Project Activities
Researchers conducted a two-cohort cluster randomized study to investigate the impact of MindUP on children's self-regulatory and social emotional learning competencies. They recruited and randomly assigned 57 preschool teachers to treatment and control conditions. Teachers received training and professional development support to implement the intervention. Researchers collected data from parents and teachers, conducted classroom observations, and assessed children to evaluate impacts of the intervention on child and teacher outcomes. They also conducted a cost study.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This study took place in center-based, pre-K programs in three large counties in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area.
Sample
The sample included classrooms operating within two types of center-based pre-K programs (not-for-profit and for-profit) serving 4-year-old children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who speak Spanish and/or English as their primary language. Study participants include 57 preschool classrooms/teachers and 371 children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
The MindUP intervention is a fully developed, mindfulness-based social emotional learning (SEL) supplementary curriculum that includes 15 weekly lessons and daily focused attention practices to promote children's development of SEL competencies and professional development for educators. The MindUP components include: (1) a 1-day training for teachers; (2) the MindUP curriculum book and materials for implementing weekly lessons and daily practices; and (3) implementation supports, including monthly MindUP Community (COP) meetings.
Research design and methods
The study was conducted with three independent cohorts of participants (Cohort 1—2019-2020; Cohort 2—2022-2023; Cohort 3—2023-2024). The research team randomly assigned classrooms to the MindUP intervention or the waitlist control condition and randomly selected approximately seven children from each classroom for assessments. Classrooms assigned to the MindUP condition implemented the intervention for 1 year. Classrooms assigned to the waitlist control condition had access to the MindUP training and materials in the subsequent year, but without other implementation support. In the first year of the project, the research team piloted and refined a comprehensive set of measures of implementation fidelity, conducted a pilot study of MindUP implementation in 10 pre-K classrooms, and conducted a survey of business-as-usual SEL practices within pre-K classrooms.
Research activities for Cohorts 1, 2, and 3 included recruitment and random assignment, baseline assessments of child and teacher outcomes, training and implementation support for MindUP teachers, implementation of the intervention, collection of classroom observation data three times during the year, and post-intervention assessments in spring of each year. Cohort 1 included 38 classrooms and 283 children; however, the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the project in March 2020, post-intervention assessments were not able to be collected, and this cohort was excluded from analyses of program impacts. The project was paused for 2 subsequent school years (2020-21 and 2021-22), and the study was re-designed as a smaller-scale study of the impacts of MindUP on children’s social, emotional, and self-regulatory skills. The researchers collected data for the cost analysis from each of the three cohorts. In the final 2 years, they conducted data analysis and disseminated study findings.
Control condition
The waitlist control group of teachers conducted business-as-usual practices during the study year and received access to MindUP resources the following year.
Key measures
Primary measures included standardized direct child assessments of children's SEL competencies, as well as teacher reports of children's SEL competencies in pre-kindergarten. Other key measures include fidelity of implementation tools, classroom observations to assess SEL practices in treatment and control classrooms, and self-report assessments of teachers’ occupational health and well-being.
Data analytic strategy
Researchers conducted multilevel analyses to evaluate the impact of MindUP on children's development of SEL competencies at the end of pre-K. They conducted analyses to explore child and classroom characteristics that moderate impacts.
Cost analysis strategy
The research team also examined the costs of implementing MindUP.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Researchers will produce evidence of the efficacy of the MindUP intervention to improve children's academic skills and SEL competencies, prepare policy and practice briefs to share results with practitioners, and produce peer-reviewed publications.
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Available data:
Data will be made publicly available through the Inter-university Consortium for Social and Political Research at the University of Michigan.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
