ERIC ED573440: Efficacy Trial of the Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) Curriculum: Preliminary Outcomes

2017·0.3 MB·English

by  ERIC

JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25
ContentslistsavailableatScienceDirect
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Efficacy trial of the Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) curriculum:
Preliminary outcomes
CaroleC.Upshura,b,⁎,MiriamHeymana,MelodieWenz-Grossa,c
aDepartmentofFamilyMedicineandCommunityHealth,UniversityofMassachusettsMedicalSchool,55LakeAvenueNorth,Worcester,MA01655,USA
bDepartmentofQuantitativeHealthSciences,UniversityofMassachusettsMedicalSchool,55LakeAvenueNorth,Worcester,MA01655,USA
cDepartmentofPsychiatry,UniversityofMassachusettsMedicalSchool,55LakeAvenueNorth,Worcester,MA01655,USA
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Articlehistory: Aclassroomrandomizedtrial(n=31classrooms)wasconductedusingtheSecondStepEarlyLearning(SSEL)
Received13September2016 curriculumcomparedtousualcurricula.HeadStartandcommunitypreschoolclassroomsenrollinglowincome
Receivedinrevisedform22February2017 childrenwererandomlyassignedtodeliverSSEL(n=16)orusualcurricula(n=15).Dataarereportedforfour
Accepted16March2017
yearoldsindependentlyassessedforexecutivefunctioning(EF)andsocial-emotionalskills(SE)infallandspring
Availableonlinexxxx
ofthepreschoolyear.AnalysesusedthreelevelHierarchicalLinearModeling,includingtwoEFtasksortwoSE
tasksaslevel1,childaslevel2,andclassroomaslevel3.ControllingforbaselineEF,SE,cognitiveability,parent
Keywords:
income,childsex,age,andethnicity,childrenreceivingtheSSELcurriculumhadsignificantlybetterendofpre-
Earlychildhood
Preschool schoolEFskillsandmarginallysignificantlybetterendofpreschoolSEskills.Thecurriculumisthuspromisingin
HeadStart itspotentialtoimproveat-riskpreschoolchildren'sEFandSE.
Executivefunctioning ©2017ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.
Social-emotionalskills
1.Introduction affirmedbytheemphasiskindergartenteachersplaceontheimpor-
tanceofsocialandbehavioralskillsforchildrenenteringformalschool-
Numerousrecentstudieshavedescribedtheimportanceofearly ingmoresothanspecificmathorprereadingskills(Rimm-Kaufman,
childhoodsocialandemotionalskills(SE)andexecutivefunctioning Pianta,&Cox,2000).
(EF)tolongitudinaloutcomesofchilddevelopment,includingsocialad-
justmentandacademicperformanceinkindergartenandelementary 1.1.Definitionandrelationofsocial-emotional(SE)andexecutivefunction-
school,andevenlongertermschoolattainmentandadultfunctioning ing(EF)skills
(Reynolds & Temple, 2008). Recently grouped together under the
termself-regulation,theseskillsinvolveaspectsofsocialbehaviorand Social-emotionalskillsaretypicallydefinedbyunderstandingand
neurocognitiveregulationthatincludeattention,regulatingemotion/ identifyingemotions,perspectivetakingandabilitytoshowempathy,
arousal,processinginformation,andtheabilitytoengagepositively readingandappropriatelyinterpretingsocialcues,appropriatelyregu-
with peers and teachers (Bierman, Nix, Greenberg, Blair, & lating emotional arousal, and social problem solving (Arsenio,
Domitrovich,2008b;Blair,2002).Theseskillsalsoseemtofacilitateac- Cooperman, & Lover, 2000; Carlo, Knight, Eisenberg, & Rotenberg,
ademicoutcomesregardlessofunderlyinggeneralintelligence(Blair& 1991;Crick&Dodge,1994;Izardetal.,2001;Katsurada&Sugawara,
Diamond,2008).Further,currentthinkingisthatmovingbeyonda 1998).Executivefunctioningskillsinyoungchildrenaretypicallyde-
focusonspecificacademicskills(e.g.counting,letterrecognition)to finedbyunderlyingbehavioralregulationandcognitiveattributesthat
promoteschoolreadinessbyinsteadtakingadevelopmental/psychobi- includeattentionandattentionshifting,workingmemory,andinhibito-
ologicalapproachencompassingmorefundamentalregulatoryprocess- ry control (Blair, 2002; Bierman et al., 2008b; Diamond, Barnett,
eswillbetterpromotechildren'scapacitytolearn,especiallyintheface Thomas,&Munro,2007;McClellandetal.,2007;Morrison,Ponitz,&
ofadversesociodemographicstresses(Blair&Raver,2015).Thisis McClelland,2010;Tominey&McClelland,2011).However,thereis
strongevidencethatEFandSEskillsareinterrelatedanddevelopina
transactionalmanneroverinfancyandearlychildhood,influencedby
⁎ Correspondingauthorat:DepartmentofFamilyMedicineandCommunityHealth, interactionswiththechild'senvironment.Blair(2002)providesanex-
UniversityofMassachusettsMedicalSchool,55LakeAvenueNorth,Worcester,MA tensivesummaryoftheneurologicalandphysiologicalunderpinnings
01655,USA.
oftherelation ofemotiontocognition,pointingoutthatthereare
E-mailaddresses:[email protected](C.C.Upshur),
linksbetweenearlyinfantphysiologicalreactivityandlaterdevelop-
[email protected](M.Heyman),[email protected]
(M.Wenz-Gross). mentofexecutivefunctioningandhigher-orderself-regulationthat
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2017.03.004
0193-3973/©2017ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.
16 C.C.Upshuretal./JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25
arebasedinfunctionallinksinthebrainbetweenthelimbicsystemand studiesreportingeitherhighercross-sectionalscores,orgrowthinEF
theprefrontalcortex.Thisbrainconnectivityhasbeenconfirmedby skillsduringpreschool,includingmeasuresofworkingmemory,atten-
EEGstudiesininfants(Fox,Calkins,&Bell,1994)anditispostulated tionandinhibition,associatedwithchildren'smath,literacy,andvocab-
thatexcessarousalduetoeitherstressorsinearlychildhood,orunder- ularygains(McClellandetal.,2007;Montroy,Bowles,Skibbe,&Foster,
lyingbiologicalover-reactivity,canoverwhelmtheregulatorycapacity 2014;Biermanetal.,2008a).Welsh,Nix,Blair,Bierman,andNelson
oftheprefrontalcortexandimpedethedevelopmentofworkingmem- (2010)examinedgrowthinaspectsofEF(workingmemoryandatten-
ory,attention,andinhibitorycontrol.Thisisoneexplanationforwhy tioncontrol)inHeadStartchildrenandfoundthesetobeassociated
youngchildrenexperiencingearlytraumaandstress(suchasdueto withkindergartenmathandreadinglevels.Baptista,Osorio,Martins,
poverty)mayhavelesswelldevelopedEFskills. Verissimo,andMartins(2016)foundsimilarlythatendofpreschooldi-
ThereisalsoevidencethatEFskillsdeveloprapidlyovertheearly rectlyassessedexecutivefunctioningskillswereassociatedwithaca-
childhood period and become increasingly complex with age. demicskills,althoughtherelationshipwasfullymediatedbyteacher-
DiamondandTaylor(1996)assessedyoungchildrenbetweenages3.5 ratedsocialcompetenceandbehavioraladjustment.
and 7 in two different working memory and inhibition tasks and FocusingspecificallyonattentionskillsasonedimensionofEF,some
foundthatyoungerchildrenhadmoredifficultyperformingthetasks longitudinalstudiesdocumentoutcomeswellintoschoolageandearly
becauseofinabilitytoholdtwothingsinmindatonce,orevenifthey adultyears.Forexample,Duncanetal.(2007)foundthatattentionskills
rememberedtheinstructions,werenotabletopreventaprepotentre- atagesfiveandsixpredictedreadingandmathachievementthrough
sponsethatwaswrong.Blair(2002)pointsoutthattheskilltoinhibit earlyadolescence.Anotherstudyfoundthatparent-ratedattention
prepotentresponsesistheprimaryneurocognitivetraitthatisrequired spanpersistenceatagefourwassignificantlyassociatedwithyoung
forchildrentofollowsocialnormssuchaswaitingtheirturn.Denham, adult reading and math skills, and college graduation by age 25
Bassett,Zinsser,andWyatt(2014),inastudyof3-and4-yearoldsalso (McClelland,Acock,Piccinin,Rhea,&Stallings,2013).
foundEFskillssuchasinhibitorycontrol,alongwithemotionknowl- InunderstandingwhyEFskillsmaybeassociatedwithschoolread-
edge,weretheprimarycontributorstoprosocialbehaviorandsocial inessandacademicachievement,workbyNesbitt,Farran,andFuhs
problemsolvingskillsinearlychildhood(othercomponentsofSE).Fur- (2015)exploredthemechanismsofthisrelationship.Theyfoundthat
ther,subsequentdevelopmentofmaladaptivesocialskills(e.g.aggres- EF skills fosteredbetterlearning relatedbehavior in the classroom
sion, hyperactivity, or withdrawal) in early childhood has been suchaslessdisruptiveorunoccupiedtime,betterengagementinlearn-
associatedinanumberofstudieswithearlierpoorEFskillsorlackof ingactivitiesthatrequireattentionandmultiplesteps,andmorecoop-
growthinEFskills(Hughes&Ensor,2007,2011). erationwithteachersandpeers.Theseskillswereinturnfoundto
IntermsofresearchonSE,agroupthathasfocusedextensivelyon mediatetheimprovementinacademicskillsgrowthoverthepreschool
regulationofemotionsasonecomponentofSE,Eisenberg,Spinrad, year.
andEggum(2010)suggestthathighnegativeemotionalityinearly
childhoodinturnpreventsself-regulation,andleadstosubsequentdef- 1.3.ImportanceofSEandEFinterventionsforatriskpreschoolers
icitsinSEsuchasaggressionandinabilitytofollowrules(Campbell,
Shaw, & Gilliom, 2000; Liu, 2004). While recognizing emotions, Asthedevelopmentalliteraturehasincreasinglyfocusedontheim-
interpretingcuesandotherskillsarealsonecessary,Eisenbergetal.em- portanceofSEandEFtoadaptivechildgrowth,ithasalsobeenrecog-
phasizewhattheycall‘effortfulcontrol’ascentraltoemotionregula- nizedthatsomeyoungchildrenenterpreschoolwithchallengesin
tion. They describe effortful control to include attention, cognitive boththeseareas,particularlychildrenfromsocioeconomicdisadvan-
flexibility, and ability to modulate a dominant response and have tage(Ackerman,Brown,&Izard,2004;Blair&Raver,2015;Denham
foundaniterativeandinteractivedevelopmentbetweenemotionand et al., 2012; Grimm, Steele, Mashburn, Burchinal, & Pianta, 2010;
self-regulation,indicatingmixedevidenceofthedirectionofeffects. Phillips & Lonigan, 2010; Schultz, Izard, Ackerman, & Youngstrom,
LikeBlair(2002),theyindicatethattherelationismostlikelytransac- 2001; Sektnan, McClellan, Acock, & Morrison, 2010). For example,
tional,aswellasaffectedbygenetic,epigenetic,parenting,andenviron- Sektnanetal.(2010)suggestthatchildreninpoverty,andchildren
mentalinfluences.Infact,duetoresearchonearlyneuralplasticity,both withotherriskfactorssuchasmaternaldepression,havelimitedoppor-
Blair,andEisenbergetal.suggestthatinterventionsintheearlychild- tunitiestolearnandpracticeEF,includingaspectsofplanningand
hoodperiod,eitherwithparentsorinclassrooms,canhelpchildren directingbehavior,thatareessentialtopositiveclassroombehavior
learnbetteremotionregulationthroughdevelopmentofSEandEF duetounsafeenvironmentsandlackofearlylearningresources.They
skills. may also have increased allostatic load and less adaptive stress-
response physiology that interfere with self-regulation aspects of
1.2.RelationofSEandEFskillstoschoolreadinessandacademicsuccess EF (Blair, 2002; Blair & Raver, 2015). Nesbitt, Baker-Ward, and
Willoughby(2013)inasampleoflowandmiddleincomechildren
VariousstudieshavedemonstratedalinkbetweenpreschoolSEand alsofoundpoorerEFskillsinkindergartenamongthosewithfewerre-
EFskillsandeitherconcurrentorearlyschoolreadinessandadjustment. sourcesandmaternaleducation.However,Sektnanetal.(2010)suggest
Forexample,preschoolemotionknowledgehasbeenfoundtobepre- thatthosewhohavehigherEFskillsdespiterisk,havebetteracademic
dictiveofdirectlyassessedpreschoolchildren'scognitivecompetence outcomes,indicatingthecentralimportanceofEFtoacademicachieve-
(Garner&Waajid,2012),teacher-ratedacademicsuccessinkindergar- mentatearlyages,andleadingtosuggestionsthatinterventionstoim-
ten (Denham, Wyatt, Bassett, Echeverria, & Knox, 2009), directly proveEFwilldecreasethechildren'sSEdeficits,sincesuchchildren
assessedkindergartenliteracyandnumeracy(Torres,Domitrovich,& wereover-representedachievementgapamongatriskchildren(Blair
Bierman, 2015), and first grade academic and attention skills &Diamond,2008;Blair&Raver,2015;Diamond&Lee,2011;Farahet
(Rhoades,Warren,Domitrovich,&Greenberg,2011).Inamodelac- al.,2006).Similarargumentshavebeenmadetoimprovelowincome
countingforbothEFandsocial-emotionalskills,socialproblemsolving inalatentprofilegroupcharacterizedbypooremotionknowledge
inpreschoolwasalsosignificantlyassociatedwithkindergartenteacher andself-regulation,andlessprosocialandmoreaggressivesocialprob-
ratingsofbothadjustmentandacademicreadiness(Denhametal., lemsolving(Denhametal.,2012).
2014).Rhoadesetal.(2011)however,foundattentionskills,acompo-
nentofEF,tobeakeymediatoroftheeffectofemotionknowledgeon 1.4.Rationaleandstudyquestions
subsequentacademicskills.
OtherstudieshavelookedatEFskillsandtheirrelationtoschool Inthelastdecade,astheresearchliteraturehasrevealedtheimpor-
readinessskillsinpreschoolandkindergarten.Therehavebeenseveral tanceofearlySEandEFskillstoschoolreadiness,therehavebeen
C.C.Upshuretal./JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25 17
variousapproachestoaddressdevelopmentoftheseskillsforchildren Start).Site-baseddemographicdifferenceswerecontrolledbyrandom
throughearlychildhoodclassroominstruction.Theseinterventions assignmenttoconditionwithinsite,resultingin16interventionand
haveshownsomesuccessinimprovingchildren'semotionalandbe- 15control(curriculumasusual)classrooms.Classroomsparticipated
havioralregulation,includingdirectlyassessedEFskills,suchasatten- fortwoyears.Forthecurrentstudy,onlydataforfouryearoldswere
tion and inhibition (Diamond et al., 2007; Raver et al., 2011), and utilized. All programs/classrooms were accredited by the National
children'sSEskillssuchasemotionalknowledgeandsocialproblem AssociationfortheEducationofYoungChildren(n.d.)(https://www.
solving (Bierman et al., 2008a; Domitrovich, Cortes, & Greenberg, naeyc.org/accreditation)andmetstatelicensingstandards.Thestudy
2007). Diamond and Lee (2011), and Bierman et al. (2008b), have wasapprovedbytheInstitutionalReviewBoardoftheUniversityof
bothpointedoutthattherearecognitiveandbehavioraldimensions MassachusettsMedicalSchool.
ofEFthatareassociateddifferentiallywithacademicoutcomesandso-
cial-emotionalregulation,andinteractwithchildren'sunderlyingtem- 2.2.SecondStepEarlyLearningCurriculum(SSEL)
perament,motivation,andcognitiveability.Thereforetheysuggesta
robustcurriculumthataddressesbothSEandEFcompetenciesinthe SSELwasdevelopedasacommercialcurriculumproductbythe
contextofasupportivelearningenvironmentwillbetterfosterregula- Committee for Children (http://www.cfchildren.org/second-step/
toryskillsthatgeneralizetomultiplelearningsituations,ratherthan early-learning).Itwasdesignedtobedevelopmentallyappropriatefor
specificinstructionnarrowlyfocusedonEF. pre-kclassrooms(4–5yearolds)althoughcanalsobeusedinmixed
Thecurrentstudyevaluatestheefficacyofarecentlydevelopedcur- aged3–5year-oldclassrooms.Itincludes28weeklythemeswithdiffer-
riculum,TheSecondStepEarlyLearning(SSEL)curriculum(Committee entactivitiesforallfivedaysoftheweek,aswellastheme-relatedsongs
for Children, 2011); http://www.cfchildren.org/second-step/early- andBrainBuildergamesintendedtobeplayedeveryday.Beyondthe
learning).SSELbuildsontheknowledgeandresultsofpriorstudiesof scripteddailyactivities,therearealsosuggestedteachingstrategiesde-
developmentofSEandEFwithyoungchildren.Itexplicitlyincorporates signedtoreinforceskills,managebehavior,helpchildrenpayattention,
instructionandactivitiesthataddressbothSEandEF,includingemotion encourage participation, and integrate learning the specific skills
knowledgeandregulation,perspectivetakingandempathy,andsocial throughouttheday.Forexample,eachunitprovidesideastolinkweek-
problemsolvingskills,aswellasattention,workingmemory,andinhi- lythemestoothercurriculumgoalsinliteracy,math,science,andsocial
bition.SSELwasbasedonapriorversionofthecurriculum(Committee studiessothatthethemelanguage,andteachingstrategiesareusedin
forChildren,2002)thatshowedsomesuccessinimprovingpreschool otheractivities.Teachingstrategiesdescribedintheteachermanualto
classroomclimateandchildbehavior(Upshur,Wenz-Gross,&Reed, reinforcethedailythemesinclude:1)havingchildrenthinkaheadby
2013),butdidnotincludeEFactivities.Thecurrentversionspecifically askingthemtothinkabouttimesintheclassroomwhentheycould
incorporatesafocusonEFbyprovidingactivitiesandgamesaddressing usetheskillbeingtaught;2)ongoingreinforcingofskillsbyproviding
attention,followingdirections,developingworkingmemory,andinhib- feedbacktochildrenwhousetheskillsandmodeling/coachingtheir
itorycontrol,andhasagreateremphasisonreinforcingskillsacrossthe useassituationsariseduringtheday;and3)thinkingbacktowhen
schoolday.Activitiesinthenewversionareshorterandmorevaried, thechildrenusedtheskillsandpraisingthemforwhattheydemon-
andincludeworkingwithchildreninbothlargeandsmallgroups.A strated.Othersuggestedteachingstrategiesinvolveprovidingspecific
keyfeatureofSSEListhataweeklythemecardprovidesscriptedin- reinforcementforpositivebehavior,havingchildrengivenonverbal
structionsandactivitiesforeachdayoftheweek,andthusreduces agreementwhenaskinggroupquestions(e.g.patyourheadifyou
teachertrainingandpreparationtime,animportantpointnotedin agreethegirlinthebookishappy),tellingchildrentouse‘thinktime’
othersuccessfulcurricula(Domitrovichetal.,2007).Thecurriculumis tohelpwithinhibitorycontrol,andusingrandomcallingingroupses-
alreadybeingwidelydisseminated,isofreasonablecost,anddoesnot sionswhichgivesquieterchildrenachancetoparticipateandalsocan
requireteachertrainingfromoutsideexperts.However,thesefeatures reinforcethosepayingattentionandsittingquietly.Thereisalsoapar-
arenotusefulunlessthecurriculumisabletoimpactchildoutcomes. enthandoutforeachweeklytheme,calledHomeLinks,thatdescribes
TherearesofarnootherpublishedstudiesofSSELoutcomes.Thusthe whatthechildrenarelearningandwaystheparentscanreinforcethe
goalofthecurrentstudyistoinvestigatepotentialefficacyofthecurric- themesathome.
ulumontheproximaloutcomesofEFandSEamongatriskpreschool Therearefivemajorunits:1)SkillsforLearning(listening,focusing
children. attention,usingself-talktorememberandfollowdirections,andbeing
Thedatareportedherefocusontwomajorhypotheses:1)children assertive);2)Empathy(identifyingselfandother'sfeelings,takingan-
who receive teacher-delivered SSEL during the preschool year will other person's perspective, and showing care and being helpful to
havehigherendofpreschoolEFskillsthanthosenotreceivingthecur- others);3)EmotionManagement(understandingstrongfeelings,iden-
riculum(controllingforentrytopreschoolSEandEFskills,generalcog- tifyingone'sownfeelingswhentheyarestrong,andspecificstepsto
nition, and demographics); and 2) children who receive teacher- calmdown);4)FriendshipSkillsandProblemSolving(howtojoinin
deliveredSSELwillhavehigherendofpreschoolSEskillsthanthose play, inviting friends to play, fair ways to play, calming down and
notreceivingthecurriculum(controllingforentrytopreschoolSEand usingproblemsolvingstepstosolvesocialproblems);and5)Transition
EFskills,generalcognition,anddemographics). toKindergarten(reviewstheprogramskillsandconceptsandhelps
childrenthinkaheadaboutusingtheminkindergarten).TheBrain
2.Methods BuilderGames,developedbythecurriculumauthors,teachEFskills
that involve attention, following directions, and inhibitory control.
2.1.Studydesign Eachgamestartswithasetofruleswhichcangetmorecomplexwithin
thegameaschildrenlearntoexecutethemotions,andthegamesget
Thestudywasaclassroomrandomizedefficacytrialconductedin morecomplexoverthecourseoftheyear.Forexample,Game1iscalled
HeadStart(n=18classrooms)andcommunitypreschools(n=13 “FollowAlong”andgivestwoinitialrules:Rule1;WatchwhatIdo;Rule
classrooms)thathadstate-subsidizedslots,andservedlowincome 2:Dothesamething(withsuggestedmotionsfortheteachertoper-
families,aswellaschildrenwhosefamilieswereinvolvedwithprotec- formandhavethechildrenimitate).Game11iscalled“PartnerPatty-
tiveservices,orwerehomeless.Althoughsomecommunitypreschools CakeWalk”andhasfourrules:Rule1:WhenIsay‘go,’startstepping
alsoservedfullfee,middleincomefamilies,theyneverthelesshadhigh inplace;Rule2:WhenIsay‘patty,’clapyourhands;Rule3:WhenI
proportionsofnonwhitechildren(48%versus75%inHeadStart),fam- say‘cake,’clapyourpartner'shandsuphigh;Rule4;Keepstepping
ilieswithincomeslessthan$20,000(48%versus69%inHeadStart),and andclappinguntilIsay‘stop.’Somegamesalsohavevisualcues,likear-
parentswithahighschoolorlesseducation(39%versus56%inHead rowsorstopsignstoconnectwordsandsymbolstoactions.TheBrain
18 C.C.Upshuretal./JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25
BuilderGamesaremeanttobepracticeddaily,integratedinvarious (DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,AdministrationforChildren
partsoftheschoolday,andaresuggestedasparticularlygoodfortran- andFamilies,2011).SSELprovidesinformationthatspecificallycross
sitiontimes. walkstheCreativeCurriculumgoalsandHeadStartframeworkswith
Theweeklythemesareoutlinedonalargecardwithapictureshow- SSELactivitiestodemonstratethefeasibilityofintegratingSSELintoon-
ingasituationaboutthethemefortheweekononeside,andteacherin- goingprograms.
structionsfordailyactivitiesgivenontheotherside.Themaindaily
activity is designed to be brief (5–7 min) and involves either the 2.4.Studyrecruitmentandchildassessment
wholeclassroomorsmallgroupactivitiesthatuseposters,songs,pup-
pets,andstorybooks.Day1isascriptintroducingthethemeofthe Familieswererecruitedforthestudyinthefallbysitestaffthatcom-
week using thepuppets. Day 2 uses thepicture on thecurriculum pleteduniversity-requiredhumansubjectprotectionstraining.Allen-
cardandprovidesanarrativefortheteacherdescribingthesituation rolledpreschoolchildrenfromage3–5wereeligibletoparticipateif
onthecardwithquestionsforthechildren.Days3and4arereinforcing theparentspokeEnglishorSpanish.Onlythefouryear-oldchild,if
smallandlargegrouppracticeactivitiesaroundthethemeoftheweek, youngersiblingswereenrolled,oronechildoftwins,wereretainedin
whileDay5involvesreadingabookthatalsoreinforcesthethemeof thestudywhenfamilieshadmorethanonechildintheparticipating
theweek(e.g.differentfeelings,sharing,takingturnsatplayetc.). classrooms.Aninformedconsentprocesswithwrittenconsentwas
completedon91%ofallchildrenattendingtheparticipatingchildcare
2.3.Implementingthecurriculum sites.Thetwomostfrequentreasonsforlackofstudyparticipation
wereparentallanguageotherthanEnglishorSpanish,andthechild
SSELcurriculumkitsalongwithastorybookforeachlessonwere beinginstatecustody.
purchasedbythestudyfortheinterventionclassroomsandgivento Mostclassroomsenrolledboththreeandfouryear-oldchildren,but
theclassroomteachers.Toassureaminimallyadequatelevelofcurric- onlychildrenwhowerefouryearsoldinSeptember,orslatedtoenter
ulumimplementationtoachievethemainaimsofthestudytoestablish kindergartenthefollowingyear,wereindividuallyassessedandreport-
potentialefficacy,sevenmonthlytwohoureveningtrainingswerepro- edinthecurrentanalyses.Thiswasduetostudyresourceconstraints
videdoverthecourseofYear1toassistteachersinlearningthecurric- andthefactthatthecurriculumwasspecificallydesignedfor4–5year
ulumandtosupporton-goingimplementation.InYear2,sincethe olds.ChildrenwereassessedbetweenSeptemberandmid-November
sameteacherswereparticipatingandhadalreadyimplementedthe andagainbetweenlateMarchandendofMay,bytrainedstudyre-
curriculumforoneyear,theleveloftrainingsupportwasintentionally searchassistants(RAs)whowereblindtostudycondition.RAsreceived
phaseddownandonly5largegrouptrainingswereconducted,during 12hofgrouptraining,severaladditionalpracticehours,andthen3–6h
whichtherewasmoreemphasisonteacherspresentingtoeachother offield-basedtrainingsupervisedbyatrainedstaffmemberbefore
howthecurriculumwasgoingandwaysinwhichtheywereconnecting beingallowedtoconductassessmentsindependently.Weeklyreview
ittootherdailyactivities.Teacherswerepaidovertimetoattendthe ofcompletedassessmentsandongoingsupervisionwasprovided.As-
sessions,provideddinner,andreceivedcontinuingeducationcredits. sessmentswereadministeredovertwodaysintwo30–45minuteses-
EachinterventionclassroomwasalsovisitedonceamonthfromNo- sions,withtheprimaryindividualSEandEFmeasuresthefocusofthe
vembertoMay(Year1)orOctober–May(Year2)bystudystafftoob- currentmanuscript.Measureswerenotcounterbalancedasinpilottest-
serveoneoftheSSELactivitiesandtoprovideindividualcoachingand ingwefoundthatcertainmeasuresneededtobeusedconsistentlyfor
written feedback to the teacher(s) about how well they were warmuporinterspersedforsustainingattention.Mostoftheassess-
implementingthecurriculum.CoachingwasconductedbythePrincipal mentswerecompletedinacornerofthepreschoolclassroom,although
Investigator(PI)andCo-PI,andcorestudystaff.ThePIandCo-PIre- atsomesitestheassessorwasabletouseastaffroomseparatefromthe
ceivedtrainingandsupportfromtheCommitteeforChildren,whoin classroom.AllassessmentswereconductedinEnglish.Childrenwhose
turntrainedandsupervisedothercorestaffinconductingfidelityrat- teachersindicateddidnothaveadequatereceptiveorexpressivelan-
ings,coaching,andwritingupindividualfeedbacktoteachers. guageskillsinEnglish,evenifparentsconsented(n=45)werenot
Feedbackcoveredeightareas,including:preparation;qualityofde- assessed.
liveryofthespecificthemeactivity;BrainBuildersandsongs;usingthe
SSELteachingstrategies;engagingandrespondingtochildrenappropri- 3.Measures
ately;managingchildren'sbehavior;usingtheSSELreinforcingskills;
howwelltheteachingteamworkedtogether;whetherchildrenwere 3.1.Curriculumimplementation
attentiveorconfused;andwhetherchildrengeneralizedtheskillsin
freeplayorspontaneouslybroughtpriorskillsintocurrentactivities. 3.1.1.Doseofcurriculum
Coachinginvolveddiscussingstrengthsandweaknesses,reviewing Thenumberofweeklylessons,theportionofweeklyactivitiescom-
theproperwaytodeliverthevariousactivities,addressingbarriersto pleted,andthenumberofdaysBrainGameswereplayedweredocu-
fittinginactivitieswithotherrequirements,andsuggestionsonmanag- mented by teacher self-report using a form developed by the
ingbehavioralandattentionproblemsofchildren.Ateachvisit,afidel- CommitteeforChildren(2011)forteacherimplementation.
ityratingscale(notsharedwithteachers)wascompletedindicating
how well the teachers were implementing the themes, activities 3.1.2.Fidelityofcurriculum
(story,puppet,BrainBuilder,song,book),theteachingstrategies,and Astudydevelopedobservationalratingscaleconsistingof31items
whethertherewasevidenceintheclassroomoractivitiesofexten- in8categories(preparationforthelesson,deliveryofthelesson,use
sions/connectionstoothercurriculumareassuchasliteracy,artetc. ofteachingstrategies,engagingwithchildren,managingchildren'sbe-
Writtennarrativefeedback(notnumericalratings),regardingeachof havior,useofreinforcingactivities,involvementoftheteachingteam,
thecategoriesonthefidelityratingscale,wasgiventotheteachers andchildren'sresponsiveness)wascompletedatmonthlyobservation
afterthevisit. visitsusingafive-pointLikertscalewith1=noobservedimplementa-
InterventionteacherswereaskedtoaddtheSSELcurriculumactivi- tionto5=frequentandeffectiveimplementation.Interraterreliabil-
tiestotheirdailyroutinesandtointegrateSSELactivitieswithothercur- itiesbetweenpairsofstudystaffconductingtheclassroomvisitswere
riculumrequirements.MostoftheclassroomsusedCreativeCurriculum conductedfor15%ofclassroomobservationsoverthetwoyears.In
(TeachingStrategies,LLC,2002–2012)becauseitwasastateearlychild- Year1 interrater reliability was93% within onepoint (range 80%–
hoodqualityrequirement(andthusthe“usual”curriculumframework 100%for24pairedobservations),andforYear2was94%withinone
forthecontrolclassrooms).TheremainderusedHeadStartframeworks point(range84%–100%for10pairedobservations).
C.C.Upshuretal./JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25 19
3.1.3.Observedcurriculumimplementation indicator of executive functioning (range 0–60, with 20 points for
Astudydevelopedobservationaltool,Social-EmotionalandExecu- eachsetoftrials).
tiveFunctioningClassroomObservationTool(SEEF)wasdesignedto
beusedinarandomsampleofbothintervention(n=8)andcontrol 3.3.2.BackwardDigitSpan
(n=8)classroomsinYear2toprovideanindependentmeasurecom- TheBackward DigitSpan task wasadministeredin theFall and
paringtherelativefrequencyofteacher-ledSEandEFactivitiesininter- Springasameasureofworkingmemory(Davis&Pratt,1996).Children
ventionandcontrolclassrooms.Thescalewasbasedonthe“Adapted wereshownapuppetandtoldthatthepuppetlikestosayeverything
TeachingStyleRatingScale”developedfortheHeadStartCaresdemon- backward.Theexaminerthensaid“1,2”andhadthepuppetsay“2,
stration(Mattera,Lloyd,Fishman,&Bangser,2013).RAsblindtostudy 1”.Childrenwereinstructedtosaythingsbackwardslikethepuppet.
conditionsandhypothesesobservedeachclassroomfor2hinclusiveof Trialsbeganwith2digitsandincreasedto5digitsuntilchildrenerred
alargegroupsession/circletimeandfreeplay.Theyratedonascaleof onthreeconsecutivetrials.Thechild'shighestlevelofsuccesswasre-
1–5(neverobservedtofrequentlyobserved):7teacher-directedsocial corded(range=1–5).
skills(e.g.teacherdescribeshowtoidentifyandlabelfeelingsinabook
orinaclassroomsituation;teachergivesspecifictechniquesforcalming 3.4.Socialandemotionalskills
down;teacherhelpschildrenlearnsocialproblemsolvingbydemon-
strating/encouragingplayingtogetherortradingtoyswhenthereisa 3.4.1.EmotionMatchingScale
conflict); 8 executive functioning skills (e.g. teacher gives specific Theshortformofthis48-itemmeasure(24items)wasusedtomea-
waysforchildrentolistenandpayattentioningroup;usesspecific sureemotionknowledge.Itincludesphotographsofchildrenwithvar-
techniqueswithchildrentorememberdirectionslikeself-talk);and4 iousemotionalfacialexpressions,includinghappiness,sadness,anger,
overallratingsofchildren'sattentiveness,disruptiveness,prosocialbe- fear,andsurprise(Izard,Haskins,Schultz,Trentacosta,&King,2003).
havior, and emotion regulation. Thirty percent of the observations Therewerefourpartswherechildrenwereaskedto:1)matchtwoex-
wereconductedbytwoRAsandinterraterreliabilitywas100%within pressionsofthesameemotion;2)matchemotionswithsituational
onepoint.Alphareliabilityofthescalewas0.91. cues,e.g.,“showmetheonewhojustgotanicenewtoy”;3)produce
emotion labels in response to pictures; and 4) use emotion labels
3.2.Covariates expressedverballybythetestertoidentifyfacialexpressions.TheEmo-
tionMatchingScale(EMT)wasdesignedforusewithlowincome,eth-
3.2.1.Demographics nicallydiversepopulations.Itcorrelateswellwithotherwidelyused
Atstudyenrollment,parentsprovideddemographicinformationin- measuresofemotionknowledgeandreliabilityfortheshorterversion
cludingtheparents'maritalstatus,educationlevel,andfamilyincome. isadequate(α=0.72–0.74;Seidenfeld,Johnson,WoodburnCavadel,
Parentsalsoprovideddemographicinformationaboutthechildrenin- &Izard,2014).Inthecurrentstudy,thetotalscorewasusedasanindi-
cludingthechild'ssex,age,andethnicity. catorofemotionknowledgeskills.
3.2.2.Cognitiveability 3.4.2.ChallengingSituationsTask
AssessorsadministeredthePeabodyPictureVocabularyTest,4th IntheChallengingSituationsTask(CST)childrenwerepresented
Edition(PPVT-4,Dunn&Dunn,2007).Thisisameasureofreceptive withsixdrawingsofcommonchallengingsocialsituations(e.g.,having
verbalabilitythathasbeenshowntocorrelatewithmeasuresofgeneral ablockstructureknockeddownbyanotherchild,beinghitbyanother
cognition,andcanbeusedasanindicatorofgeneralcognitiveabilities child,havingaballtakenawayfromthem,etc.)andfourdrawingsof
ofpreschoolchildren(Gullo&McLoughlin,1982;Taylor,1979).For possibleresponsestothosesituations,includingprosocial,aggressive,
eachitem,assessorspresentedchildrenwithfourpicturesandchildren crying,andavoidantresponses(Denham,Bouril,&Belouad,1994).For
wereaskedtoidentifythepicturethatrepresentedaspecificword(i.e., each challenging situation, the examiner described the situation
“pointtothepicturethatshowsriver”).Standardscoreswereincluded showninthesituationpictureandaskedwhatthechildwoulddoif
inanalysesasacognitivecontrol.Splithalfandalphareliabilitiesare thatsituationhappenedtothechild.Theexaminerthenpresented
above0.90,andthemeasure'saveragetest-retestcorrelationisequal andlabeledtheresponsepicturechoicesandaskedthechildtopoint
to0.93(Dunn&Dunn,2007). totheoneshowinghowthechildwouldrespondindicatingtheirsocial
problemsolvingskills.Children'sprosocialresponseshavebeenshown
3.3.Executivefunctioningskills toberelatedtoemotionknowledge(Denhametal.,1994),andhavein-
creasedfollowingparticipationinasocialemotionalskillsintervention
3.3.1.Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (Biermanetal.,2008a).Theproportionofprosocialresponses,was
IntheFallandSpring,childrencompletedtheHead-Toes-Knees- usedinthecurrentstudy.
ShouldersTask(HTKS)(McClellandetal.,2007).Inthistask,children
wereinstructedtoperformspecificactionsthatwerecontrarytowhat 3.5.Dataanalysis
theexaminersaid.Inthefirstsetoftentrials,childrenwereinstructed
totouchtheirheadswhentheexaminersaidtotouchtheirtoes,and 3.5.1.Preliminaryanalyses
touchtheirtoeswhentheexaminersaidtotouchtheirheads.Inthesec- Attritionanalyseswereconductedtodetermineifchildrenlostto
ondsetoftentrials,thesamerulespertainingtoheadsandtoesapply, follow-updifferedbyinterventionstatus.Inaddition,analyseswere
andchildrenmusttouchtheirshoulderswhentheexaminerinstructed conductedtodetermineiftherewasadequatecurriculumfidelityand
themtotouchtheirknees,andviceversa.Inthethirdsetoftentrials, ifthiswasassociatedwithSpringoutcomes.Otheranalyseswerecon-
the action of touching your head was paired with the command ductedinordertoinvestigaterelationshipsbetweenchildandfamily
“knees”andviceversa,andtheactionoftouchingyourtoeswaspaired characteristicsandindicatorsofSEandEFskills(e.g.,thetwomeasures
withthecommand“shoulders”,andviceversa.Thistaskrequiresthree ofSE-theEMTandCSTProsocialScore;andthetwomeasuresofEF-the
EFskills:inhibitorycontrol,attention,andworkingmemory.Children HTKSandtheBackwardDigitSpan).Exceptforbaselinedescriptives,
weregivenfourpracticetrialswithinstructionsrepeateduptothree analysesaccountedforthemultilevelnatureofthedata,withchildren
times.Ineachofthethreetestingphases,childrenweregiven10com- nestedwithinclassrooms.Individuallevelbivariatecorrelationswere
mands,withpossiblescoresof0,1,or2foreachcommand(0=incor- usedtoanalyzerelationshipsbetweenindicatorsofEFandSEskills
rect;1=self-correct;2=correctresponsewithoutapriorincorrect). withintimepoints(i.e.,intheFallonly)andacrosstimepoints(from
Thetotalscoreisthesumfromeachofthetrialsandisusedasan FalltoSpring).Individuallevelbivariatecorrelationswerealsousedto
20 C.C.Upshuretal./JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25
explorerelationshipsamongEFandSEmeasures,andparentaleduca- Table1
tion,familyincome,childethnicity,age,sex,andcognitiveability. Baselinecharacteristicsofchildrenandfamilies.
Effectsize(ES)calculationsprovidedanestimateoftheimpactofthe Wholesample Intervention Control p-Value
interventiononindividualmeasuresofEFandSE,sincetheprimary (N=492)a (N=252) (N=240)
analysesutilizedmethodsrepresentingoverallcombinedexecutive
% n % n % n
functioningandsocial-emotionalskills.InordertocalculateESinthe
Childageinmonths 53.4 492 53.5 252 53.3 240 0.66
contextofmultileveldata,thefollowingprocedurewasusedforeach
mean(SD) (3.96) (3.96) (3.96)
indicatorofEFandSEbasedonworkbyMcCoach(2010)andHedges Childsex 0.79
(2007).Amulti-levelmodelwasrunwiththeEForSEindicatorasthe Male 50.2 247 49.6 125 50.8 122
outcome,andthecondition(1=intervention,0=control)asthe Female 49.8 245 50.4 127 49.2 118
onlypredictor.Theregressioncoefficientassociatedwiththecondition Childethnicity
Anglo-American 47.4 233 54.0 136 40.4 97 0.003
wasdividedbythesquareofthesumofthestudentandclassroomlevel
African-American 26.4 130 21.8 55 31.3 75 0.019
variancecomponents.Thisyieldedaneffectsizeestimate,whichiscom- Hispanic-American 38.8 191 34.5 87 43.3 104 0.052
parabletoCohen'sd(Cohen,1988). Asian 1.8 9 2.4 6 1.3 3 0.51
Other 3.7 18 3.6 9 3.8 9 1.0
PPVTstandardscore 95.0 492 96.9 252 93.0 240 0.003
3.5.2.Primaryanalyses
mean(SD) (14.9) (14.4) (15.2)
Inordertoaccountforclassroomvarianceinourprimaryanalyses, Parenteducation 0.817
weusedtwomultilevelmultivariateregressionanalysestotestthepri- bHighschool 13.5 65 12.6 31 14.3 34
maryhypotheses:thatthechildrenininterventionclassrooms,com- Highschool 34.8 168 34.6 85 35.0 83
NHighschool 51.8 250 52.8 130 50.6 120
pared to children in control classrooms, would score higher on EF
Familyincome 0.349
skills(takingintoaccountthecontributionofbothEFmeasures)(Hy- b$10,000 30.6 147 31.8 78 29.4 69
pothesis1)andSEskills(takingintoaccountthecontributionofboth $10,000–$19,999 30.2 145 28.6 70 31.9 75
SEmeasures)(Hypothesis2)intheSpring,aftercontrollingforcovari- $20,000–$29,999 20.4 98 18.0 44 23.0 54
atesincludingbaselineperformanceintheFall,baselinecognition,and $30,000–$39,999 10.0 48 11.0 27 8.9 21
$40,000–$49,999 3.5 17 3.7 9 3.4 8
childsex,age,ethnicity,andparentincome.Parentincomeandeduca-
$50,000+ 5.2 25 6.9 17 3.4 8
tionweresignificantlycorrelated,butparentincomewasmorehighly Maritalstatus 0.18
associatedwiththeoutcomemeasures,thusonlyfamilyincomewas Married 25.9 127 28.7 72 23.0 55
enteredintothemodels. a Forsomevariables,nisnotequalto492.Thisisduetomissingdataortoparticipants
Totestthefirsthypothesis,thattheinterventionchildrenwould indicatingthattheybelonginmorethancategory(i.e.,childethnicity).
show higher EF skills at endof preschool, athreelevel model was
usedfollowingproceduresdescribedbyHox(2010).Twomeasuresof betweeninterventionandcontrolchildrenindemographicsorinthe
EF(HTKSandBackwardDigitSpan)comprisethefirstlevel,thechild outcomemeasuresatbaselineforchildrenwithcompletedataand
isthesecondlevel,andtheclassroomisthethird.Covariatesinclude thosewhodidnothavecompletedata,exceptforthebaselineBackward
baselineEFskillsmeasuredintheFall,baselineSEskillsmeasuredin Digitscore.Interventionchildrenwhowerelosttofollow-upscoredsig-
theFall,FallPPVTscores(centeredaroundthemeanofthesampleas nificantlyhigheronthismeasurethandidcontrols.Wethusbelieveat-
ameasureofgeneralcognition),aswellaschildsex,age,ethnicity, tritionhadlittleeffectontheresultsandifanyimpact,wouldunder-
andfamilyincome.Theconditionistheprimarypredictor. estimateEFoutcomessinceinterventionchildren losttofollow-up
Asimilarthreelevelmodelwasusedtotestthehypothesisthatthe werestrongerononecomponentofEFthanthosewhoremained.
interventionwouldpositivelyimpactSEskills.Thefirstlevelconsistsof
thetwomeasuresofSE(EMTscore,andtheCSTProsocialscore),the 4.2.Curriculumimplementation
childisthesecondlevelandtheclassroomisthethird.Covariatesand
predictorsarethesameastheonesutilizedinthemultilevelmodel Overalltherewasfairlystrongcurriculumimplementation,withal-
predictingSpringexecutivefunctioningskills.Allanalyseswerecon- mostallclassroomscoveringasubstantialportionofthecurriculumand
ductedusingIBMSPSSStatisticsforWindows,version24.0. achievingfidelityratingsindicatingadequatequalityofdeliveryofthe
plannedcurriculumactivities.InYear1only3classroomsdelivered
4.Results fewerthanthe25coreweeklylessonsandtheyallcompleted24les-
sons.Theremainderoftheclassroomscompletedbetween25and28
4.1.Sample weeklylessons,withfourcompletingall28.Teachersreporteddeliver-
ingameanof87.1%(SD=9.5)ofweeklyactivities.InYear2,10ofthe
Table1containsthebaselinecharacteristicsforthe492childrenin 16classroomscompletedall28lessonweeks,whileallbutonecomplet-
thesample.Thechildren's average age at baselineassessment was edthe25corelessons.Teachersalsoreporteddelivering88.8%ofweek-
53.4months(SD=3.96),andapproximatelyhalfofthechildrenwere lyactivities(SD=10.8).BrainGameswerereportedbyteachersas
ofeachsex(50.2%male).Lessthanhalf(47.4%)ofthechildrenwere played85.3days(SD=21.5,range51–126)inYear1,oronaverage
Anglo-American,26.4%wereAfrican-American,and38.8%wereHispan- 3.6timesaweek.InYear2themeandaysplayedwas95.8(SD=
ic-American.Children'smeanPPVTstandardsscoresrepresentedaper- 26.0,range35–128),oronaverage3.7daysaweek.Themeanindepen-
centilerankof41.08(SD=28.1),indicatingoverallcognitiveskills dentlyobservedfidelityratingforYear1was3.58(SD=0.60,2.74–
somewhatbelowanage-equivalentpopulation. 4.51),andforYear2was3.46(SD=0.45,range2.48–4.21).Fourclass-
Themajorityoftheparentswerenotmarried(74.1%).Approximate- roomsinYear1andtwoclassroomsinYear2didnotmeetthegoalof
lyhalfoftheparents(51.8%)hadcompletedmorethanahighschool achievingatleastamean3.0fidelityrating.Therewasnostatistically
education,andthemajorityofthefamilies(60.8%)hadfamilyincomes significantdifferencebetweenoverallfidelityratingsinthetwoyears
lessthan$20,000. andtherewerenosignificantcorrelationsbetweenthefidelityratings
Atotalof85childrenwereexcludedfromprimaryanalysesdueto andoutcomes.Thuswhiletherewassomevariationinimplementation
missingdataineithertheFallortheSpring.Overall,childrenwithmiss- withandbetweenyears,itwasnotlargeenoughtoeffectoutcomesand
ingdatahadparentsthatweresignificantlyyounger,hadfeweryearsof wasnotexploredfurther.
education,andhadlowerfamilyincomesthanchildrenwithcomplete TheSEEFobservationsrevealedsignificantdifferencesbetweencur-
data. However, there were no statistically significant differences ricularactivitiesininterventionversuscontrolclassrooms,despitethe
C.C.Upshuretal./JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25 21
smallrandomlyselectedsampleofclassrooms.Almostallthesignificant Table3
itemswereEFitems,includingattentionandengagement(p≤0.01), DescriptivestatisticsforEFandSEmeasuresbyinterventionandcontrola.
thinkingaheadandthinkingback(p≤0.01),thinktime(p≤0.01),en- Measure Wholesample Control Intervention Effectsizeb
couragingparticipation(p≤0.01)specificreinforcement(p≤0.001), M(SD) M(SD) M(SD)
andoverallattentiveness(p≤0.05),allfavoringinterventionclass-
Fall
rooms,witheffectsizesN1.0.Incontrast,onlyoneSEitemsignificantly HTKSc 8.69(12.63) 7.08(11.86) 10.02(12.83) 0.17
favoredinterventionclassrooms,calmingdown(p≤0.001).Therewere Backwarddigit 1.15(0.46) 1.15(0.44) 1.16(0.45) 0.007
nosignificantdifferencesonidentifyingfeelings,perspectivetaking,un- EMTd 0.54(0.14) 0.53(0.15) 0.54(0.16) 0.02
CSTeprosocial 2.22(1.59) 2.16(1.59) 2.21(1.64) 0.02
derstandingstrongemotions,socialproblemsolvingorfriendshipskills.
Spring
Thusthismeasureseemstoshowmoredifferencesintheintervention HTKS 18.45(17.00) 14.92(16.37) 21.58(16.85) 0.35
classroomsondeliveryofEFtypeactivitiesthanSEactivities. Backwarddigit 1.33(0.62) 1.22(0.54) 1.42(0.69) 0.23
EMT 0.64(0.14) 0.63(0.13) 0.64(0.13) 0.03
CSTProsocial 2.77(1.73) 2.58(1.62) 2.94(1.81) 0.16
4.3.Preliminaryoutcomeanalyses
a Samplesizesvaryacrossmeasuresandtimepoints.Forthewholesample,N=453–
Table2containsindividuallevelcorrelationsbetweenkeyoutcomes 487forFallmeasuresand412–416forSpringmeasures.Forintervention,N=243–262
forFalland219–221forSpring.Forcontrol,N=210–226forFalland192–195forSpring.
anddemographics.CorrelationsbetweenthesamemeasureattheFall b Theeffectsizewascalculatedbyrunningmultilevelmodelswitheachmeasureasthe
andSpringtimepoints(i.e.,thecorrelationbetweenFallandSpring outcomeandcondition(intervention/control)astheonlypredictor.Theeffectsize,avar-
measurementsofHTKS)weremoderate(r=0.35–0.59).Withineach iantofCohen'sD,isequaltotheregressioncoefficientforconditiondividedbythesquare
singletimepoint(FallorSpring),correlationsamongmeasuresranged rootofthesumofthestudentandclassroomlevelvariancecomponents.Standarddevia-
tioniscomputedasthesquarerootofthetotalvariancecomputedfromatwolevelhier-
from0.09(correlationbetweenSpringBackwardDigitandSpringEMT
archicallinearmodelwithnopredictors.
scores)to0.53(correlationbetweenSpringBackwardDigitandSpring c Head-Toes-Knees-ShouldersTask.
HTKS).Correlationsatbaselineandfollowupbetweentheoutcome d EmotionMatchingTask.
measuresandparentaleducation,parentalmaritalstatus,andchild e ChallengingSituationsTask.
sexwerelow(r≤0.01–0.13).Correlationsweresomewhathigherfor
childage(r=0.13–0.33),forparentalincome,especiallyatfollow-up
(r=0.02–0.16),andchildethnicity,againespeciallyatfollow-up baselinescoresascontrolsinequationspredictingSpringoutcomes.In
(r=0.02–0.27). theSpring,theinterventiongroupagainscoredhigheroneachmeasure
Table3showsbaselineandendofyearmeanscoresontheoutcome ofSEandEF.EffectsizeswerelargerintheSpring,rangingfrom0.03to
measuresaswellaseffectsizeanalyses.BaselinescoresonbothEFand 0.35.Ingeneral,effectsizeswerehigherforEFmeasures(0.23forBack-
SEskillsreflectthelowincome,highrisknatureofthecurrentsample. wardDigitSpanand0.35forHTKS)thanforSEmeasures(0.03forEMT
ComparingjustPart1oftheHTKStask,thecurrentsamplemeanis and0.16forCSTProsocial).
5.62(SD=7.25),whileamostlywhiteandmiddleclasssampleofsim-
ilar age preschoolers, scored 10.42 (SD = 7.61) (McClelland et al., 4.4.Primaryoutcomeanalyses
2007).Astudyof47middleclassAnglo-AmericanchildrenusingBack-
wardDigitspanasanindicatorofEF(Carlson,Moses,&Breton,2002) 4.4.1.Executivefunctioningresults
foundameanscoreof1.58(SD=0.79)for3yearoldsand2.2(SD= Table4showstheresultsfromthemultilevelmodelpredictingthe
0.86)forfouryearolds,whileinthecurrentstudythebaselinesample SpringEFskills.ThecoefficientrepresentingbaselineEFwaspositive
meanis1.15.IntermsofSEskills,thecurrentsamplealsoscoredonav- andsignificant(β=0.66,p≤0.001),aswasthecoefficientrepresenting
eragelowerontheEMTthanamostlyAnglo-Americanuniversitychild baselineSEskills(β0.68,p≤0.001).FallperformanceonthePPVTwas
caresample(54%versus74%correct;Morgan,Izard,&King,2009),and alsoasignificantpredictorofSpringEF(p≤0.05),Childsexandparent
similartoaHeadStartsample(54%versus56%;Seidenfeldetal.,2014). incomewerenotsignificantpredictors,butgreaterchildageatTime1
IntheFall,theinterventiongroupscoredhigherthanthecontrol wasassociatedwithbetterSpringEFskills(p≤0.05),andHispanic
grouponeachindicatorofEFandSE,witheffectsizesrangingfrom ethnicitywasassociatedwithpoorerSpringEFskills(p≤0.05).Afterac-
0.007–0.17.Thefinalanalysesaccountedforthisdifferencebyincluding countingfortheinfluenceofthecovariates,thecoefficientrepresenting
Table2
Individuallevelcorrelationsbetweenkeyvariablesandchild/familycharacteristicsa.
CSTb EMTc HTKSd Back-ward CST EMT HTKS Back-ward Conditione Parental Family Fall Child Parent Child Child
pro-social Fall Fall digitFall pro-social Spring Spring digit education income PPVT racef marital age sexh
Fall Spring Spring statusg
Fall
CSTprosocial – – – – 0.35 0.12 0.26 0.24 −0.01 0.02 0.02 0.23 0.02 0.01 0.22 −0.03
EMT 0.23 – – – 0.18 0.49 0.38 0.26 −0.01 b0.01 0.06 0.46 0.04 0.01 0.33 0.09
HTKS 0.25 0.30 – – 0.24 0.15 0.59 0.49 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.41 0.18 −0.14 0.26 b0.01
Backwarddigit 0.12 0.19 0.40 – 0.08 0.07 0.37 0.49 0.04 0.07 0.11 0.23 0.14 −0.08 0.14 0.02
Spring
CSTprosocial – – – – – – – – 0.08 0.06 0.11 0.18 0.15 0.07 0.13 −0.02
EMT – – – – 0.10 – – – 0.02 b0.01 0.08 0.21 −0.006 0.05 0.16 0.13
HTKS – – – – 0.26 0.17 – – 0.15 0.09 0.16 0.44 0.27 −0.08 0.33 0.03
Backwarddigit – – – – 0.27 0.09 0.53 – 0.13 0.10 0.13 0.36 0.24 −0.03 0.25 −0.01
a p-Valuesareomittedduetotheirlackofvalidityinthecontextofindividuallevelcorrelationswithnesteddata.
b ChallengingSituationsTask.
c EmotionMatchingTask.
d Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders.
e 1=treatment,0=control.
f 1=Anglo-American,0=other.
g 1=married,0=other.
h 1=male,2=female.
22 C.C.Upshuretal./JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25
Table4 Table5
Multilevelmodelpredictingexecutivefunctioningskillsatendofpreschool. Multilevelmodelpredictingsocial/emotionalskillsatendofpreschool.
Estimate Standarderror Estimate Standarderror
Fixedeffects Fixedeffects
Intercept −13.34⁎⁎⁎ 4.90 Intercept 10,04⁎⁎⁎ 2.01
Time1EFa 0.65⁎⁎⁎ 0.04 Time1EFa b0.01 0.02
Time1SEb 0.68⁎⁎⁎ 0.04 Time1SEb 1.08⁎⁎⁎ 0.02
Time1PPVTc(centered) 0.06⁎ 0.02 Time1PPVTc(centered) −0.06⁎⁎⁎ 0.01
Childsexd 0.24 0.66 Childsexd −0.12 0.27
ChildageTime1 0.22⁎ 0.09 ChildageTime1 −0.16⁎⁎⁎ 0.04
Parentincome 0.31 0.21 Parentincome 0.03 0.09
Asian-Americane 1.53 2.50 Asian-Americane −0.05 1.02
African-Americane −1.53 0.80 Hispanic-Americane −0.49 0.30
Hispanic-Americane −1.77⁎ 0.79 African-Americane 0.18 0.33
Otherracee 1.16 1.72 Otherracee 0.41 0.70
Conditionf 1.57⁎ 0.67 Conditionf 0.54+ 0.30
Covarianceparameters Covarianceparameters
⁎⁎⁎ ⁎⁎⁎
Residual 84.10 4.26 Residual 13.82 0.71
Intercept(student) b0.01 b0.01 Intercept(student) b0.01 b0.01
Intercept(classroom) b0.01 b0.01 Intercept(classroom) 0.13 0.19
Fitstatistics Fitstatistics
−2Loglikelihood 5747.57 −2Loglikelihood 4341.49
AIC 5753.57 AIC 4347.49
BIC 5767.55 BIC 4361.46
⁎ pb0.05. a ExecutiveFunctioningskills-representingboththeHead-Toes-Knees-ShouldersTask
⁎⁎⁎ pb0.001. andBackwardDigitSpan.
a ExecutiveFunctioningskills-representingboththeHead-Toes-Knees-ShouldersTask b SocialEmotionalskills-representingboththeEmotionMatchingTaskandtheChal-
andBackwardDigitSpan. lengingSituationsTask.
b SocialEmotionalskills-representingboththeEmotionMatchingTaskandtheChal- c PeabodyPictureVocabularyTestStandardScore-representinggeneralcognition.
lengingSituationsTask. d 1=male,2=female.
c PeabodyPictureVocabularyTestStandardScore-representinggeneralcognition. e 1=namedethnicity,0=white.
d 1=male,2=female. f 1=intervention,0=control.
e 1=namedethnicity,0=white. + Conditionwasmarginallysignificantatp=0.08.
f 1=intervention,0=control. ⁎⁎⁎ pb0.001.
theconditionwaspositiveandsignificant(β=1.57,p≤0.05).Thispro- withbehavioralregulation.BlairandRaver(2015)indicateearlychild-
videssupportforthehypothesisthattheinterventionsignificantlycon- hoodriskfactorscreatethepotentialforanabnormalstress-response
tributedtothedevelopmentofchildren'sEFskillscomparedtochildren physiology,thatinturnimpactstheself-regulatoryskills,suchasfocus
notreceivingtheintervention. andgoalorientedbehavior,necessaryforsocialandacademicperfor-
mance. EF also predicts end of year teacher social skills ratings
4.4.2.Social-emotionalskillsresults (Duncanetal.,2007),indicatingtheconnectionofEFtosocialadapta-
Table5showstheresultsfromthemultilevelmodelspredictingthe tionandregulationthatalsopromoteclassroombehaviorsconducive
SpringSEskills.FallSEskillswerepositiveandsignificant(β=1.08,p≤ tolearning.
0.001).ThecoefficientrepresentingperformanceonthePPVTwasneg- Ontheotherhand,whilethereisaphysiologicalandperhapsgenet-
ativeandsignificant(β=−0.06,p≤0.001),whilenoneofthedemo- ic,componenttoself-regulation,regulatoryskillscanbeaffectedbyen-
graphicvariablessignificantlypredictedSpringSEexceptchildage. vironmentalchanges.Thorell,Lindqvist,Nutley,Bohlin,andKlingberg
YoungerchildrenhadsignificantlybetterSpringSEskills,controlling (2009)andRueda,Posner,andRothbart(2005)bothhavedemonstrat-
forbaseline,thandidolderchildren(β=0.16,p≤0.0001).Finally, edthatlab-basedtrainingof4and5yearoldsonworkingmemoryand
thecoefficientrepresentingparticipationintheinterventionwasposi- effortfulcontrol/attentiontasksshowlearningimprovementsthatare
tiveandmarginallysignificant(β=0.54,p=0.08).Becausethesignif- generalizabletoothertasks,includinggeneralIQmeasures.Effects
icanceismarginal,thisprovidestentativesupportforthehypothesis werealsodetectableinmeasuresofreactiontimeandelectroencepha-
thattheinterventioncontributedtochildren'sgainsinsocialandemo- lography.Duncanetal.(2007)alsodemonstratedthatthetrajectory
tionalskillsovercontrolchildrennotreceivingthecurriculum.Thesig- oflowincomeHeadStartchildren'sEFcouldbeaffectedbyapreschool
nificant and negative coefficient for baseline PPVT is puzzling. We curriculum.
attributethisfindingtocovarianceamongbaselinecognition,SEand Thecurrentstudyevaluatedanewcurriculum(SecondStepEarly
EF,sinceremovingbaselineEFandSEfromthemodelresultsinalarger, Learning-SSEL,CommitteeforChildren,2011),thatwasdesignedtoin-
positive,andstillsignificantcoefficientforbaselinePPVT. fluencebothSEandEFskillsascomplementarycomponentsofbehav-
ioralregulation,among amostlylowincomeandatrisk preschool
5.Discussion populationservedbyHeadStartandcommunitychildcareclassrooms.
Controllingforbaselineskillsandcognitiveability,demographics,and
Developmentofbothsocial-emotional(SE)andexecutivefunction- accountingfornestingwithinclassrooms,wefoundasignificantimpact
ing(EF)skillsinthepreschoolperiodisimportanttoearlyschoolsuc- fortheinterventioncondition(SSELdeliveredbytheclassroomteacher)
cess, as well as positive elementary school, adolescent, and adult onendofpreschoolEFskillsaboveandbeyondbaselineskills.Thiseffect
functioning(Blair&Diamond,2008;McClellandetal.,2013;Rhoades heldevenwhenthemodelwastestedwiththeadditionofchildage,
etal.,2011).Yetchildrenfromdisadvantagedenvironmentsinterms sex,ethnicity,andfamilyincome,althoughHispanicchildrenseemed
ofincome,parentaleducation,orminorityethnicityappeartoenterpre- tohavefewergainsinEFovertheschoolyearthandidWhitechildren.
schoolbehindintheseskills(Grimmetal.,2010;Nesbittetal.,2013; TheeffectsizeanalysisofindividualcomponentsofEFdemonstrated
Sektnanetal.,2010).Sektnanetal.pointoutthatriskfactorssuchas thattheHTKStask,measuringattention,workingmemory,andinhibi-
povertyandmaternaldepressioninearlychildhoodpreventpractice tion, contributes to more of the change than does the Backward
C.C.Upshuretal./JournalofAppliedDevelopmentalPsychology50(2017)15–25 23
DigitSpan,whichhasonlyaworkingmemoryandnotaninhibition overallqualityindicators,andthusbaselinelevelsofinstructionbefore
component. addingtheexperimentalcurriculumwerehigh.Inothercomparisons
Incontrast,theinterventionestimateforSEoutcomeswasonlymar- (e.g.tochildrennotattendingpreschool,ornotattendingashighaqual-
ginallysignificant.Childsex,ethnicity,andparentincomealsodidnot itysettings)thedifferentialeffectsofSSELmightbestronger.Finally,the
accountfortheendofyearSEskills,althoughyoungerchildrenmade focusofthestudywasspecificallyonestablishingefficacy,andtherefore
moregains.Theimpactonprosocialproblemsolving(CSTProsocial) ahigherleveloftrainingandcoachingwasprovidedtoteachersinorder
wasstronger,althoughwithasmallES,thanforemotionknowledge toassureaminimallyadequatedoseofthecurriculumwasachieved,
(EMT),forwhichtherewasanegligibledifferencebetweeninterven- andwedidnothaveprimarystudyquestionsaroundimplementation
tionandcontrolchildren.Weattributetheweakereffectsofthecurric- issues.Thislevelofsupportmightnotbepossibleinroutineuseofthe
ulumonSEtothestrongemphasisofSSELonEFskillswhicharenot curriculumandfurtherstudyisnecessaryinordertodocumentout-
typicallytaughtinpreschoolclassrooms,combinedwithcontrolclass- comeswithbroaderdissemination.
roomsinthisstudyalsoaddressingSEskills.Thiswasconfirmedby Despitetheselimitations,thisisoneofthefewstudiesofpreschool
ourSEEFmeasurewhichwasanunbiasedobservationofasampleof curriculathatenrolledbothHeadStartclassrooms/childrenandcom-
bothinterventionandcontrolclassroomsinYear2,whichfoundstron- munity–based private preschools, allowing for generalizability of
gerdifferencesfavoringinterventionclassroomsforEFactivitiesand study findings to a more diverse set of preschool programs. Since
weakerdifferencesforSEactivities(particularlyidentifyingfeelings thereisagreatneedforevidence-drivencurriculathatcanpromote
andperspectivetaking).Mostoftheclassroomsinthecurrentstudy bothEFandSE,webelievethatthesepreliminaryfindingsshowprom-
used other standardized curricula such as Creative Curriculum iseforthisrelativelynewcurriculum,especiallywithregardtothede-
(TeachingStrategies,LLC,2002–2012),whichprovideaframeworkto velopmentofEF.FurtherdisseminationandevaluationofSSELwill
coverimportantskilldevelopmentforchildrenoverthecourseofthe helpbuildevidenceforitsimpacts,andpotentialtoimproveSEas
preschoolyears,includingasetofgoalsforsocialdevelopment.Head wellasEFskillsinpreschoolchildren.
Startguidelinesalsoincludegoalsforsocialemotionaldevelopment
(U.S.DepartmentofHealthandHumanServices,Administrationfor Acknowledgements
ChildrenandFamilies,2011).Thus,controlclassroomsimplemented
“curriculumasusual,”thatclearlyincludedactivitiesrelatedtosocial/ ThisstudywasfundedbyagrantfromtheUSDepartmentofEduca-
emotionaldevelopment. tion/InstituteofEducationSciences(#R305A130336).Thefunderdid
Intermsofcovariates,wedidnotfindfamilyincomedifferencesin nothaveanyroleinstudydesign,datacollection,analyses,interpreta-
SpringoutcomesforEForSEskillsashavebeenfoundinotherstudies tion,ormanuscriptpreparationorsubmission.Theauthorswishto
(McClellandetal.,2007).Thismaybebecauseoursamplewasprimarily thankthestaffandfamiliesoftheparticipatingchildcareprograms:
lowincome.Further,whiletherewerebaselinedifferencesinchildren's GuildofSt.AgnesEarlyEducationandChildCare,MontachusettOppor-
skills,andthesecontributedtoSpringEFscores,theinterventionwas tunityCouncilChildCareandHeadStart,RainbowChildDevelopment
stillsignificantinboostingchildren'sEFaboveandbeyondpreschool Center,WorcesterComprehensiveEducationandCare,WorcesterPub-
entrygeneralcognition(PPVT),EFandSEskills.BaselineSE,butnot licSchools/ChildDevelopment-HeadStart,andYWCAofCentralMassa-
baselineEFskills,weresignificantpredictorsofSpringSEskills,al- chusetts. We also wish to thank our data management/statistical
thoughgeneralcognition(PPVT)andchildagewerenegativelyrelated supportstaff,BruceBarton,PhD,AimeeKrollDerosiers,MS,andEliza-
andalsosignificant,suggestingit'spossiblethatyoungerchildrenand bethOrvek,MS;theover20part-timestudystaffwhoconductedchild
thosewithlowerpreschoolentrygeneralcognitionbenefittedmorein assessmentsandclassroomobservations;andourcoreadministrative
developmentoftheirSEskills.WealsofoundHispanicchildrendid staffandpost-doctoralfellowsfortheiryearsofdedicationinkeeping
poorerinEFoutcomes.Generallythishasnotbeenreportedinother themultiplestudyactivitiesrunningsmoothly:LornaChiasson,Jennifer
similarpreschoolinterventionstudies(e.g.,Biermanetal.,2008a)and Hazelton,ElizabethDelaRosaLawson,AnthoulaPoulakos,GailSawosik,
maybeduetothepowerderivedfromalargerproportionofHispanic andYeonsooYoo.
childreninthisstudy.
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