The Importance of Evidence-based Action for Effective Change:

Slouching Toward Collaborative Action

National Symposia on Middle Childhood

UBC – August 2018

Mark T. Greenberg Ph.D.Bennett Chair of Prevention Science –

Pennsylvania State University

Good Morning!

Two Questions:

1. How Can We Take A Broad Public Health Approach to SEL?

2. What is Systemic SEL and its relevance to education?

What I Will Discuss

• A Short History of SEL

• Why is Evidence Important?

• Going Beyond the Classroom with SEL Models and Implementation

• Going Beyond The School - Child and Family Development and Community Systems Change

• SEL as a Broad Public Health Initiative

Disclosure

Dr. Greenberg receives royalties from

Channing-Bete Corp. from

sales of the PATHS® Curriculum

A Little History

A POLL WITH FOUR QUESTIONS

First Question

Are people with better social and emotional skills more likely to succeed in school and life?

Second Question

Can social and emotional skills be taught?

Third Question

Will children be better prepared for college, careers and life if we teach social, emotional, and academic skills?

Fourth QuestionThen, how can we ensure that educators, human service providers, and families teach social and emotional skills effectively?

Because….Focusing on building the social and emotional competence of our children is our greatest hope for improving education and living meaningful and

successful lives.

1960’s -1970’s

• Most programs have no evidence base and are proved ineffective

– Humanistic Education

Just talking about feelings

– Drug Education

Talking about the evils of alcohol and drugs,

Showing students drugs, Just Say NO

– Prison Visits to Scare Youth

Late 1970’s- 1990’s

• Development and Testing of SEL and More Specific Substance Use Prevention Programs based on Logic Models of Building Protective Factors and Reducing Risk Factors

• Randomized Trials to Carefully Examine The Effectiveness of the Programs

• Beginning of Registries to Designate Effective Programs

(Blueprints, etc.)

2000-2010

• Beginning Adoption of SEL Programs in Innovative Schools and Boards

• Focus on Studying What Factors in Implementation Lead to High Quality Use, Improvement in Student Outcomes, and Sustainability

• Recognition that Classroom-Based Programs alone do not transform schools

2010-Present• Beginning Large Scale Adoption of SEL in Boards

• State and Provincial Recognition of the Critical Importance of SEL for Educational Outcomes

• Beginning Development of Board and Government Guidelines, Standards

• Recognition of the Need For Adult SEL for all Educators

• Recognition of the Need For Changes in Pre-Service Ed.

• Beginning Adoption of Systems Thinking: Big ?

What is Need to Create and Sustain Healthy Caring Schools??

CASEL’s goal is to make social and emotional learning (SEL)

an essential part of every child’s education by:

• Advancing the science of SEL

• Expanding effective SEL practice

• Improving state and federal policies

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

www.casel.org

1997: CASEL Defines the Field of SEL2015: Current and Future Perspectives on

Social and Emotional Learning

Self-awareness

Self-management

Form positive relationships, work in teams, deal effectively with conflict

Make ethical, constructive choices about personal and

social behavior

Manage emotions and behaviors to achieve

one’s goals

Show understanding and empathy for others

Build citizenship through social engagement

SEL: Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes and Behavior

Recognize one’s emotions, attiitudes/mindsets,values,

and strengths

2011 Meta-Analysis of 213 studies involving school-based, universal SEL programs including over 270,000 students in K-12 revealed:

Science Links SEL to Student Gains:

• Social-emotional skills

• Improved attitudes about self, others, and school

• Positive classroom behavior

• 11 percentile-point gain on standardized achievement tests

And Reduced Risks for Failure:

• Conduct problems

• Emotional distress

Source: Durlak, Weissberg, et al.. (2011) The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development: 82 (1), 405-432.

SEL Improves Behavior and Learning

19

Logic Model: How Does SEL Enhance Academic Performance and Development?

SEAD Approaches:

• Explicit SEL Skills

Instruction

• Integration with Academic

Curriculum Areas

• Quality Teacher

Instructional Practices

• Organizational, Culture,

and Climate Strategies

SEL Skill Acquisition:

Five Competence Areas

Improved Attitudes:

Self, Others, Learning, and

Schools

Enhanced Learning

Environment: Supportive,

Engaging, and Participatory

Positive Social

Relationships

Fewer Conduct

Problems

Less Emotional

Distress

Improved Academic

Performance

Positive Health-

Related Behaviors

The Economic Value of SEL

•“The aggregate result also shows considerable benefits relative to costs, with an averagebenefit-cost ratio of about 11 to 1 among the six interventions. This means that, on average, for every dollar invested equally across the six SEL interventions, there is a return of eleven dollars, a substantial economic return.”

Source: Belfield, Levin et al., 2015 (p. 5)

$1 Invested = $11 Return

Guidance for Selecting Evidence-Based Programs and Practices

Why Randomized Trials UnderEstimate Effects of SEL

• They are short-termSchools would be foolish only to provide SEL in one or two grades vs. systems wide

• Teachers are usually inexperiencedAs teacher expertise improves, so will outcomes

• Trials usually only assess the effects of the classroom program – we need school wide studies to see broader effects

• Schools have not yet created systems change

“In theory there is no difference between theory and practice; in

practice, there is.”Yogi Berra

SEL CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION

THE CASEL Model: Schoolwide SEL

25

SELF-MANAGEMENT

SELF-AWARENESS

RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING

RELATIONSHIP SKILLS

SOCIAL AWARENESS

Social andEmotionalLearning

(SEL)

Connectedness and Belonging: Ensure Well-Being for All Children

Across Developmental Levels

Healthy Caring Relations with Peers and Adults

Self-Control/Emotion Regulation

Building Attention and Learning Capacity

Creating Safe, Welcoming, Caring Schools

A Sense of Belonging and Meaning, and Purpose

Resilience Factors that create Well-Being for Children and Youth

Prenatal and Infant DevelopmentIt Begins with Parenting

Contexts that Support SEL Skills, Caring and Compassion

• Secure Early Childhood Attachments to Parents and Caregivers

• What Children See Adults Do and Why?

• What Values are Promoted (world view) at Home, at School, in the Community?

• What Skills Children Learn and Havethe Opportunity to Practice?

Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood SEL Programs Show Substantial Effects

20 Year Study shows that Kindergartners with higher SEL competence were more likely to:

graduate from high school

complete a college degree

obtain stable employment in young adulthood

And less likely to be

living in public housing

receiving public assistance

involved with police

in a detention facility

Jones., Greenberg,& Crowley, (2015). Early Social-Emotional Functioning and Public Health. American Journal of Public Health.

• Treatment (even when effective) will not substantially reduce the number of new “cases”

• Schools are the primary setting in which problems arise and can be prevented

• Building protective factors to promote good mental health reduces the burden on multiple forms of later disease/poor outcomes and improves academic outcomes

Why is School-Based Prevention Critical to Community Well-Being?

Both Children and Adults need Emotion Regulation skills

Schools need to adopt practices that create shared communities of caring, healthy norms and a safe environment

This can include high quality SEL skills, mindfulness skills, expressing caring and gratitude, service learning, etc.

This requires Principal Leadership at the building level

This requires Systems Planning at the Board Level

Issues in Creating a Caring School

Challenge: Implementation

An effective intervention is one thing………

Implementation of an effective

intervention is a very different thing!

Understand the Right Conditions for SEL To Thrive in Schools

School Design, Culture, Climate and Learning Factors

• SEL programs and practices will not grow and germinate in the wrong situation

• Understand Keys to System/Organizational Change

• Principal Leadership Training is a Key Factor

• Need to Understand Key Issue is Relationships and

Administrators “Walking the Talk”

Lessons Learned From Research and Practice

Across many evidence-based programs, fidelity matters

The best outcomes are associated with high fidelity practitioners

High fidelity results from careful attention to implementation of evidence-based programs, practices, and policies

A healthy school culture and involved leadership are key factors in whether SEL will thrive

SEL CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION

SELF-MANAGEMENT

SELF-AWARENESS

RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING

RELATIONSHIPSKILLS

SOCIAL AWARENESS

Social andEmotionalLearning

(SEL)

Contexts and Experiences

Listening and Learning from Teachers

A National Teacher Survey on How Social

and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Transform Schools

May 2013

SEL: The Missing Piece

• 95% of US teachers believe that social and emotional skills are teachable to all children

• Teachers believe a larger focus on SEL will have major positive effect on:– school attendance and graduation (80%),

– life success (87 percent)

– college preparation (78%)

– academic success (75%)

The Missing Piece: A National Teacher Survey on How Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Transform Schools. Civic Enterprises, 2013

Canadian Teacher’s Federation (2014)

• 30% of new teacher leave in first 5 years

• 79% believe their stress related to work-life imbalance has increased over the last five years

• 85% reported that work-life imbalance is affecting their ability to teach

The Stress and Well-Being of Teachers

• There is a serious crisis of teacher retention

• Teaching is now rated as a highly stressful profession -46% report excessive daily stress (Gallup)

• We need to support Teacher’s Own SEL and professional growth

• 6 Randomized Trials show that we can increase teacher’s well-being and enjoyment of teaching

Cultivating

Awareness &

Resilience In

Education

Createforeducation.org

Developers: Tish Jennings, Christa Turksma and Richard Brown

A Holistic Picture: Supporting Effective Social and Academic Development and Well Being

Teacher Well-Being and Awareness

Social and Emotional

Skill Development

Effective Conditions for Learning/Norms of Caring

Healthy, Caring Schools

The Prosocial School:

A Model of Principal Social and Emotional Competence and School, Classroom, and Child Outcomes

Healthy Principal/Staff Relationships

Healthy SchoolClimate

Effective SEL implementation

Principal Social & Emotional Skills &

Well Being

StudentSocial, emotional &

academic outcomes

Healthy Organizational School Culture

School/Community Context Factors

Effective Principal-Community

Relationships

Turksma & Greenberg, 2018

How Do We Become More Systemic in Our Thinking?

CASEL School Theory of Action

48

TEN INDICATORS OF SCHOOLWIDE SELC

LASS

RO

OM Explicit SEL instruction

All students receive explicit SEL instruction and opportunities to practice SEL that are developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive.

SEL integrated with instruction In addition, SEL content is integrated into instruction.

CO

MM

UN

ITY

F

AM

ILY

SC

HO

OL

Supportive school and classroom climates

Schoolwide and classroom learning environments are supportive, culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate, and focused on building community.

Youth voice and engagementStaff engage students in leadership roles as problem-solvers and decision-makers by offering them opportunities to inform instruction and strengthen school climate.

Focus on adult SEL and relationshipsStaff have regular opportunities to cultivate their own social, emotional, and cultural competence, collaborate with one another, build relational trust, and maintain a strong community.

Supportive disciplineDiscipline policies and practices are instructive, restorative, developmentally appropriate, and equitable.

A continuum of integrated supports SEL is seamlessly integrated into a continuum of academic and behavioral supports.

Systems for continuous improvement

School leadership team(s) intentionally plan for and communicate about SEL. School-level data are collected and used to continuously improve all SEL-related systems, practices, and policies with a focus on equity.

Authentic Family partnershipsFamilies and school staff have regular and meaningful opportunities to build relationships and collaborate to support students’ social, emotional, and academic development.

Aligned Community partnershipsSchool staff and community partners align on common language, strategies, and

communication around all SEL-related efforts and initiatives, including out-of-school time.

Going Beyond The School Day!Creating Collaborative Action

Five Key Strategic Priorities

1. Establish organizational conditions

2. Build capacity

3. Introduce evidence-based mental health promotion and prevention programming

4. Support specific populations

5. Contribute to system coordination across sectors

Ontario Mental Health Assist 2017-2020

Tiered Intervention Model of System of Care

From Kathy Short, 2016, Intl J. of Mental Health Promotion

Task of Integration

1. Across Ecologies of the Child’s Lifea. Classroomb. Schoolc. Familyd. Neighborhood

2. Across Levels of Service/Tiers1. Universal: Promotion &

Prevention2. Selective3. Indicated4. Treatment

The Dilemma

What Do Government and Citizens Want?

• Reduced Poor Outcomes for Children and Families

• Use Programs and Policies That Work

• Effective Community Coordination Between Agencies and Sectors

• Accountability – Quality Data Systems

What is the Typical Community Doing?

• Trying to Reduce Poor Outcomes

• Usually Utilize Programs with Little or No Evidence

• Poor Coordination with Each Agency/Sector Doing Their “Own Thing”

• Poor Data Systems and Little Accountability

The Challenges

• Cultivating community/school-based prevention work that is focused and strategic

• Increase (carefully planned) adoption of Evidence-Based Practices by more communities

• Ensure high quality implementation

• Sustain programs long-term

What is needed…….• Organizational leaders and practitioners need

– support to understand the public health model

– ongoing TA to make decision based on data and learn about evidence-based programs

• Agencies need quality training in how to implement and sustain programs

• Creating a Community Prevention System is a systems/organizational change and requires Top-Down and Bottom-Up Support.

• Policy work is needed to capture & redistribute dollars saved through prevention

Stages of Implementation

Exploration

Installation

Initial Implementation

Full Implementation

Sustainability

Implementation occurs in stages:

Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005

3 – 6 Years

Summary: What We Know & Next Steps

• High Quality SEL Programs Exist

• Translational Research is Necessary to Bring SEL Programs &

Policies to Wide-Scale Implementation with Fidelity and

Sustainability

• This Requires Both Policy Change and Infrastructural

Development

A Vision of Social and Emotional Learning: Classroom, School,

District, State, Nation, World

All children and youth are engaged and active

learners who are self-aware, caring, respectful,

connected to others, responsible decision

makers, and academic achievers.

Students are contributing in positive ways to their

school and community.

Educators, students, families, and community

members work together to support the healthy

development of all students.