causal Explanations
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Infant Facial Expression of Emotion Task Changes
in Emotion Strategy Knowledge
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Changes in Peer Assessments of Prosocial
Behaviors and Prosocial Characteristics
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Changes in Teachers Reports of Social Behaviors
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, Of those children who demonstrated some form
of Proactive Aggression at pretest ROE
Children -- 67 decreased Comparison Children,
64 increased
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Of those children who demonstrated some form of
Relational Aggression at pretest ROE Children
-- 61 decreased Comparison Children, 67
increased
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Year Three 2002-2003, Rural/Urban Evaluation

• Participants
• 433 children in grades 4 - 7
• 10 ROE Program classrooms (n 222) in 10 schools
• 10 Comparison classrooms (n 211) in 10 schools
• 30 ESL (majority Chinese)
• Program and comparison teachers similar on
  demographic characteristics and ratings of
  importance of social/emotional development in the
  classroom.

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Child Outcome Measures

• Emotion Knowledge (Infant Facial Expression of
  Emotion)
• Parenting Efficacy
• Caring Classroom
• Classroom Supportiveness
• Classroom Autonomy
• Prosocial/Aggressive Behaviours
• Self-reports
• Peer-reports
• Teacher-reports

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Changes in Students Beliefs About Their
Parenting Efficacy
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Changes in Students Perceptions of a Caring
Classroom Environment
53
Changes on Peer AssessmentsProsocial Dimensions
54
Changes on Peer AssessmentsAntisocial/Aggression
Dimensions
55
Changes on Teachers Reports of Social Behaviors
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What have we learned so far?

• Across the 3 years of research on the efficacy of
  ROE, findings have consistently revealed that
  children who receive ROE in contrast to those who
  do not, show significant improvements in the
  following areas
• Increased emotional understanding
• Increased prosocial behaviours
• Decreased aggression
• These findings were consistent across grade
  levels, setting, informants, and measures
  utilized.
• These findings are in direct concordance with the
  ROE program goals.

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Ingredient 3 The Need for a Strengths-Based
Approach

• Recent years have witnessed a shift from a focus
  on risk to identifying factors that protect
  individuals and foster positive development.
• Resiliency -- successful adaptation despite
  adversity, or overcoming the odds.
• Resiliency Factors
• Individual characteristics
• Intelligence
• Personality (e.g., temperament, empathy, hope)
• Family and Peers (e.g., social support, cohesion)
• Schools (e.g., school belonging, significant
  adult)

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A Strengths-Based Approach An Example from
Research
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The Benefits of Participation in Extracurricular
Activities

• Positive Peer Relationships (Connor
  Schonert-Reichl, 2001)
• 6th 7th grade children who participated in
  extracurricular activities, in contrast to those
  who did not participate, reported
• Higher feelings of belonging to peers
• Lower feelings of loneliness
• Higher feelings of intimacy (boys only)
• Better Mental Health, lower depression (Mahoney
  et al., 2002)

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The Benefits of Participation in Extracurricular
Activities

• Higher academic achievement and lower dropout
  (e.g., Cooper et al., 1999)
• Lower delinquency (e.g., Mahoney, 2000)
• Better long-term adjustment
• Adolescents who participated in extracurricular
  activities, in contrast to those who did not
  (Schonert-Reichl Elliott, 2001),
• more likely to both attend and graduate from
  postsecondary schools,
• reported higher levels of community/civic
  involvement 10 years after high school graduation

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Fostering Resiliency The Role of Significant
Non-Related Adults

• Previous research has linked significant adults
  to at risk childrens resilience
• There is very little research that has examined
  this relation in the school context, especially
  elementary school.
• Almost no research has asked children to describe
  the characteristics of the adults whom children
  identify as significant.

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The Hastings Community School Study Research
Questions

• Participation in school-related activities
• Do children who participate in school-related
  activities differ from those children who do not
  on dimensions of school, socio-emotional, and
  behavioral adjustment?
• The role of the significant non-related adult
• Do children identify a significant non-related
  adult, and if so, does it matter?
• What is the relation between involvement in
  school-related activities and significant adults?

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A Study of Resiliency The Hastings Community
School Study

• Participants
• 236 students from the 4th-6th grades.
• 52 female,
• 48 first language English, 31 Chinese, and 21
  other,
• 98 of children participated in the study

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Measures
Social-Emotional Dimensions
Behavioral Dimensions
School-Academic Dimensions
e.g., Self-concept, Empathy, Social
Responsibility
Social, Emotional, and Academic Success

• Participation in school-related activities

• Significant Non-Related Adults

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Activities at Hastings

• Harry Potter
• Babysitters course
• Funky Hip Hop
• Tae Kwon Do
• Computer Club
• Peer Helpers
• Student Council
• Swim Club
• Lights, Camera, Action
• Piano lessons
• Beading/Jewelry
• Ocean Life

• Yummy treats and sweets
• Kids First
• Girls Club
• Indoor hockey
• Basketball
• Gym Jam
• French tutoring
• Chess
• Soccer
• Skateboarding
• Origami
• Clayworks
• Picture painting

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Important Adults from Hastings Community School
Questionnaire

• Make a list of the adults from Hastings Community
  School who are important in your life.
• Now choose one of the people from above.
• Person _______________________
• List all the ways in which this person is
  important in your life.

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Results Participation in School Activities

• Findings revealed that those students who
  reported participating in school activities, were
  higher than nonparticipating students on
• General self-concept
• School self-concept
• Prosocial behaviors (sharing, helping, etc.)
• Perspective-taking
• Teacher-rated social competence
• School Belonging

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School Participation and Self Concept
69
School Participation and Social Competence
70
School Participation and Reports of School
Belonging
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Results Significant Adults

• Adults listed as significant
• Teachers 57
• Other 43
• Taking the childs perspective What are the
  characteristics of significant adults in schools?
  (kappa .85)
• Supportive teaching
• Nurturant/supportive
• Positive personality traits
• Other

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Response Categories

• Supportive teaching 45 27
• Nurturant/Supportive 69 42
• Positive personality traits 37 22
• Other 14 8

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Significant Adults and Adjustment
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Significant Adults and Social Adjustment
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What is the link between involvement in school
activities and significant adults?

• Number of Significant Adults

• Participation in School Activities

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Activity Participation and Mean Number of
Significant Adults Reported
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What Works in Prevention?Weissberg, R. P.,
Kumpfer, K. L., Seligman, M. E. P. (2003).
Prevention that works for children and youth, An
introduction. American Psychologist, 58, 425-432.

• Uses a research-based risk and protective factor
  framework that involves families, peers, schools,
  and communities as partners to target multiple
  outcomes.
• Is long term, age-specific, and culturally
  appropriate.
• Fosters development of individuals who are
  healthy and fully engaged through teaching them
  to apply social-emotional skills and ethical
  values to daily life.

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What Works in Prevention?(contd)

• Aims to establish policies, institutional
  practices, and environmental supports that
  nurture optimal development.
• Selects, trains, and supports interpersonally
  skilled staff to implement programming
  effectively.
• Incorporates and adapts evidence-based
  programming to meet local community needs through
  strategic planning, ongoing evaluation, and
  continuous improvement.

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Conclusions

• It is critical to the future of our society that
  we identify the factors that assist children to
  become competent, caring adults and productive
  citizens.
• We all share a stake in the development of
  childrens emotional and social competence and in
  identifying the processes that facilitate or
  undermine it.
• The research supports the need for coordinated
  efforts that attend to the promotion of
  childrens positive academic and social-emotional
  development in schools and communities.

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• Thank You!!
• Questions