Kidsteps II-Efficacy Trial of Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) Program: Promoting School Readiness through Social Emotional Skill Building in Preschool, Worcester County, Massachusetts, 2013-2017

The Resource Kidsteps II-Efficacy Trial of Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) Program: Promoting School Readiness through Social Emotional Skill Building in Preschool, Worcester County, Massachusetts, 2013-2017
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Kidsteps II-Efficacy Trial of Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) Program: Promoting School Readiness through Social Emotional Skill Building in Preschool, Worcester County, Massachusetts, 2013-2017
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The Kidsteps II Project tested the efficacy of the Second Step Early Learning (SSEL) curriculum in improving children's social-emotional skills (SE), executive functioning (EF), and school readiness skills in preschool relative to usual curricular frameworks, and the predictive power of the intervention on kindergarten readiness and kindergarten success. Kidsteps II, a 4-year study funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, included 67 classrooms randomly assigned to one of two, two-year cohorts. In each cohort, half of the classrooms were randomly assigned to receive the SSEL curriculum (intervention condition), and half continued usual practices (control/comparison condition). Teachers in intervention classrooms were provided with training and implementation support for two years. Teachers in both conditions completed social skills rating scales on participating children at the beginning and end of the year (n=1497). Parent reports of children's social skills were also obtained for 725 children. Four-year-old children entering kindergarten the following year (n=978) were individually tested on social skills, executive functioning, and academic skills at the beginning and end of their pre-k year. Additional classroom observation and coded lesson plans documented fidelity, implementation, classroom climate, and classroom quality. Intervention teachers also completed weekly measures of curriculum implementation. Pre-k children from the first three years of the study were followed into kindergarten, and kindergarten teachers completed social skills rating scales and academic readiness mid-year, and school records were obtained for kindergarten screening scores, special services received during kindergarten, and promotion to first grade. The study addressed the following questions: <list type="bulleted"> <itm>Does SSEL improve children's social emotional skills, executive functioning, and school readiness skills as measured by teachers and independent assessors in preschool compared to classrooms not using SSEL?</itm> <itm>Do children participating in SSEL classrooms have stronger school system administered kindergarten readiness screenings, better kindergarten teacher-rated social skills and academic competency, and higher 1st grade promotion compared to children entering from comparison classrooms?</itm> <itm>To what extent are kindergarten readiness screenings and kindergarten teacher's ratings of social skills and academic competence mediated by preschool children's social emotional skills and executive functioning?</itm> <itm>Is there an effect of SSEL on preschool classroom climate?</itm> </list>

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