Predictors of Healthy Youth Relationships Program Implementation in a Sample of Canadian Middle School Teachers

Abstract

Implementation of evidence-based, Tier 1 social-emotional learning (SEL) programming that supports healthy relationships skills is recognized as a key mental health promotion and violence prevention strategy for youth. However, work specifically exploring how to support the high-quality implementation of such programming with Canadian teachers and schools is just beginning to emerge. Drawing on implementation frameworks that emphasize the importance of setting, provider, and implementation process characteristics for understanding program implementation outcomes, this prospective, longitudinal study explores implementation of the Fourth R, a SEL-based healthy relationships program, in a Western Canadian province using a sample of middle school teachers. The aim of this mixed-methods study was to illuminate relationships among teachers’ attitudes toward evidence-based programming, perceptions of organizational climate, and training experience with program implementation outcomes (dosage, quality, fidelity). Findings of this exploratory study identified that these characteristics influenced implementation dosage, quality, and fidelity in differential ways. Qualitative data drawn from teacher interviews supported quantitative findings and highlighted the importance of organizational support for high-quality implementation. We discuss areas for further study, given that there are significant gaps in knowledge about teachers’ attitudes toward evidence-based programming, school climate, and other systemic factors in the Canadian context, as well as relevance of study findings to the field of school psychology.

Impact of Trauma-Informed Training and Mindfulness-Based Social–Emotional Learning Program on Teacher Attitudes and Burnout: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…(2) Within the intervention group, do educators with two years of experience with training and MindUP have additional gains compared to educators with one year of experience? This second question was considered more exploratory in nature, but previous work with SEL programming has shown that educators implement programs with higher fidelity after a year of practice (e.g., Crooks, Chiodo, Zwarych, Hughes, & Wolfe, 2013;Exner-Cortens, Spiric, Crooks, Syeda, & Wells, 2020). Similarly, teachers' comfort level in teaching SEL is negatively associated with stress and positively associated with job satisfaction (Collie et al, 2012).…”

A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Evaluation of a Universal Healthy Relationships Promotion Program for Youth

“…Finally, we note that overall, fidelity in this study was high (as is expected in an efficacy study), but that where facilitators were unable to implement all program activities, time emerged as a key barrier (see Supplemental Material). Time is also a commonly reported barrier in past implementation work on other Fourth R programs (Crooks, Chiodo, Zwarych, Hughes, & Wolfe, 2008; Exner-Cortens, Spiric, Crooks, Syeda, & Wells, 2018b). Thus, as part of planning for HRP implementation, we urge school psychologists to examine how the time needs of the program might best fit within the school environment (e.g., deciding when and how often to offer the program, leaving time for extra sessions at the end) and to be planful about adaptations to the program that arise due to time constraints.…”

Ortaöğreti̇m Öğretmenleri̇ Gözünden Sosyal Duygusal Öğrenme Beceri̇leri̇: Fenomenoloji̇k Bi̇r Çalişma

“…Bu noktadan hareketle, bu konuda farkındalığı ve uygulama bilgisi olan öğretmenlere ihtiyaç duyulduğu söylenebilir. Öğretmen ve öğretmen adaylarının SDÖ becerileri ile ilgili çalışmalar incelendiğinde; sosyal-duygusal öğrenme konusunda eksiklerinin olduğunu ve bilgilendirilmeye ihtiyaçları bulunduğunu göstermekle birlikte, SDÖ konusunda öğretmen tutumlarının da etkili olduğunu belirten ve öğretmen eğitimlerinin etkililiğini gösteren çalışmalarda bulunmaktadır (Crooks, Chiodo, Zwarych, Hughes, & Wolfe, 2013;Esen-Aygün ve Şahin-Taşkın, 2016;Exner-Cortens, Spiric, Crooks, Syeda, & Wells, 2020;Kim, Crooks ve Bax, 2021).…”