Competent Kids, Caring Communities, offered by the Ackerman Institute for the Family, provides a lesson-based approach to SEL. It offers programming for K-5 and demonstrates evidence of effectiveness at grade 4.
Strategies supporting educational equity
Competent Kids, Caring Communities offers strategies for understanding context and working with bias. This includes school-wide community building activities designed to develop teacher knowledge about the cultural backgrounds and perspectives of students. Additionally, the program offers training on a framework for conducting reflective conversations on issues such as bias and privilege in a supportive, non-judgemental atmosphere.
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- SEL lessons
- Positive classroom management
- SEL generalization
- Shared agreements
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- Systemic support for SEL
- Adult SEL
- Group structures
- Student supports
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- Community partnerships
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- School Involvement
- Activities and Resources for Home
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- Onsite in-person training
- Virtual training
- Offsite training
- Train the trainer model
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- Administrator support
- Coaching
- Technical assistance
- Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)
- Online resource library
- Self-report tools for monitoring implementation
- Observational tools
- Tools for measuring student success
Evidence of effectiveness
Results from a quasi-experimental evaluation (published in 2005) supported the longitudinal effectiveness of Competent Kids, Caring Community Program for elementary school students. This evaluation included 119 students in grade 4 (white = 37%, Asian American = 19%, Hispanic/Latinx= 19%; free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) = 52-63%). This evaluation found students who participated in grade 4 showed improvements in mathematics grades, teacher-reported social and emotional behavior (i.e., attention and concentration, social and emotional competence, lack of aggression), self-reported self-efficacy, and problem solving skills compared to students in the control group (outcomes were assessed in grades 5 and 6, one and two years after pre-test respectively while controlling for outcome pre-test).
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Evidence shown in grades 4School characteristics -
- Urban
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- Northeast
Student characteristics - Asian / Asian American
- Hispanic / Latinx
- White
- Low income
Percentage Low Income - Eligible for FRPL: 63%
Study design type - QE
Greater than 350 students included in study design type - No
Multiple school districts included at study design type - No
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- Improved academic performance
- Reduced emotional distress
- Improved identity development and agency
- Reduced problem behaviors
- Improved school climate
- Improved school connectedness
- Improved social behaviors
- Improved teaching practices
- Improved other SEL skills and attitudes
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