The Impact of Implementation Fidelity on Student Outcomes in the Life Skills Training Program

Vroom, Enya B.; Massey, Oliver T.; Yampolskaya, Svetlana; Levin, Bruce

doi:10.1007/s12310-019-09333-1

Cited by 19 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In their meta‐analysis of school‐based social and emotional learning programs, Durlak et al (2011) noted the importance of high‐quality program implementation for producing positive outcomes. A frequently acknowledged challenge in the implementation of school‐based interventions is that of fidelity monitoring and ensuring high fidelity program implementation (Vroom et al, 2020). Not only do the results from implementation fidelity measures used in the current study provide evidence that the SPARK Curriculum was delivered as intended, but their use in the current study also demonstrates the feasibility and utility of these measures as a tool for monitoring implementation fidelity of the SPARK Curriculum within the context of school‐based program delivery.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and emotional learning during early adolescence: Effectiveness of a classroom‐based SEL program for middle school students

Green

Ferrante

Boaz

et al. 2021

Psychology in the Schools

109

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Early adolescence and the transition to middle school bring about many challenges for students and negative outcomes are not uncommon, including academic decline and social maladjustment. This developmental period is also marked by increased risk of mental health-related difficulties. Strengthening students' social and emotional competencies through the delivery of school-based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs has been suggested as one strategy for promoting positive development and preventing negative outcomes. In particular, the delivery of developmentally appropriate and evidence-based SEL programs at the universal level of tiered supports has the potential to benefit many students. The current study presents findings from a randomized controlled trial of the Speaking to the Potential, Ability, and Resilience Inside Every Kid (SPARK) Pre-Teen Mentoring Curriculum for 357 students from two schools. Results revealed that students who received the curriculum showed significant improvements in knowledge of curriculum content and principles; communication, decision-making, and problem-solving skills; emotional regulation; and resilience compared to students in the comparison condition. Results provide initial evidence for the This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and emotional learning during early adolescence: Effectiveness of a classroom‐based SEL program for middle school students

Green

Ferrante

Boaz

et al. 2021

Psychology in the Schools

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It seems that both individual and program factors were highlighted by children both as positive and negative aspects and, consequently, as aspects that could be further improved. Similarly, participant factors have been emphasized in other studies, such as attitudes toward learning and motivation, as well as program factors, such as length [ 34 , 35 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Assessing the quality of program implementation based on the indicators of feasibility and responsiveness is considered good practice [ 29 , 30 ] and an essential condition of effective social and emotional learning programs [ 31 , 32 ]) and ensures that quality has also been associated with the interventions’ outcomes [ 33 ]. When nuclear elements of fidelity were separately considered, participant responsiveness (i.e., involvement and engagement of children/adolescents) was significantly associated with SEL outcomes post-test [ 34 ]. Additionally, qualitative evaluations of program implementations can also inform about their quality and variability [ 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Children’s Perspectives on Using Serious Games as a Complement to Promoting Their Social–Emotional Skills

Xavier

Vagos

Palmeira

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The use of serious games may be an appealing and complementary way to motivate curriculum-based social and emotional learning (SEL); still, investigation into this potential usefulness is scarce. This study aims to address the usefulness of serious games within the program ‘Me and Us of Emotions’. Specifically, we analyzed the differences in children’s satisfaction in sessions that did or did not use serious games as a complement to the intervention, explored the contribution of using serious games to the global satisfaction with the program, and explored children’s qualitative feedback regarding the sessions. The participants were 232 children (122 boys and 110 girls) aged between 8 and 12 years old (M = 9.09, SD = 0.80). The measures were based on the subjective appraisals of the sessions made by the participating children, including quantitative and qualitative assessments of the degree of satisfaction of the participants. The results showed that there were similar levels of satisfaction with the sessions that did or did not use serious games as a complement to the program. However, only satisfaction with the sessions that used serious games (and not satisfaction with the sessions that did not use them) contributed significantly to explaining both the enjoyment of the activities and the interest in the subjects. Satisfaction with serious games was significantly and positively associated with fun, easiness, ability to understand the session, and ability to cope with emotions. Qualitative analysis showed three main themes, namely: positive aspects, negative aspects, and opportunities for improvement of the program. Overall, these results indicate that children’s satisfaction with the ‘Me and Us of Emotions’ program is related to serious games, suggesting the relevance of using this complementary tool more often when intervening with younger generations.

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“…However, early interventions that incorporate skills trainings have also shown promising effectiveness [4]. Evidence for this effectiveness primarily stems from life skills trainings embedded in school curricula [5][6][7][8][9][10][11], whereas life skills trainings to promote mental health and prevent substance use in young adolescents are only recently being adapted to digital interventions as well as being tested [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. This trend is mainly fostered by the difficulties that schools encounter when trying to implement life skills trainings in their curricula [9] and the personnel and financial resources that such programs require [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engagement With a Mobile Phone–Based Life Skills Intervention for Adolescents and Its Association With Participant Characteristics and Outcomes: Tree-Based Analysis

Castro¹,

Haug²,

Debelak³

et al. 2022

J Med Internet Res

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Background Mobile phone–delivered life skills programs are an emerging and promising way to promote mental health and prevent substance use among adolescents, but little is known about how adolescents actually use them. Objective The aim of this study is to determine engagement with a mobile phone–based life skills program and its different components, as well as the associations of engagement with adolescent characteristics and intended substance use and mental health outcomes. Methods We performed secondary data analysis on data from the intervention group (n=750) from a study that compared a mobile phone–based life skills intervention for adolescents recruited in secondary and upper secondary school classes with an assessment-only control group. Throughout the 6-month intervention, participants received 1 SMS text message prompt per week that introduced a life skills topic or encouraged participation in a quiz or individual life skills training or stimulated sharing messages with other program participants through a friendly contest. Decision trees were used to identify predictors of engagement (use and subjective experience). The stability of these decision trees was assessed using a resampling method and by graphical representation. Finally, associations between engagement and intended substance use and mental health outcomes were examined using logistic and linear regression analyses. Results The adolescents took part in half of the 50 interactions (mean 23.6, SD 15.9) prompted by the program, with SMS text messages being the most used and contests being the least used components. Adolescents who did not drink in a problematic manner and attended an upper secondary school were the ones to use the program the most. Regarding associations between engagement and intended outcomes, adolescents who used the contests more frequently were more likely to be nonsmokers at follow-up than those who did not (odds ratio 0.86, 95% CI 0.76-0.98; P=.02). In addition, adolescents who read the SMS text messages more attentively were less likely to drink in a problematic manner at follow-up (odds ratio 0.43, 95% CI 1.29-3.41; P=.003). Finally, participants who used the program the most and least were more likely to increase their well-being from baseline to 6-month follow-up compared with those with average engagement (βs=.39; t586=2.66; P=.008; R2=0.24). Conclusions Most of the adolescents participating in a digital life skills program that aimed to prevent substance use and promote mental health engaged with the intervention. However, measures to increase engagement in problem drinkers should be considered. Furthermore, efforts must be made to ensure that interventions are engaging and powerful across different educational levels. First results indicate that higher engagement with digital life skills programs could be associated with intended outcomes. Future studies should apply further measures to improve the reach of lower-engaged participants at follow-up to establish such associations with certainty.

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The Impact of Implementation Fidelity on Student Outcomes in the Life Skills Training Program

Cited by 19 publications

References 45 publications

Social and emotional learning during early adolescence: Effectiveness of a classroom‐based SEL program for middle school students

Social and emotional learning during early adolescence: Effectiveness of a classroom‐based SEL program for middle school students

Children’s Perspectives on Using Serious Games as a Complement to Promoting Their Social–Emotional Skills

Engagement With a Mobile Phone–Based Life Skills Intervention for Adolescents and Its Association With Participant Characteristics and Outcomes: Tree-Based Analysis

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