The Role of Social–Emotional Mediators on Middle School Students’ Academic Growth as Fostered by an Evidence‐Based Intervention

Abstract

The authors describe a school counselor intervention delivered to a predominantly Hispanic group of 193 7th‐grade students. Using multilevel modeling, the authors found that participation resulted in greater rates of academic achievement, particularly in math and for students who pretested at lower achievement levels. Results indicated an indirect effect on math achievement for the executive functioning constructs of plan and organize and task completion, but no executive functioning mediators were found for reading or feelings of connectedness.

Effects of the Student Success Skills Program With Exceptional Students: Influences and Outcomes

“…The SSS program is a humanistically grounded school counseling intervention that supports students' development of cognitive, social, and self-management skills. Without changes in the current program structure, results from the current study remain consistent with other studies conducted with larger samples of general education students Lemberger et al, 2015Lemberger et al, , 2018: Exceptional students receiving special education services were found to experience positive effects on social and emotional learning skills, executive functioning constructs, and academic competency. However, observational data collected allude to activities in which exceptional students consistently became disengaged.…”

“…Previous studies on the SSS program have indicated a significant impact on executive functions Lemberger et al, 2015Lemberger et al, , 2018. Results from the current study remain consistent with past findings: Students experienced moderate differences in teacher-reported executive functioning ability.…”

“…Most recent investigations with diverse populations have indicated positive effects on essential cognitive skills, social skills, and academic outcomes (Lemberger & Clemens, ; Lemberger et al, ). Furthermore, students have been found to experience growth in these areas over time (Lemberger, Carbonneau, Selig, & Bowers, ). As seen within research outcomes, and in keeping with the humanistic tradition, the SSS program's interventions and strategies maximize the potential of young learners within a caring, supportive, and encouraging environment (Villares et al, ).…”

Kindergartners Are Ready to Learn: Applying Student‐Within‐Environment Theory to a School Counseling Intervention

“…Past studies of the SSS curriculum using ASE‐influenced practices and outcomes evince strong support for the effects of the intervention on students' executive functioning, social skills, and academic achievement (e.g., Bowers, Lemberger, Jones, & Rogers, ; Lemberger, Carbonneau, Selig, & Bowers, ; Lemberger, Selig, Bowers, & Rogers, ). Although it might be inferred from the theoretical relatedness of the various SSS curricula that RTL should contribute to young students' development of executive function and social‐emotional learning, there are currently no studies that explicitly consider intervention effects for these important school outcomes.…”

Self‐Regulatory Growth Effects for Young Children Participating in a Combined Social and Emotional Learning and Mindfulness‐Based Intervention

“…social and emotional learning (SEL) and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been found to be effective interventions with young children, each resulting in a number of affective and cognitive gains (Greenberg & Harris, 2012;Zoogman, Goldberg, Hoyt, & Miller, 2015). For practitioners, there are conceptual and practice similarities between SEL and MBI activities that are consistent with the priorities of early childhood educators (Denham & Weissberg, 2004) and counselors of children (Bowers, Lemberger-Truelove, & Brigman, in press;Lemberger, Carbonneau, Selig, & Bowers, 2018).…”