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This article describes the results of three pilot studies that were conducted to evaluate the recently developed "Strong Kids" and "Strong Teens" social-emotional learning programs in increasing students' knowledge of healthy social-emotional behavior and decreasing their symptoms of negative affect and emotional distress. The first study included 120 middle school students (in grade 5) from a general education student population. The second study included 65 general education students in grades 7-8. The third study included 14 high school students (grades 9-12) from a regional special education high school, who were identified as having emotional disturbance. The three groups participated in either the "Strong Kids" (groups 1 and 2) or "Strong Teens" (group 3) programs, receiving one-hour lessons and associated assignments once a week for 12 weeks. Social-emotional knowledge and negative emotional symptoms of participants were assessed using brief self-report measures, in pretest-posttest intervention designs. All three studies showed that, following participation in the respective programs, students evidenced statistically significant and clinically meaningful changes in desired directions on the target variables. Implications for future research are discussed, as is the importance of social and emotional learning as a prevention and intervention strategy to promote mental health among students in schools. (Contains 1 table.)
A survey study was conducted to examine teachers' knowledge, perceptions, and practices regarding social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. Teachers from two states (N = 263) provided a range of responses regarding how to promote SEL in their classrooms, increase the effectiveness of SEL, and reduce barriers to implementation. Results indicated that many teachers believe that SEL is important, schools should take an active role, receiving training/support from a variety of professionals would be helpful, and current academic demands decrease the opportunity for SEL. In addition to broadening the very limited research in this area, this study provides important new information regarding teachers' knowledge and practices of SEL in classrooms. This information is useful to school psychologists, other specialists, and administrators in helping set the stage for establishing social-emotional learning practices in schools. (Contains 6 tables.)