ERIC Number: EJ1194779
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2332-8584
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Social-Emotional Learning and Academic Achievement: Using Causal Methods to Explore Classroom-Level Mechanisms
McCormick, Meghan P.; Cappella, Elise; O'Connor, Erin E.; McClowry, Sandee G.
AERA Open, v1 n3 Jul-Sep 2015
Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs have demonstrated positive effects on children's social-emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes, as well as classroom climate. Some programs also theorize that program impacts on children's outcomes will be partially explained by improvements in classroom social processes, namely classroom emotional support and organization. Yet there is little empirical evidence for this hypothesis. Using data from the evaluation of the SEL program "INSIGHTS," this article tests whether assignment to "INSIGHTS" improved low-income kindergarten and first grade students' math and reading achievement by first enhancing classroom emotional support and organization. Multilevel regression analyses, instrumental variables estimation, and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were used to conduct quantitative analyses. Across methods, the impact of "INSIGHTS" on math and reading achievement in first grade was partially explained by gains in both classroom emotional support and organization. The IPTW method revealed that the program impact on reading achievement in first grade was partially explained through an improvement in classroom organization. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Descriptors: Social Development, Emotional Development, Academic Achievement, Elementary School Students, Child Development, Program Evaluation, Low Income Students, Kindergarten, Grade 1, Student Improvement, Mathematics Achievement, Reading Achievement, Achievement Gains, Intervention, At Risk Students, Measures (Individuals), Rating Scales, Teacher Student Relationship, Classroom Environment
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 1
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Leiter International Performance Scale; Student Teacher Relationship Scale
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A080512; R305B080019
Author Affiliations: N/A