Using Social-Emotional and Character Development to Improve Academic Outcomes: A Matched-Pair, Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Low-Income, Urban Schools
Bavarian, Niloofar; Lewis, Kendra M.; DuBois, David L.; Acock, Alan; Vuchinich, Samuel; Silverthorn, Naida; Snyder, Frank J.; Day, Joseph; Ji, Peter; Flay, Brian R. (2013). Journal of School Health, v83 n11 p771-779. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1026798
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examining14Schools, grades3-8
Single Study Review
Review Details
Reviewed: June 2022
- Single Study Review (findings for Positive Action (PA))
- Additional source not reviewed because it is not the primary source for the study (View primary source).
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Study sample characteristics were not reported.Grant Competition
Review Details
Reviewed: February 2018
- Grant Competition (findings for Positive Action (PA))
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Meets WWC standards without reservations because it is a randomized controlled trial with low attrition.
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Findings
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Absenteeism |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
5.58 |
6.95 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Read Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.72 |
2.64 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Math Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
2.79 |
2.67 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Read Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Female;
|
2.78 |
2.30 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Math Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Female;
|
2.81 |
2.68 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Read Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Male;
|
2.66 |
2.60 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Math Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Male;
|
2.79 |
2.67 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Read Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Black;
|
2.74 |
2.62 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Math Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Black;
|
2.77 |
2.62 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Read Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
2.70 |
2.63 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT): Math Score |
Positive Action (PA) vs. Unknown |
0 Days |
Free or reduced price lunch;
|
2.79 |
2.67 |
No |
-- | ||
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
Sample Characteristics
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
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Urban
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Illinois
Study Details
Setting
The study was conducted in 14 K-6 and K-8 schools in the Chicago Public Schools district. Schools were selected from all K-6 and K-8 Chicago Public Schools. The following types of schools were excluded: non-community schools, schools that already had PA or a similar program, schools with less than 50 students or more than 140 students per grade, schools with annual mobility greater than 40%, schools with more than 50% of students passing the state test, and schools with less than 50% of students eligible for free or reduced priced lunch. These criteria ensured that the majority of students at participating schools were high need in terms of test scores and economic disadvantage. 68 schools were eligible, and 18 agreed to participate. Of the 18 that agreed to participate, the study authors selected the 7 best matched pairs in terms of student and school characteristics. A total of 14 schools in participated in the study. The intervention was implemented school-wide in participating schools.
Study sample
Fourteen schools, 247 teachers, and 1,170 students participated in the evaluation. There were 7 treatment and 7 control schools but the distribution of students and teachers is not provided by group.
Intervention Group
Positive Action includes a core curriculum of 6 units: self-concept; positive actions for mind and body; positive social-emotional actions focusing on getting along with others; and managing, being honest with, and continually improving oneself. For grades K-6, the curriculum includes more than 140 15-20 minute lessons per grade, delivered 4 days per week. For grades 7-8, there are 70 20-minute lessons delivered 2 days per week. There are also teacher, counselor, family, and community training activities; school climate development activities; and a school climate tool kit.
Comparison Group
The study does not describe the comparison condition.
Support for implementation
The program includes teacher, counselor, family, and community training activities; school climate development activities; and a school climate tool kit. Training was provided to teachers, counselors, family, and community members. The study does not provide information about the content of this training.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).