International Journal of Emotional Education

31 - 48

Authors: Badiyyah Waajid, Pamela W. Garner and Julie E. Owen

Research supports the importance of policies and interventions to infuse social emotional curricula in schools. The role of teachers in supporting young children’s social and emotional readiness for classroom learning has been recognized, but instruction in children’s well-being and social emotional competence is a low priority in teacher preparation programs. In this study we, used qualitative methods to examine whether we could successfully infuse an undergraduate curriculum and instructional course with social emotional learning content. The article reports on this effort, and considered the following questions: How can courses infused with SEL content impact prospective teachers’ views on the overall role of emotions in the classroom? What is the influence of the course on preservice teachers’ conceptions of SEL and its association with children’s classroom learning and behavior? How can teacher preparation programs encourage prospective teachers to consider children’s social emotional skills once they enter the classroom as teachers? At course end, the 15 enrolled students responded to predetermined questions as part of a self-reflection assignment. Using grounded theory methods, three themes were identified from participants’ reflections, including the connection between SEL and academic learning, shifting from teacher- to student-centered pedagogy, and the desire for continued learning related to SEL. An in-depth examination of these themes revealed that SEL concepts can be successfully infused in an undergraduate course on curriculum and instruction. Implications for teacher training are discussed and future avenues for research are presented.

67 - 79

Authors: J. J. Cutuli, Jane E. Gillham, Tara M. Chaplin, Karen J. Reivich, Martin E. P. Seligman, Robert J. Gallop, Rachel M. Abenavoli and Derek R. Freres

This study reports secondary outcome analyses from a past study of the Penn Resiliency Program (PRP), a cognitive-behavioral depression prevention program for middle-school aged children. Middle school students (N = 697) were randomly assigned to PRP, PEP (an alternate intervention), or control conditions. Gillham et al., (2007) reported analyses examining PRP’s effects on average and clinical levels of depression symptoms. We examine PRP’s effects on parent-, teacher-, and self-reports of adolescents’ externalizing and broader internalizing (depression/anxiety, somatic complaints, and social withdrawal) symptoms over three years of follow-up. Relative to no intervention control, PRP reduced parent-reports of adolescents’ internalizing symptoms beginning at the first assessment after the intervention and persisting for most of the follow-up assessments. PRP also reduced parent-reported conduct problems relative to no-intervention. There was no evidence that the PRP program produced an effect on teacher- or self-report of adolescents’ symptoms. Overall, PRP did not reduce symptoms relative to the alternate intervention, although there is a suggestion of a delayed effect for conduct problems. These findings are discussed with attention to developmental trajectories and the importance of interventions that address common risk factors for diverse forms of negative outcomes.

17 - 35

Authors: Birgitta Kimber, Therése Skoog and Rolf Sandell

The paper presents the results from a thematic analysis of the process diaries of teachers involved in teacher training in social and emotional learning (SEL) in Sweden. Twenty-nine out of the 122 diaries available were analyzed until saturation was reached. The following themes and sub-themes were extracted: development (professional and personal, and classroom climate), and concomitants of development (need for collaboration and unease). The themes and sub-themes are related to theoretical aspects of specialised teacher education and to the debate in Sweden on how to proceed with SEL programs, and more generally with life skills programs. The results suggest that training generates both general teacher improvement and better implementation of SEL programs.

56 - 72

Authors: Nicola S. Schutte, John M. Malouff and Einar B. Thorsteinsson

Emotional intelligence consists of adaptive emotional functioning involving inter-related competencies relating to perception, understanding, utilising and managing emotions in the self and others. Researchers in diverse fields have studied emotional intelligence and found the construct to be associated with a variety of intrapersonal and interpersonal factors such as mental health, relationship satisfaction, and work performance. This article reviews research investigating the impact of training in emotional-intelligence skills. The results indicate that it is possible to increase emotional intelligence and that such training has the potential to lead to other positive outcomes. The paper offers suggestions about how future research, from diverse disciplines, can uncover what types of training most effectively increase emotional intelligence and produce related beneficial outcomes.

27 - 42

Authors: Mingming Zhou and Jessie Ee

Reliable and valid measures of children's and adolescents' social emotional competence (SEC) are necessary to develop in order to assess their social emotional development and provide appropriate intervention in child and adolescent development. A pool of 25 items was created for the Social Emotional Competence Questionnaire (SECQ) that represented five dimensions of SEC: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship management and responsible decision-making. A series of four studies are reported relating to the development and validation of the measure. Confirmatory factor analyses of the responses of 444 fourth-graders showed an acceptable fit of the model. The model was replicated with another 356 secondary school students. Additional studies revealed good internal consistency. The significant correlations among the five SEC components and academic performance provided evidence for the predictive validity of the instrument. With multiple samples, these results showed that the scale holds promise as a reliable, valid measure of SEC.

55 - 65

Authors: Lesley A Hughes

Inclusive education for all children means that teachers are increasingly faced with challenges in managing children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) whose complex needs span a number of professional disciplines, some of which sit outside of education. However, whilst it is recognised that children with SEBD require management and support across a range of professions that include education, health, social and youth services, there is little done to prepare teaching staff for working across professional and organisational boundaries. The evidence of poor communication and team working amongst professions has led to policy changes and guidelines calling for greater coordination in the delivery of services for children and young people. This paper considers how education and training needs to prepare students with the knowledge and skills for collaborative working through interprofessional education (IPE), and draws on adult learning theory and activity theory to frame its direction. In doing so, it demonstrates a model for IPE that can be used to engage students from different disciplines to gain insight into the understanding of the wider issues of SEBD and the roles and responsibilities of the other professions involved. The model is one that enables students to consider the impact the role of others has on their own role, and to reflect on how their role impacts on the role of others.

25 - 42

Authors: Ekaterina S. Ralston, Linda S. Trudeau, and Richard Spoth

The literature indicates that the quality of affective relationships between youth and parents is associated with lower levels of a range of problem behaviors during childhood, early and late adolescence. While the protective effect of parental monitoring on substance use in the high school and post high school years has been demonstrated, there is a knowledge gap concerning effects of parent-child affective quality (PCAQ) during the same periods. We tested a conceptual theoretical model to examine the effects of PCAQ on substance use following high school. The sample was from a RCT that assessed adolescents in rural Iowa from the seventh grade through two years after high school (N=456). We specified direct effects of PCAQ in 12th grade on drunkenness, smoking and illicit drug use during the two years immediately following high school graduation. We also specified the effects of early substance use initiation (alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use reported at baseline) on later use. The direct effect of PCAQ in 12th grade on substance use was significant for all substances during at least one of the two years past graduation (ypg). Results were: drunkenness 1 ypg, β=-.126, p<.05; smoking 1 ypg, β=-.119, p<.05; 2 ypg, β=-.146, p<.05; illicit drug use 2 ypg, β=-.165, p<.05. Some significant indirect effects of PCAQ at baseline, via PCAQ at 12th grade, were found. Results also indicated significant direct effects of early initiation on two of the three substances, albeit with a different pattern of effects over time for each substance by years post high school. Importantly, while early initiation remains the strongest predictor of long-term tobacco and illicit drug use, results show how PCAQ might reduce its harmful effects.

56 - 78

Authors: Kendra M. Lewis, Niloofar Bavarian, Frank J. Snyder, Alan Acock, Joseph Day, David L. DuBois, Peter Ji, Marc B. Schure, Naida Silverthorn, Samuel Vuchinich, and Brian R. Flay

Mitigating and preventing substance use among adolescents requires approaches that address the multitude of factors that influence this behavior. Such approaches must be tested, not only for evidence of empirical effectiveness, but also to determine the mechanisms by which they are successful. The aims of the present study were twofold: 1) To determine the effectiveness of a school-based social-emotional and character development (SECD) program, Positive Action (PA), in reducing substance use (SU) among a sample of U.S. youth living in a low-income, urban environment, and 2) to test one mechanism by which the program achieves its success. We used longitudinal mediation analysis to test the hypotheses that: 1) students attending PA intervention schools engage in significantly less SU than students attending control schools, 2) students attending PA intervention schools show significantly better change in SECD than students attending control schools, and 3) the effect of the PA intervention on SU is mediated by the change in SECD. Analyses revealed program effects on both SECD and SU, a relationship between SECD and SU, and the effects of PA on SU were completely mediated by changes in SECD. Future research directions and implications for school-based social-emotional and character development efforts and substance use prevention are addressed.

37 - 49

Authors: Phillip T. Slee, Katherine Dix and Helen Askell-Williams

Although there is increasing recognition internationally of the significance of social and emotional health and wellbeing for the healthy development of young people, the levels of support that governments provide for mental health policy and programme initiatives vary widely. In this paper, consideration is given to Australia's approach to mental health promotion from early years to secondary school, including specific reference to the KidsMatter Primary mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative. Although it is now well established that schools provide important settings for the promotion of mental health initiatives, there are significant challenges faced in effectively implementing and maintaining the delivery of evidence-based practice in school settings, including concerns about quality assurance in processes of implementation, translation, dissemination and evaluation.