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Author: Mandelin, Katherine, A Title: Social Emotional Competence and Curriculums in Early Childhood The accompanying research report is submitted to the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Graduate School in partial
completion of the requirements for the
Graduate Degree/ Major: MS School Psychology
Research Advisor: Ann Brand, Ph.D.
Submission Term/Year: Summer, 2013
Number of Pages: 52
Style Manual Used: American Psychological Association, 6th edition
I understand that this research report must be officially approved by the Graduate School and that an electronic copy of the approved version will be made available through the University Library website
I attest that the research report is my original work (that any copyrightable materials have been used with the permission of the original authors), and as such, it is automatically protected by the laws, rules, and regulations of the U.S. Copyright Office.
My research advisor has approved the content and quality of this paper. STUDENT:
NAME Katherine Mandelin DATE: 7/30/2013
ADVISOR: (Committee Chair if MS Plan A or EdS Thesis or Field Project/Problem):
NAME Dr. Ann Brand DATE: 7/30/2013
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Mandelin, Katherine, A. Social Emotional Competence and Curriculums in Early Childhood
Abstract
This paper addresses the issue of social emotional competence in early childhood. Students in
school face multiple challenges such as school violence, school bullying, school dropout, and
mental illness. When students have high social emotional competence there is an increase in
prosocial behaviors, decrease in problem behaviors, and higher academic achievement. Research
supports the implementation of evidence based social emotional curriculums in early childhood.
The Strong Start, MindUP, and Second Step curriculums all support the teaching of social
emotional competence. Recommendations support the implementation of these evidence based
programs for improving the outcomes of all students from early childhood and later into
adulthood.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my thesis advisor Dr. Ann Brand for support and guidance during my
writing process. She gave prompt feedback and met with me on a regularly basis, which was
incredibly helpful in the completion of this thesis. She was extremely knowledgeable on the
topic of social emotional competence and provided me with helpful research. I would also like to
thank my parents for their continuous support throughout my life, I would not be where I am
today without them.
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Table of Contents
............................................................................................................................................. Page
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Chapter I: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 7
Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................... 13
Purpose of the Study ...................................................................................................... 13
Definition of Terms ....................................................................................................... 13
Assumptions of the Study .............................................................................................. 14
Chapter II: Literature Review .................................................................................................... 16
Emergence of Human Emotions .................................................................................... 16
Development of Emotions in Early Childhood ............................................................... 17
.......... Emotional Competence…………………………………………………………………..19
Social Competence……………………………………………………………………….22
Social Emotional Competence and Social Emotional Learning……………………...….22
Strong Kids………………………………………………………………………………27
Second Step………………………………………………………………………………31
MindUP Curriculum……………………………………………………………………..34
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………37 Chapter III: Discussion.............................................................................................................. 39
Summary ...................................................................................................................... 39
Critical Analysis ............................................................................................................ 40
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Recommendations for Future Research .......................................................................... 44
Recommendations for training and Practices…………………………………………....45 References ................................................................................................................................ 47
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Chapter I: Introduction
Students in school face many challenges such as school violence, school bullying, school
dropout, and mental illness. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES; 2011a) has
compiled information on the many challenges students face in school. Bullying is a particularly
prevalent problem in today’s schools. The NCES examined the percentages of student’s (ages
12-18) reported being bullied during school and found the total number of students who were
teased or called names was 18.8 percent. The total number of students who were pushed, shoved,
tripped, or spit on was 21.6 percent.
Violence in the schools has been an important topic in the media Based on data collected
between the years of 1992 to 2006, the number of homicides of total students, staff, and non-
students were on average 44 deaths per year. (NCES, 2011c). Drug abuse is another important
topic for students. The NCES (2011d) has found that about 25 percent of students in grades 9-12
reported that drugs were made available to them on school grounds and this number has only
slightly varied over the course of 12 years.
Mental health issues also significantly impact today’s students. Research conducted by
Merikangas et al. (2010) has found that students with Major Depressive Disorder, defined as
severely depressed mood and activity level for 2 weeks, affects 11.2 percent of students, ages 13
to 18 at some point in his or her lives. Students with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
experience excessive worry about everyday problems for about 6 months. Students aged 13 to
18 with GAD have a lifetime prevalence of 1%. In 1992, the NCES (2011c) reported 1,680
students ages 5 to 18 committed suicide. The reported number of suicides has dropped slightly
over the past 13 years to 1,471 in one year. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is
defined as having difficulty focusing, paying attention, controlling behavior, and hyperactivity.
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Students ages 13 to 18 have a 9 % chance of having lifetime prevalence of ADHD.
While dropout rates have declined, the numbers still continue to be an issue. According to
the NCES (2012), the drop-out rates for students ages 16-24 who have not obtained a diploma or
received their general education development degree (GED) was found to be decreasing from
12.1 percent to 7.4 percent over the course of 1990 to 2010 for all White, Blacks, Hispanics,
Asian/ Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska native students. White students have the
lowest dropout rate starting at 9 percent in 1990 dropping down to 5.1 percent in 2010. Black
students dropout rate decreased from 13.2 percent in 1990 to 8 percent in 2010. Hispanic
students’ dropout rates were higher at 32.4 percent in 1990 decreasing to 15.1 percent in 2010.
Asian and Pacific Islander student’s dropout rates were estimated around 4.9 percent and stayed
roughly the same at 4.2 percent in 2010. American Indian and Alaska native dropout rates were
estimated around 16.4 percent to 12.4 percent in 2010.
The statistics of bullying, dropout rates, violence, drug use and mental illness are all
factors students may face in schools. In order for students to be successful academically, they
need strategies to help them cope with these issues. The research has found that social emotional
competence is crucial for students to succeed and by creating a school system around social-
emotional learning many of these factors can be prevented.
Social emotional curriculums can provide strategies and ideas for coping with
challenging emotions. When students learn methods to better understand their own emotions and
the emotions of others, they will be able to better facilitate friendships and peer interactions.
Students who learn these skills in early childhood can understand their own emotions, providing
them with strategies to be less violent and happier, which decreases depression and anxiety.
Preventing mental illness and violence during early childhood gives students a better opportunity
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to be successful in school.
Preventing Behavior Problems and Mental Illness
The goal of education is to educate students and prevent undesirable behaviors from
distracting students and teachers to ensure students are successful. Research has found students
with strong social emotional skills have higher academic success and effectively perform well in
school (Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004). The three components for student academic
success include school attitudes, school behavior, and school performance. School attitudes
include motivation, responsibility, and attachment. School behavior includes student
engagement, attendance, and study habits. School performance includes grades, subject mastery,
and test performance.
There is strong research to support the importance of social emotional learning, attitudes,
and positive social behaviors. According to Durlak, Weissberg, & Pachan (2011) through
intervention, students demonstrated fewer discipline problems and had lower levels of distress.
Academic success was significantly improved among students in the social emotional learning
intervention. Students reported a higher sense of self-efficacy and improved ability to cope with
school stressors. Students behaviors were improved based on fewer absences, decreases in
aggressive behavior, fewer classroom disruptions, and less drug use (Durlak, Weissberg, &
Pachan, 2011).
Teachers also play an important role in teaching social emotional skills. A study
conducted in Seattle found that teachers trained in social development create an environment for
students to have a strong bonding to school and facilitate pro-social behavior between students
and peers (Abbot et al. 1998). These students are less likely to engage in violent behavior,
dropping out of school, and using drugs. With teacher support in social emotional learning there
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is an increase in the areas of school bonding, improved behavior and health skills, and increased
academic achievement. Research in the field of mental health has determined that teaching
strategies to cope with depression and anxiety increase a student’s success rate (Whitecomb &
Merrell, 2011). Students with social emotional competence have fewer mental and behavioral
problems. Social emotional learning programs provide classroom instruction that enhances
students’ capabilities to recognize and manage their own emotions, appreciate the perspectives of
others, establish pro-social goals and solve problems and use a variety of interpersonal skills to
effectively and efficiently handle developmentally relevant tasks (Payton, 2000). The benefits of
social emotional learning improve students’ lives in many areas of development including,
personal, social, and academic. Research in the field has found that students with social
emotional competence score 11 percent higher than students who do not have social emotional
competence skills (Durlak, Weissberg, & Pachan, 2010). Students are required to control
emotional outbursts in the classroom, and social emotional strategies assist them to control these
outbursts. Emotion-regulation skills enable students to control his or her attention and develop
intrinsic motivation for doing well in the classroom setting (Zins et al., 2004).
Early childhood is a critical period where many developmental domains such as social
emotional competence develop. Deficits acquired in early childhood may lead to future
difficulties such as failure to be accepted by peers and others; it can also impact a child’s
cognitive, physical, and language development. Children who learn positive social emotional
strategies in early childhood are better equipped for future interactions and cognitive
development (Ahola & Kovacok, 2007).
Social Emotional Competence
Social emotional competence (SEC) is the ability to regulate one’s own emotions and be
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able to understand the emotions of others. Research in the field of social emotional competence
has been conducted and collaborated upon from the organization known as the Collaborative for
Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). This organization researches social
emotional learning by providing evidenced-based programs and studies related to academics,
mental illness, and behavioral disturbances. CASEL has five core social-emotional skills,
consisting of self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relational skills, and
responsible decision-making (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
[CASEL], 2003). Teachers who implement evidenced-based social emotional learning programs
in their classrooms are able to support each student’s social emotional competence. These skills
lead to academic success in school for all students. Research in the area of social emotional
competence has found positive academic performance, benefits of physical health, improved
citizenship, and reduced violence and substance abuse (Zins & Elias, 2007).
Social Emotional Learning Curriculums
Research in the field of social emotional learning has found that curriculums specifically
tailored to teach social emotional skills can help improve a student’s social emotional
competence. Curriculums such as Second Steps, Strong Start, and MindUP are all evidence-
based programs to promote social-emotional learning. Second Step is a violence prevention
program. The Strong Start curriculum focuses on the prevention of mental health related
disorders. The MindUP curriculum was created with research from CASEL through the approach
of mindfulness. The programs’ goals are for students to achieve positive, social, emotional,
behavioral, and achievement outcomes (Ashdown & Bernard, 2012). For example, research
conducted on the Second Step curriculum found students experienced decreased aggression,
decrease in anti-social behaviors, increased prosocial behavior, increase in social competence,
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and an increase in the knowledge of social skills (Frey, Nolen, Van Schoiack Edstrom,
Hirschsteim, 2005;Taub, 2001; McMahon, Washburn, Felix, Yakin, & Childrey, 2000). Social
emotional curriculums provide educational professionals with tools to improve every student’s
social and emotional competence. School psychologists help to support teachers and other
schools professionals with evidence based programs to better facilitate the teaching of social
emotional skills. Early childhood is an essential period to learn social emotional competence.
Curriculums provide instructions and strategies for students to learn the components on social
emotional competence.
Role of the School Psychologist
The school psychologist plays a crucial role supporting and implementing social emotional
curriculums and assessments. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP, 2010)
addressed the need for school psychologists to have adequate knowledge of multiple assessment
tools, such as interventions to further develop academic skills combined with social interests to
improve academic skills. School psychologists understand how to improve social emotional
functioning to promote social emotional competence.
A school psychologist is knowledgeable on how genetics, culture, development, and
mental health affect a student’s ability to learn and function into adulthood. School psychologists
implement evidence based measurements to facilitate social emotional competence. Through
collaboration with other professionals a school psychologist demonstrates the ability to use
appropriate assessments and collect data to plan and assess support systems for socialization,
learning, and mental health (NASP Domain 4, 2010).
Statement of the Problem
There is a lack of evidence based social emotional curriculums in early childhood
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programs to teach students how to regulate and understand their own emotions. Research has
shown that incorporating evidence based social emotional curriculums teaches social emotional
skills and increases emotional and social competence. Students with high social emotional
competence have higher academic ability and fewer discipline problems. Therefore, this
literature review will assess social emotional curriculums in early childhood and the assessment
of social emotional competence as it pertains to academic functioning. More explicitly the
literature review will research the following questions:
Research questions
The following questions will be addressed in this literature review.
1. What are the stages of emotional development in early childhood?
2. What are the skills of emotional competence and how do these skills relate to social
competence?
2. How is social emotional competence related to school outcomes, academic success,
mental health and school violence?
3. What social-emotional curriculums are available for early childhood education?
4. What are the most valid, reliable, and empirically supported social emotional
curriculums used in early childhood education?
6. What is the relation between academic success and social emotional curriculums?
Purpose of the study
The purpose of the study is to research evidence based social emotional learning
curriculums in early childhood and assessments to increase students’ social emotional
competence for the benefit of increasing academic achievement in school and reducing mental
health problems.
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Definitions
Self-Awareness. “Knowing what we are feeling in the moment; having a realistic
assessment of our own abilities and a well grounded sense of self-confidence” (CASEL, 2003,
p.5).
Social Awareness. “Understanding what others are feeling; being able to take their
perspective; appreciating and interacting positively with diverse groups” (, 2003).
Self-Management. “Handling our emotions so they facilitate rather than interfere with
the task at hand; being conscientious and delaying gratification to pursue goals; preserving in the
face of setbacks and frustrations” (CASEL, 2003,p.5).
Relationship Skills. “Handling our emotions in relationships effectively; establishing
and maintaining healthy and rewarding relationships based on cooperation, resistance to
inappropriate social pressure, negotiating solutions to conflict, and seeking help when needed”
(CASEL, 2003,p.5).
Responsible Decision-Making. “Making decisions based on an accurate consideration of
all relevant factors and the likely consequence of alternate courses of action, respecting others,
and taking responsibility for one’s decisions” (CASEL, 2003, p.5).
Social Competence. “a construct involving variety of qualities and traits such as
positive self- image, social assertion, frequency of interaction, social cognitive skills,
popularity with peers, etc” (Vahedi, Farrokhi, & Farajian, 2012, p.126).
Emotional Competence. “It is the demonstration of self-efficacy in emotion-eliciting
social transactions. Elsewhere one of us has extensively reviewed the developmental contributors
to emotional competence; briefly, they include the self or ego identity, a moral sense or
character, and a person's developmental history” (Saarni, Campos, Camras, & Witherington,
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2008, p.376).
Mindful Attention. “conscious awareness of the present moment: by focusing our
attention and controlling our breath, we can learn to reduce stress and optimize the learning
capacity of the brain” (Hawn Foundation, 2011, pg.8).
Assumptions and Limitations
It is assumed that there is current research to support the topic of social emotional
competence. It can further be assumed that there is current research to support social emotional
curriculums and social emotional curriculums are capable of teaching such skills. A limitation of
this study is the limited research to support social emotional competence due to the research field
being new. In summary, this study will review current research related to early childhood social
emotional competence and curriculums that teach social emotional competence. The thesis will
give the reader a better understanding of social emotional competence and ways to promote the
curriculums in the classroom setting.
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Chapter II: Literature Review
The chapter will address the following topics related to social emotional competence: 1)
the emergence and development of human emotions; 2) the components of social and emotional
competence; 3) curriculums that teach social emotional competence in early childhood.
The Emergence of Human Emotions
The emergence of human emotions begins at birth and develops during the first three
years of a child’s life. Furthermore, understanding emotions and learning to regulate emotions
develops throughout a person’s life. There are many aspects to the development of emotion,
including class of elicitors, behaviors, states, and experiences (Lewis, 2000). Emotional elicitors
occur when paired with an emotion and an event, leading to a triggering event that is either
external or internal. External elicitors can be a loud noise or social in nature, such as separation
from a loved one. Internal elicitors are a change in a specific psychological state linked to
complex emotions. The development of elicitors can be separated into negative elicitors such as
hearing a loud noise and positive elicitors are seeing food when hungry. Tracking the
development of elicitors is difficult due to changes in cognitive processes in early childhood
(Lewis, 2000).
A child’s cognitive ability plays a role in producing certain emotions. For instance,
before children can compare themselves to other children, failure to achieve a goal could
produce sadness; whereas children with a more developed cognition, when comparing
themselves to peers, failure to achieve a goal could produce the emotion of shame or guilt. In
order to experience self-conscious emotion such as shame or guilt, a child needs to be able
compare his behavior to another person’s behavior (Lewis, 2000).
Human emotions have an adaptive quality and play a crucial role in the development of
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personality and individuality (Izard & Ackerman, 2000). Discrete emotions develop during early
childhood and include happiness, anger, and sadness. Each discrete emotion has a unique
function by providing methods to organize human perception, cognition, and behavior. The
function of happiness or joy opens a person to new experiences and in a social setting joy can
increase the social bond. Joy also has the functional role of reducing stress. The function of the
discrete emotion of sadness plays an important role of strengthening a social group. For
instance, when a death occurs in the family, it brings the family together to remember the
importance of family. Sadness slows down a person’s motor and cognitive processes allowing
them to assess for potential danger or gain new insights. The facial expression of sadness allows
others to be empathetic and offer help and support to the sad person. The function of anger can
lead to aggression, but also other behaviors. Anger also has the ability to increase a person’s
level of energy (Izard & Ackerman, 2000).
The function of shame has a social conformity component, meaning when parents or
peers criticize a person’s behavior, the behavior elicits the feeling of shame and a person is less
likely to replicate the same behavior. Shame plays a part in highlighting a person’s failures and
weaknesses contributing to the development of the self. All discrete emotions play an important
role in how a person copes and adapts to their environment, illustrating the importance of the
development of all emotions (Izard & Ackerman, 2000).
Development of Emotion in Early Childhood
The development of emotional competence begins during early childhood from infancy
to around age three, when children have the capacity to convey emotions similar to an adult.
Emotions developing during this period can be separated into the positive emotions of happiness,
joy, and love. Negative emotions can be described as anxiety, anger, guilt, and sadness (Lewis,
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1990). Saarni et al. (2008) has divided the development of emotions into four phases ranging
from social smiles to expressing a full range of adult emotions in phase four.
Phase 1. Phase 1 (birth to 4 to 6 weeks) is known as the neonatal phase. During this phase
newborns begin to react to emotional signals from caregivers. Dondi, Simion, & Caltran et
(1999) studied the importance of an infant’s ability to distinguish their own cry and the cry of
another infant by eliciting a distress response. Results from this study show the infant’s ability to
show distress as an important component of survival for infants as a method to gain the attention
of the caregiver.
Phase 2. In phase 2, (6 weeks to 9 months) children have some understanding of when
their caregiver is directing emotions towards them through vocal expressions. Typically infants
develop the ability of a social smile around 6 weeks of age. The social smile shows joy and
interest in regards to engagement of the caregiver, allowing the child to meet his or her needs and
develop language and emotional understanding. Infants who are 5 months of age are able to
demonstrate approval response to positive affect and negative affect to negative prohibitions.
Infants also respond differently to positive and negative vocal expressions presented with
different facial expressions. At 5 months of age infants were able to elicit the correct feedback to
the different vocalizations (Saarni et al., 2008). But at 7 months, infants have difficulty
understanding happy and sad facial expressions without the corresponding happy or sad
vocalization. Meaning that the facial expression and the vocal expression need to be paired
together for 7 month-old infants to understand the adults meaning, furthermore, at 7 months
infants are more attuned to voices and facial expressions (Fernald, 1993). Infants typically begin
to develop the primary emotions of joy, distress, and interest during the first 6 months of life.
Anger typically develops between 4 and 6 months when an infant is displaying frustration
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(Thomson, 2006; Saarni, Campos, Camras, & Witherington, 2006).
Phase 3. During phase 3 (9 months to 18 months) children change cognitively, socially,
emotionally, and perceptually. This is a period of many changes for the emerging toddler. These
changes impact the child’s emotional communication. Research has shown that children are able
to react to social situations where their mother engages in a conversation with a third party. An
infant’s response to a stranger depends on how the mother responds either with a stern or a
happy greeting with a paired facial expression (Saarni et al., 2008; Boccia and Campos, 1989).
Phase 4. Lastly, during phase 4 (18 months and beyond), children acquire language skills
to express their thoughts and feelings into words. Language plays a crucial role in the
development of emotions when interacting with others. Before a child uses language to express
emotions, researchers rely on emotional expressions to understand how children are feeling
(Lewis, 2000). Around the age of three, new cognitive capacity leads to the emergence of self-
conscious or secondary emotions, known as as shame, guilt, and pride. Self-conscious emotions
require a child to compare him or herself to a particular standard in order to experience an
emotion such as guilt (Saarni et al., 2008). During this phase children can display a full range of
emotions and learn to read the emotions of others in order to express primary and secondary
emotions when interacting with parents, peers, and caregivers (Lewis, 2000).
Emotional Competence
Emotional competence is the ability to understand the self through the awareness of one’s
own emotional states, understanding the emotions of others, coping with difficult emotions, and
showing concern and empathy for others (Saarni et al., 2008). Saarni et al. (2008) outlines six
distinct skills of emotional competence. Awareness of one’s emotions is the ability to understand
how one feels in order to effectively converse with others about different conflicts and needs.
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Furthermore, awareness of the self includes self-conscious emotions which require the cognitive
ability to compare one self’s behavior to another person’s behavior. Examples include guilt,
pride, and embarrassment. Knowledge about multiple emotions allows a child to be socially
skilled.
The ability to differentiate and understand the emotions of others, understanding the
emotional cues during different situations, and realizing that others have different thoughts are
critical skills of emotional competence. Also, understanding that other people experience
different feelings is associated to the level of cognitive development. Insight into how one
understands another person’s emotions is linked to the amount of knowledge about one self’s
emotions (Saarni et al., 2008).
The ability to label emotions allows children to understand and communicate the
emotions of others based on situational and expressive cues. When a child shares how he or she
feels with others it is an important method to better understand one’s emotional wellbeing. The
ability to formulate one’s feelings into words tells people our wants and needs. The use of
language to express one’s emotions is a key component to emotional competence and is
necessary for a person to get their needs and wants met (Saarni et al., 2008).
Empathy and sympathy allow children the ability to connect with others and promote
positive interactions with peers. Sympathy differs from empathy in regards to it can be
experienced when hearing a story about something sad for instance, whereas, empathy is
experienced when witnessing another person’s emotional state. Researchers are unclear as to
whether empathy is linked to altruistic and pro-social behavior (Saarni et al., 2008). A study by
Carolo (1991) found that when students heard a sad story about another student, they were in
turn more likely to help that sad student.
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During the pre-school years, students learn to differentiate their internal emotions from
their external emotions. They learn the necessary skills of when it is appropriate to express
different emotions in different settings. Children regulate their emotions by monitoring their
expressive behaviors. Children begin to learn when, where, and to whom it is appropriate to
express different behaviors. Children need to be motivated to manage their emotions during
different situations. The level of cognitive ability distinguishes the difference between how one
feels on the inside and how he or she expresses an emotion outwardly (Saarni et al., 2008).
The skill of coping with aversive emotions requires three components, emotion regulation,
understanding the situation, and resolving the conflict skills. The ability to regulate ones own
emotions in either a social or nonsocial setting attributes to how a person copes with stressful
events. When people are able to shift attention from something distressing or tempting decreases
their arousal, it allows them to regulate their emotions. Mischel’s (1999) study of delay for
gratification, children had to choose between a small treat or wait for a larger treat. Results found
children in this study who tried to distract themselves by talking or singing were better able to
resist the tempting treat, than children who focused their attention on the reward and were unable
to resist the treat. Children who shifted attention away from the treat were better able to delay
gratification (Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999). Self-regulation skills begin to develop in early
childhood throughout adulthood. Self-regulation skills predict aspects of social competence and
maladjustment (Eisenberg & Sulik, 2012; Saarni et al., 2008).
Social Competence
Social competence develops from birth into adulthood; the most growth occurs between the
ages of three to six. During this time students learn to react and interact with peers. Social
competence is defined as behaviors and traits such as positive self-image, social assertion, and
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popularity with peers, social skills, and positive peer interactions (Vahedi, Farrokhi, & Farajian,
2012). Research has found that children who have high social competence show high levels of
positive affect and low levels of negative affect and are well liked by teachers and peers
(LaFreneire, & Dumas, 1996). Pollak, Cicchetti, Hornung, & Reed (2000) found that children
who were neglected had more difficulty distinguishing facial expressions than abused children.
Distinguishing variance of facial expressions is a key competent to social competence, because it
is how people interact well in social situations. Empathy and sympathy require a connection to
interacting with others in order for an individual to understand the emotions of others, without
this connection people have a difficult time feeling empathetic and sympathetic.
Research examining Iranian children’s social competence and behavior problems found
few children exhibit problem behaviors frequently. Vahedi et al. (2012) found a decrease in
problem behaviors and an increase in social competence, as the children grew older. The study
found gender differences; boys were rated to have more behavior problems and score lower on
the social competence scale than girls. The reason girls scored higher on social competence is
because teachers rated the girls as more friendly and sociable then boys. Researchers believe this
is due to boys being more active and taking more risks. Furthermore, the reason for fewer
problems with girls can be due to more emotion control (Vahedi, et al., 2012).
Social Emotional Competence & Social Emotional Learning
CASEL promotes the education of social emotional learning (SEL) to develop all students’
social and emotional competence. Social and emotional competencies are best learned over the
course of several school years in order to effectively develop social and emotional skills. CASEL
has five core SEL skills: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills,
and responsible decision-making. Self-awareness is the ability to understand and acknowledge
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feelings and display self-confidence in one’s own abilities. Social awareness is the ability to take
perspective by understanding the feelings of others who come from different cultures and
backgrounds. Self-management is the ability to control our own emotions to be able to complete
the task at hand. Others skills of self-management include impulse control, motivation,
determination to achieve personal and academic goals. Relationship skills are the ability to
create and maintain healthy relationships with diverse people. Other relationship skills include
communication, active listening, cooperation, resistance of inappropriate behavior, conflict
resolution, and seek and offer help to others. Responsible decision-making is the ability to make
decisions based upon surrounding factors and by respecting others and being responsible for
one’s own actions (CASEL, 2013). Results from social emotional curriculums such as the You
can do it program found a significant effect on positive social-emotional well-being, total social
emotional competence, and social skills (Ashdown & Bernard, 2012).
Social emotional competence and academic achievement. The core components of
social emotional competence are important and necessary for high academic achievement
(Beland, 2002; Zins et al., 2004, CASEL, 2013). Abbott’s (1998) experiment modified teacher
instruction for grades 5 and 6. Teachers attended a teacher workshop where they received
instruction in practice classroom and social competence training. Proactive classroom
management creates a conducive learning environment and minimizes classroom disruption.
Principals were trained to observe teachers to provide feedback. The students in the
experimental group performed higher on academic tests than the control group. Research has
found that explicit instruction in social emotional learning has shown gains in the students
academic achievement compared to the control group (Ashdown & Bernard, 2012). Caprara,
Barbaranelli, Pastorelli, Bandura, & Zimbardo (2000) studied prosocial behavior, which includes
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cooperating, helping, sharing, and consoling and antisocial behavior included verbal and physical
aggression. A longitudinal study examined students in the 3rd grade, who were selected and
completed self-reports and teachers completed self-reports on each student. Results found that
early prosocial behaviors strongly predict later academic achievement. Students who are better
able to recognize and understand emotional cues in others have shown to predict positive and
negative social behavior and academic competence (Izard et al., 2001).
Social emotional competence and mental health. Early childhood is a critical time for
not only pre-academic skills and socializing, but also preventing mental illnesses such as
depression, anxiety, withdrawal, and somatic problems, known as internalizing behaviors.
Depression is characterized as depressed mood or excessive sadness including loss of interest in
activities, too much or too little sleep, lack of energy, feelings of worthlessness, and difficulty
concentrating. The prevalence of depression in children is about 4 to 6 percent with more
occurrences in females. Anxiety is characterized by negative and unrealistic thoughts,
misinterpretation of symptoms, panic attacks, obsession and/ or compulsive behavior, fears
regarding events, and excessive worry. The prevalence of students with diagnosed anxiety is
about 3 to 4 percent. Social withdrawal can be characterized as unrealistic self-appraisal of social
performance, lack of interest in social situations, and can include excessive fear. Social
withdrawal is often not thought of as a distinct disorder, but many students suffer from these
characteristics. Somatic problems can be characterized by oversensitivity to physiological cues
and common complaints from children are stomachaches, nausea, headaches, and pain. Students
with mental illness may struggle in school academically and socially. Somatic problems are also
not thought of as a distinct disorder, but these systems can be very common in children (Merrell,
2008).
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Students with mental illnesses lack the appropriate skills to cope and manage their
emotions (Merrell, 2009). Social emotional competence instruction is an important method to
decrease internalizing behaviors in students. Social emotional skills can be used as prevention or
an intervention model. Students who are taught these skills have shown significant positive
effects on social emotional competencies and attitudes about self, others, and school. In order to
prevent mental health problems children can learn strategies beginning in early childhood to help
children develop strong emotional competence. Students experienced improved behavioral
adjustment with increased pro-social behaviors and reduced conduct and internalizing behaviors.
Research was consistent regarding success rates for students of all ages and demographic
locations (Durlak, Weissberg, & Pachan, 2010; Merrell, 2008). Students with social emotional
competence do not just display fewer internalizing behaviors, but can also be less violent.
Social emotional competence and violence. Students who exhibit violence and
aggression lack methods to cope and manage their own emotions. Aggression found in children
can take two distinct forms, overt aggression and relational aggression (Crick, Casas, & Mosher,
1997). Overtly aggressive behaviors are behaviors such as hitting, pushing, and punching and
tend to be behaviors exhibited predominantly by boys. Relationally aggressive behaviors are
forms of aggression that damage a peer relationship by using social exclusion or rumors to
destroy relationships. This type of behavior tends to be exhibited in girls and can be observed as
early as 3 to 5 years of age. Results from the students illustrated the gender differences between
relationally and overly aggressive behaviors and found that this behavior is related to social and
psychological maladjustment and related to peer-rejection.
Students who are social emotionally competent are better able to cope with strong
emotions and express their emotion in an appropriate manner. Furthermore, students who are
25
able to label and recognize their own emotions and the emotions of others tend to be less
aggressive, better liked by peers, and have strong social skills. Students with social emotional
competence are better able to get along with others. They have good communications skills.
They are able to cooperate with others and find ways to effectively solve problems. Because
students have appropriate methods for coping with emotions they are less violent (Beland, 2000;
Arsenio, Cooperman, & Lover 2000).
Social Emotional Curriculums
Social emotional curriculums provide teachers, professionals, and counselors evidence
based curriculums to teach and support every student’s social emotional competence. A meta-
analysis of multiple programs on the market provides professionals with the tools to select the
most beneficial program for his or her population (Durlak et al., 2010). The following
curriculums were chosen from the meta-analysis for their emphasis assisting students with
different needs and their focus on early childhood education. The Strong Start curriculum was
developed to help students with mental health concerns (Merrell, 2009). The Second Step
program was developed to prevent violence in the schools (Beland, 2000; Beland, 2011).
MindUP curriculum provides stress reduction and increased happiness through lessons and
mindfulness practices (Hawn Foundation, 2011).
A meta-analysis of multiple social emotional curriculums found SEL programs compared
to the control group found enhanced self-perception and bonding to school, positive social
behaviors, better grades, and reduction in problem behaviors. Academic success was
significantly improved on achievement tests and student’s grades had an 11 percent gain in
academic performance. SEL programs reported significant positive effects on social emotional
competencies and attitudes about self, others, and school. Students experienced improved
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behavioral adjustment with increased pro-social behaviors and reduced conduct and internalizing
problems. Research was consistent regarding success rates for students of all ages and
demographic locations (Durlak et al., 2010). Results from the implementation of a social skills
curriculum in Early Childhood have found an increase in prosocial behaviors and a decrease in
disruptive behaviors. Learning social emotional skills in early childhood allows students to
practice and learn strategies to effectively promote social emotional competence throughout their
lifetime (Shultz et al, 2011).
Strong Kids Curriculum. The Strong Kids curriculum’s main focus is to provide
effective social emotional learning skills and mental health support to students from pre-school
to 12th grade (Merrell, 2009). The program is split into four age groups with age appropriate
lessons for every age group. For this review, the primary focus will be the Strong Start program
for student’s ages 3 to 8. The program targets students with emotional and mental health
problems such as depression, anxiety, withdrawal, and somatic problems. The program can be
implemented in the school setting, in the general education classroom, special education
classroom, or a group counseling setting as whole group lessons or a small group for students
with severe mental health problems. The program can also be used in related educational
settings or youth treatment facilities. There is minimal training required to apply the program.
The lessons provided in the curriculum book are about 25 to 30 minutes in length over the course
of 10 weeks. The book contains all the resources a teacher or a professional may need. The use
of this program supports academic skills in the areas of literacy, language development, and
listening skills. Other improvements for students are an increase in memory skills, resiliency,
and self-expression (Merrell, 2009).
Strong start components. Strong Start can be adapted for a Response to Intervention
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approach to prevent behavior and emotional problems through three tiers. Primary prevention is
for students who are not experiencing learning and social or behavior difficulties, but may
benefit from social emotional instruction. The secondary prevention model is for students who
are at risk for developing learning and social behavior difficulties. Tertiary prevention is for
students who are experiencing significant learning and social-behavior difficulties. The program
supports cultural adaptations for students from diverse backgrounds to better support every
student. Strategies include getting to know your students by asking about their cultural identit ies,
activities, and rituals. In order for the students to better understand the lesson’s message, the
method of delivery is crucial. Modifying the language or using examples from the students’ lives
helps to increase students’ understanding. Teachers encourage tolerance by teaching students
how to show respect to other cultural groups and encouraging respect during peer interactions
(Merrell, 2009).
Strong start lessons. The Strong Start pre-school curriculum consists of 10 lessons. The
first lesson is the Feelings Exercise Group; in this lesson students are introduced to the program
and learn the programs goals and objectives. Henry is a puppet and the program’s mascot. He is
used to introduce each concept. Students learn the importance of the curriculum in order to
understand the importance of being a good listener, having a calm body, friendship, and the
importance of confidentiality amongst friends. The Understanding Your Feelings lessons (lesson
2 and 3) teach students to improve their emotional vocabulary, awareness, and resiliency
(Merrell, 2009).
When You Are Angry is lesson 4, in this lesson students learn that all people experience
anger, but some people have difficulty coping and understanding anger. Trouble understanding
and coping with the feeling of anger can lead to inappropriate behavior such as fights, sadness,
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and frustration. In this lesson students develop and practice effective ways to cope with anger
(Merrell, 2009). The fifth lesson is called When You Are Happy; in this lessons students learn to
understand and express happiness. Students learn to identify the physical body sensations of
happiness. Students further learn about “Happy Talk” a method to help them cope with
unfavorable situations in a positive way as to not lead to negative feelings like anger or sadness.
The 6th lesson, when you are worried teaches students to manage stress, anxiety, and
common worries as an effective way to promote emotional resilience to prevent physical and
emotional problems. Understanding Other People’s Feelings teaches students to better
understand the feelings of others. This skill is an introduction to empathy, but may be difficult
because not all students have the ability of perspective taking which is crucial to understand
empathy. Being A Good Friend is an introduction to social skills and interpersonal training. The
skills taught in this lesson are using a nice voice, being a good listener, and making appropriate
eye contact and body language. These skills assist students to make friends and be better friends
with fellow students.
The lesson Solving People Problems helps students learn and use strategies to effectively
resolve conflicts with peers. The final lesson, Finishing Up addresses the accomplishments
made throughout the curriculum. Students review the content used in previous lessons and Henry
the mascot is used as a reminder of what was learned during the past weeks. The curriculum
provides additional lessons called booster lessons to be used later in the school year to re-address
previous lessons learned and make sure students remember the important lessons (Merrell,
2009).
Empirical research. Kramer et al. (2009) conducted a study to evaluate the effects of the
Strong Start curriculum. In the study there were 67 preschool students. Results from the study
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found that students had gains in students’ prosocial behaviors and a decrease in internalizing
behaviors. The Gunter, Caldarella, Korth, & Young (2012) study found a significant decrease in
internalizing behavior and improvement in student and teacher relationships for children in pre-
school. Whitecomb and Merrell (2011) results found significant increases in the student’s
knowledge of emotions and significant decreases in student internalizing behaviors when
implementing the program to the kindergarteners. Research has been conducted on different age
groups in the Strong Start curriculum and shows promising results that the program increases
prosocial behaviors throughout the age groups (Caldarella, Christensen, Kramer, & Kronmiller,
2009).
Program strengths and weaknesses. The Strong Start curriculum provides students in
early childhood with tools and strategies for the prevention and intervention for students with
depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, and somatic problems. The program is inexpensive,
comprehensive, and easy to use. Each program is separated into different age groups and cost
roughly 30 dollars each. The curriculum comes with a resource compact disc to assist with
instruction. Henry the Mascot is not included with the curriculum book, but can be bought
separately. Each curriculum book describes how the book can be used for RtI, either as a Tier 1
instruction model or more intensive intervention in Tier 2 and Tier 3. The lessons are well laid
out and the Strong Kids website provides professionals with research illustrating the
effectiveness of the program. Besides lessons to teach SEL skills the curriculum includes
literature corresponding to each lesson and scripted parent letters to send home for families to
practice each lesson at home. Although the program and research does not state a reduction in
school violence, because of the nature of learning SEL skills, violence reduction may be an
outcome (Merrell, 2009). The CASEL guide for effective social and emotional programs has not
30
examined the Strong Kids program for its design and effectiveness.
Second Step Curriculum. The Second Step curriculum is a violence prevention program.
The Second Step program was created to decrease aggressive behavior and increase social
competence in students. The curriculum utilizes age appropriate pictures to teach children about
empathy, emotion management, social problem solving, and friendship. There are helpful
puppets that teach important lessons, such as Be Kind Bunny and Impulsive Puppy. There are
four levels for different age groups from pre-school to junior high school students. Although
there are many components or levels to the Second Step program the focus will be upon the pre-
school program. The classroom teacher teaches the lessons and the manual provides helpful
strategies for incorporating and scheduling the lessons during the school day. The program
includes letters to send home to parents to assist with teaching social emotional skills at home
(Beland, 2000).
Second Step components. The new revised fourth edition of the Second Step program
published in 2011 has five units taught over the course of 28 weeks. The units consist of skills
for learning, empathy, emotion management, friendship and problem solving, and transitioning
to kindergarten. The Second Step program focuses mainly on identifying feelings of the self and
others through photo cards, practicing how to identify different nonverbal or verbal cues with
common emotions. Students further learn how to identify different feelings experienced through
various situations and through bodily sensations such as muscle tension and breathing (Beland,
2000).
The first unit covers multiple different themes about how to effectively listen, focus, and
follow directions. Students learn to appropriately greet people by saying their name, and
demonstrate how to welcome someone in the classroom. Students learn good listening skills in
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order to improve learning in the large group setting.
The unit on empathy covers multiple topics including identifying different feelings,
accidents, and caring and sharing. During this unit, students explore how to identify feelings
from facial cues and situational cues surrounding different feelings. The next weekly theme is
identifying anger where students learn that everyone feels angry sometimes and they learn that it
is okay for people to feel different about the same thing. Students learn about what an accident is
and how important it is to tell another person that what just happened was an accident and not on
purpose. During the caring and helping week, students learn in order to feel empathy for
someone; you are showing that you care. To show someone you care you say or do something
kind and helpful (Beland, 2011).
Emotion management, which can also be known as emotion regulation, is the ability to
manage one’s emotions such as anger in an appropriate manner. Emotion management pertains
to both positive emotions and negative emotions. For example, when experiencing the emotion
of happiness running around the room is inappropriate, as well as hitting other children when
angry. Students need to understand how to manage their own emotions in an appropriate
manner. Strong emotion management skills are related to a decrease in aggressive behavior and
an increase in social competence (Beland, 2000). Emotion management is effectively taught by
teaching students to think calm thoughts, take deep breaths, do calming exercises, and stay away
from stressful situations. These skills are taught when students can think rationally, not when the
students are experiencing a strong emotion. The weekly lessons target, Feelings Are Felt in our
Bodies, Some Feelings are Strong, The Importance of Naming Feelings, and Managing
Disappointment, Anger, and How to Wait (Beland, 2000; Beland, 2011).
The fourth unit focuses on problem solving and friendship skills, the ability to solve
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problems in a logical manner instead of inappropriately or aggressively acting out. Students are
expected to use multiple processes in order to best interact with their peers; students must use his
or her thought processes, emotion processes and behavior skills. Students need to correctly read a
social situation by being friendly with other students. Students who use aggression to solve
problems are using social cues differently than other children. They perceive more threats from
their environment and believe that others are behaving in a hostile manner. When social
competent students are asked to solve problems, they do so using prosocial solutions. Weekly
themes include fair ways to play together, appropriate ways to have fun with friends, inviting
someone to play, and joining in with play. When a problem arises it is important to use the three
step problem solving method. The three step model; to calm down and use your words to say the
problem, brainstorm possible solutions, and lastly to speak assertively when someone treats you
in an unsafe or mean way (Beland, 2000; Beland, 2011).
Empirical literature. Research on the effectiveness of the Second Step program has
found that students who have received instruction required less adult intervention and displayed
fewer aggressive behaviors. Additional findings from this study, found that girls behaved more
cooperatively with peers (Frey et al. 2005). Taub (2001) evaluated the Second Step program in a
rural elementary school in New England. Taub found through teachers reports students
improved in the area of social competence. Teachers reported an increase in prosocial behaviors
in the area of appropriately engaging with other students. Evidence compiled from CASEL’s
guide on the effectiveness of the program was conducted on ages pre-school to grade 8 with a
diverse population and found the program increased positive social behavior, reduced conduct
problems, and reduced emotional distress (CASEL, 2013).
Program strengths and weaknesses. The Second Step program is evidence based and
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designed to prevent and reduce violence. The program for preschoolers has interesting
components such as puppets, pictures, and music to go along with each lesson. The program has
explicit instructions and has academic integration strategies for teachers to incorporate the
material in the general education curriculum, but the program does not include teacher
instructional practices. Second Step extensively promotes and reinforces SEL in the classroom,
adequately promotes SEL school-wide and in the family setting. The program minimally
promotes SEL in the community, meaning there are few components to support SEL in the
community setting. The assessment tools included in the program for monitoring program
administration and student behavior is conducted through self-report and through observation
and there are also ways to measure student behavior (CASEL, 2012).
MindUP Curriculum. According to the Hawn foundation (2011), the MindUP curriculum
is an evidence based curriculum created from the research from CASEL. There are 15 lessons
promoting social and emotional awareness, enhancing psychological wellbeing, and promoting
academic success by teaching mindful attention. Mindful attention can be defined as conscious
awareness in the moment through focusing on attention and controlling the breath. The program
is designed for students from Pre-school to grade 8. The primary focus will address the
curriculum for students in grades pre-school to grade 2. The MindUP curriculum seeks to help
students by improving a students self-awareness, focus attention, self-regulation, and reduce
stress. Through the core practices of mindful breathing and attentive listening, people can learn
to reduce stress and increase the capacity to learn. Research base from CASEL include Self-
awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship, and responsible decision-making.
The core practice of MindUP can be taught throughout the school day, during transitions, before
and after lunch, and at the closing of the school day. The curriculum was created based on
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neuroscientific research in regards to a stressed, neglected or abused brain and how it impacts a
child’s brain development interfering with emotional development.
MindUP curriculum components. The MindUP curriculum is separated into 15 lessons
which are grouped into four units. Unit 1 is called Getting Focused. During the first three
lessons students learn about the basics of mindful attention. The first lesson teaches students
about their brain and how it works through a brain diagram. The next lesson has students
describe the difference between mindful and unmindful and apply mindfulness awareness to their
own lives. In the third lesson, students learn the importance of focusing the mind daily through
listening and breathing to calm and focus their own minds (Hawn Foundation, 2011).
Sharpening your Senses is the second unit, this unit teaches students mindful listening,
mindful seeing, mindful smelling, and mindful tasting. Mindful listening helps students attend to
the sounds around them and to become more thoughtful about sounds through attending to
different sounds to help students improve their communication skills. Mindful seeing helps
students to better observe themselves, others, and the environment. Students learn to focus their
attention by focusing on an object and describing what they see. Mindful smelling helps students
to be more aware of their surroundings and improve memory through attending to different
smells, which can trigger different thoughts and feelings. Mindful tasting requires students to
slow down when eating to may attention to the different flavors, textures, and temperature of
different foods. Students improve mindful tasting by focusing on each bite and describing the
experience has a way to help them eat healthier. Mindful movement increases a persons mindful
awareness by becoming more attentive to our body’s sensations through active and relaxing
activities. Further lessons on movement seek to make movement more challenging to assist the
brain to better focus its attention (Hawn Foundation, 2011).
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The third unit is called It’s All About Attitude and students learn to take different
perspectives, be optimistic, and learn to appreciate happy experiences. During the perspective-
taking lesson, students learn to understand different points of view through the characters in
stories. Later students apply what was taught into their own social experiences in the classroom.
The Choosing Optimism lesson teaches students to define optimism and pessimism in order to
better understand a situation. Students practice strategies to use optimism in their own lives.
Lastly, the Lesson Appreciating Happy Experiences has students describe and imagine their
thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations during happy situations. This lesson uses happy
experiences to improve their level of optimism (Hawn Foundation, 2011).
Taking Action Mindfully is the fourth unit. This unit has students express gratitude,
perform acts of kindness, and take mindful actions into the world. The lesson Expressing
Gratitude teaches the meaning of gratitude and the importance of conveying gratitude to others.
Students label aspects of their life that are gratifying. Performing Acts of Kindness has students
perform acts of kindness on three occasions to learn the benefits of performing and receiving acts
of Kindness. The last lesson, Mindful Action in the World assists students in performing an act
of kindness in their school or community. Students reflect their feelings about performing these
acts of kindness and how they can each make a positive difference.
Empirical literature. The MindUP curriculum is based on empirical research from the
CASEL foundation and on brain research. Research has been conducted on older students
finding that student’s achievement scores have improved in math. Students reported being more
helpful, had a more positive outlook, and teachers believed the classroom culture had improved.
The program increased positive social behavior, reduced conduct problems, and reduced
emotional distress (Schonert-Reich, 2010; CASEL, 2013).
36
Program strengths and weaknesses. The MindUP curriculum is an evidenced-based
program that teaches social and emotional competence to students in early childhood. The
program was developed from research from CASEL (2013) on social emotional learning, teaches
mindfulness awareness techniques, and reflects brain research. The program has explicit
instruction and has academic integration strategies for teachers to incorporate the material in the
general education program, but the program does not include teacher instructional practices.
MindUP extensively promotes and reinforces SEL in the classroom, but minimally promotes
SEL school wide, family, and community. The assessment tools included in the program are to
monitor implementation and student behavior has a self-report aspect, but does not include an
observation component. The MindUP curriculum is a new program and there is limited research
on how effective the program can be for students to reduce stress, increase happiness, and
improve student’s mindfulness (CASEL, 2012). A weakness of the program is there is little
empirical research that supports the effectiveness of the program for multiple age groups.
Summary The development of social and emotional competence requires the cognitive development
of emotions, which typically develops from birth to age 3, when children are able to express all
adult emotions. After acquiring all human emotions, children learn to understand and regulate
their own emotions. The more a child is able to regulate and manage their multiple emotions the
greater the level of emotional and social competence. There are multiple curriculums that teach
the skills to acquire social and emotional competence. These curriculums address different key
issues that students will face when they are in school. The Strong Kids curriculum provides
instruction for students with mental health needs as either a prevention program or an
intervention program. The MindUP curriculum teaches social emotional competence by
37
introducing mindfulness to reduce stress and increase happiness. The Second Step program
teaches the skills of emotion management, empathy, and problem solving as a method to
decrease violence in schools (Saarni et al., 2008; Beland, 2002; Merrell, 2009 & Hawn
Foundation, 2011).
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Chapter III: Summary, Critical Analysis, and Recommendation
The following chapter will begin with a summary of the literature, including information
regarding the definition of social emotional competence, the importance of implementing social
emotional curriculums to improve academic achievement, decrease mental illness needs, and
decrease violence in the schools. The chapter will also address information from the literature on
supporting and promoting social emotional curriculums in early childhood. Finally, this chapter
will propose recommendations for future research, recommendations for future policy, and best
practices to support educators to implement evidenced-based social emotional curriculums in
their early childhood classrooms.
Summary of the Literature
Students in school face many challenges such as school violence, school bullying, school
dropout, and mental illness. School violence can encompass school shootings, chronic bullying,
name-calling, sexual harassment or social exclusions. Mental health issues also significantly
impact today’s students for example many students suffer from depression, anxiety, and ADHD.
Schools are required to provide support and strategies to decrease these issues. Educators need to
be well educated on the issues and be provided with methods to support their students.
Addressing these issues early in the educational process is vital for prevention and intervention.
Social emotional competence is a key component in combating the many challenges a
student may undergo when in school. Social emotional competence includes the ability to
understand one’s own emotions and the emotions of others. Other components of social
emotional competence include perceptive taking, controlling one’s own emotion in order to
complete tasks, and the ability to create and maintain positive relationships. Social emotional
competence requires the knowledge of emotions, which develops from birth to age three. After
39
the age of three, children learn to regulate and manage their own emotions (Saarni et al., 2008;
LaFreneire, & Dumas, 1996; CASEL, 2013).
Social emotional competence can be taught in early childhood through many different
curriculums. The Second Step curriculum teaches the skills of empathy, emotion management,
and problem solving, friendship skills, and good learning strategies in order to prevent violence
in the schools. The MindUP curriculum teaches mindfulness and informs students about the
brain as a way to improve a student’s neuron pathways to enhance psychological well-being, and
promote academic success. The Strong Start curriculum teaches social and emotional skills to
assist students with emotional and mental health problems such as depression, anxiety,
withdrawal, and somatic problems. All of these programs support students to be successful in
school.
The research on Strong Start curriculum, found pre-school students had gains in prosocial
behaviors and a decrease in internalizing behaviors (Kramer et al., 2009). Empirical evidence
supporting the Second Step curriculum, found students who have received instruction required
less adult intervention, displayed fewer aggressive behaviors, and girls behaved more
cooperatively with peers (Frey, Nolen, Van Schoiack Edstrom, & Hirschstein, 2005). The
research on the MindUP curriculum, found older students reported being more helpful, had a
more positive outlook, and teachers believed the classroom culture had improved. The program
increased positive social behavior, reduced conduct problems, and reduced emotional distress
(Schonert-Reich, 2010, CASEL, 2013).
Critical Analysis
There is significant research on the effectiveness of teaching social emotional
competence to students, in regards to a student’s success in school. Students can learn important
40
skills to improve empathy, social awareness, and self-awareness in order to increase more
prosocial behaviors and decrease violence, mental illness, and improve academic achievement
(Zins et al., 2004). As a lack of social emotional competence could contribute to mental illness,
such as anxiety, depression, withdrawal, and somatic problems, it is important to improve
student’s social emotional competence (Merrell, 2008). Although social emotional curriculums
are not major subjects such as reading, writing, and math, these programs are crucial for
improving a student’s performance. Research supports the relation between social emotional
competence and academic success (citation). Social emotional curriculums can enhance student
success through teaching these critical social-emotional skills.
There is sufficient evidence supporting the implementation of social emotional
curriculums, but not all schools implement the programs school wide. It is important to
understand why these programs are not integrated in all schools nationwide. School
psychologists and school counselors need to be familiar with the components of social emotional
competence and how to select evidenced-based curriculums in their schools. The reason teachers
are not utilizing these programs could be due to lack of knowledge about curriculums as well as
the lack of knowledge regarding the link be social emotional skills and outcomes like academic
success and mental health. In addition to teaching about the curriculums, teachers also need to be
taught the link between these constructs. In order for teachers to better utilize social emotional
curriculums, workshops need to occur to better facilitate the usage of said programs.
Strengths of research. There are many strengths in the current research including
multiple curriculums in social emotional competence, constructive interventions, and research on
how important social emotional competence is to children in early childhood. Studies have found
that curriculums can improve prosocial behaviors and decrease problem behaviors in students.
41
Studies have also shown that programs have success rates for students of all ages and
demographic locations illustrating that the programs can be used for all social and ethnic groups
(Durlak et al., 2010). Many developmental researchers have studied the factors of social and
emotional competence which has influenced the creation of evidenced-based social emotional
curriculums (Saarni et al., 2008; Vahedi et al., 2012; LaFreneire & Dumas, 1996; Pollak et al,
2000). Current research also illustrates the importance of implementing programs to decrease
internalizing behaviors such as depression and decreasing violence (Merrell, 2008, Beland,
2000). Even though there are strengths in the current research there are also areas for
improvement.
Weaknesses in research. There are many weaknesses in the current research such as
implementation of programs, lack of time, clear link between social emotional competence and
academic achievement, and treatment outcome research. The research lacks the effectiveness of
implementing programs in a pre-school setting. Most of the current research addresses older
children and there is limited research for students in early childhood. The research does not show
a clear relationship between social emotional curriculums and academic achievement. This
research would prove beneficial in a nationwide implementation of social emotional curriculums
in all schools. There is also a lack of research in treatment outcome data showing that
implementing social emotional programs have a long lasting effect on improving a students
social emotional competence into adulthood by decreasing student drop-out rates, decreasing
school violence, and decreasing mental health illnesses.
School Psychologist’s Role
School psychologists are knowledgeable about the risk factors a student faces when in
school and in order to assist a student’s educational performance a school psychologist addresses
42
the importance of utilizing different social emotional curriculums. School psychologists need to
lead and promote professional development sessions on the importance of social emotional
curriculums. School psychologists need to have vast knowledge on the multiple social emotional
curriculums in order to provide this support to teachers and other professionals. School
psychologists are knowledgeable about how to conduct pre and post intervention data to ensure
that the programs the teachers are using are effective. School psychologists are also
knowledgeable about social emotional development.
According to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) (2013) the school
system provides support for students with mental illnesses by educating teachers on when to seek
help from school psychologists and school counselors, who will then obtain help from mental
health professionals. The school can develop procedures to address potential problems. Basic
procedures include first working with teachers to create a basic classroom intervention, meet
regularly with teachers to discuss students with difficulties, and inform and include parents in
meetings to evaluate potential strategies and additional recourses (Whelley, P., Cash, G., &
Bryson, D. 2003).
NASP supports the reduction of school violence by increasing safety procedures and
social emotional interventions. School psychologists take a leadership role in reducing school
violence by providing support and resources. The school psychologist helps to select an
evidenced-based social emotional curriculum with the necessary components to ensure that
schools are safe. The curriculum should include ideas for creating school community safety
partnerships to ensure victims receive support to feel safe and engaged in school. Some
curriculums only discuss violent behavior and leave out tolerance instruction, so it is important
to select a curriculum that integrates ethnicity components to improve the school climate. When
43
curriculums enhance the classroom and school climate it will promote positive school discipline
procedures to improve relationships between students and staff. School psychologists need to
remember that students who exhibit warning signs of violence need to receive the appropriate
social emotional support. By making sure that these components are included in the school’s
social emotional curriculum will help to decrease violence in the school system and promote
prosocial behaviors.
Recommendations For Future Research
Future research to decrease risk factors. Future research should address the
relationship between social emotional curriculums and student dropout rates to determine if by
implementing evidenced-based social emotional curriculums in early childhood could improve
high school graduation rates. Other research could address the relationship between
implementing social emotional programs during early childhood in order to reduce drug use for
older students. Additional research could also illustrate a link between teaching social emotional
competence to decrease crime rates, gun violence, and incarceration for all ethnic groups and
adults of different socioeconomic statuses.
Future research for school implementation. Future research should address a lack of
social emotional curriculum implementation in schools nation-wide to better understand why
professionals and schools are reluctant to implement these evidenced-based programs.
Furthermore, research could also highlight potential gaps such as no instruction in social
emotional development and assessment for students in undergraduate and graduate level courses.
Other research could provide insight into a lack of professional development and training for
social emotional competence, and lack of time and funding for educators to learn about these
programs.
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Recommendations for Training and Practices
Training for all educators. NASP understands that teachers need proper instruction in
the effectiveness and promotion of social emotional learning for their students. Professionals
need to understand the link between social emotional competence and reduction in school risk
factors such as mental illness and violence. Teachers need to make sure that they make time in
their schedule to incorporate these curriculums every year. School psychologists and school
counselors support teachers to incorporate these effective programs in their classroom.
Training for school psychologists. In order for students to be successful and have fewer
risk factors, school psychologists need to be well trained at the graduate level and through
professional development. During graduate training, future school psychologists can learn about
the current research supporting social emotional competence by implementing evidenced-based
curriculums and how they can advocate for these programs for when they enter the field.
Current school psychologists can also learn about the current research and find ways to
implement the curriculums school-wide and district wide. In order for these curriculums to be
implemented, school psychologists need to advocate for social emotional curriculums to
educators and other professionals.
Recommendations for practice and policy. Social emotional curriculums need to be put
into practice in every school. All social emotional curriculums need to be implemented with
high fidelity, otherwise the curriculums will be ineffective and be unable to promote student
success in schools. In order for educators to implement these curriculums with high fidelity, they
need adequate training. For the school to provide the necessary training and support, there needs
to be adequate funds. At the state and federal level there needs to be legislation that emphasizes
the importance for implementing social emotional curriculums. Through legislation, funds can
45
become available for schools to use to implement social emotional curriculums in every grade,
but especially in early childhood programs. The current legislation is altering the previous bill
No Child Left Behind and currently Congress is altering the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESCA), which will support professional development in schools. This act needs
to be debated and put to a vote. The new act does not allocate new funds to schools to purchase
curriculums, but will re-allocate funding form other sources (Second Step, 2013). Funding needs
to be provided to schools to create more positions for school counselors, who are critical in
implementing social emotional curriculums in schools, which will provide the school with
necessary professionals to support social emotional competence. Additional funding will be able
to support training for school counselors. School counselors, administers, school psychologists,
and other school personnel need to advocate for social emotional curriculums and the research
supporting these curriculums.
46
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