The KidsMatter Primary Programs Guide
Program categorisation
The criteria used for the categorisation of programs have mostly been adapted from those developed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). CASEL is an interdisciplinary group of scientists, practitioners, and policy makers who have been at the forefront of developing and researching social and emotional learning and its connection to academic achievement and student wellbeing. Other measures used in the categorisation of programs in this guide have been selected to be of most assistance to schools, and include the degree of structure in the program’s sessions, applicability to special student groups, and staff training availability. Most of these categorisation ratings are self-explanatory on reading the categorisation keys accompanying each table, but the ratings for ‘Evidence of effectiveness’ and ‘Sound SEL instructional practice’ (adopted from CASEL) require further explanation.
‘Evidence of effectiveness’ categorisation
One of the most important questions to ask about a program is ‘Does it work?’ To answer this question accurately a program needs to have been evaluated. In order to include this information in the Guide, the program authors were asked to provide details of any evaluation studies of their programs. Some of the programs included in this guide have not yet been formally evaluated, some have had preliminary evaluation and some have extensive research demonstrating the effectiveness of their programs.
To enable this evaluation information to be most easily understood, KidsMatter has adopted a rating system developed by CASEL. This provides criteria for rating the effectiveness of a program by grading the quality of any research evidence that has come from evaluation studies of the program. This information gives the ‘evidence base’ for the effectiveness of a program. Although the statistical language used in the ratings may appear complicated, it is only necessary for the reader to understand that a high rating means a program has high quality research evidence that has demonstrated the program is effective in addressing what it aims to develop, target or change (e.g., to improve children’s skills in social awareness).
There are a number of reasons why a program may not receive a rating for evidence of effectiveness in the categorisation tables. It does not necessarily mean that the program is not useful or effective. Some programs have not yet been evaluated, others have had preliminary evaluation but the study design did not meet the inclusion criteria for the CASEL ratings (e.g., the evaluation may not have included a control group), and others may have conducted extensive evaluation but this was with adolescents rather than primary school children.
The evidence of effectiveness categorisation is used in this Guide for programs relevant to KidsMatter Primary Components 2, 3 and 4, but has been omitted for the categorisation of programs under Component 1 (A positive school community) as these programs more broadly target the policies and practices at the wider school community level and are not as readily able to be evaluated.
An ‘identified theoretical framework’ category has been included to provide an alternative level of information about the research basis of the program, to help to differentiate programs that are based on established theories from those that are not. Authors were asked to provide information about the theoretical framework on which their program’s interventions/activities were based. Where the information submitted by authors did not involve the identification of a recognised theoretical framework, this is reflected in the Categorisation Table.
‘Sound SEL instructional practice’ categorisation
CASEL has identified five core social and emotional competencies that are viewed as essential for the mental health and wellbeing of primary school students. These have been adopted for use in KidsMatter, and the CASEL criteria are thus used in this guide for the categorisation of programs relevant to KidsMatter Component 2 (Social and emotional learning for students). The categorisation ratings in the categorisation table for Component 2 indicate how well a mental health program provides instruction that promotes student mastery of these five core social and emotional learning competencies. The five core social and emotional learning competencies identified by CASEL are as follows:
1. Self-awareness
• Identifying emotions: Identifying and labelling one’s feelings
• Recognising strengths: Identifying and cultivating one’s strengths and positive qualities
2. Social awareness
• Perspective-taking: Identifying and understanding the thoughts and feelings of others
• Appreciating diversity: Understanding that individual and group differences complement each other and make the world more interesting
3. Self-management
• Managing emotions: Monitoring and regulating feelings so they aid rather than impede the handling of situations
• Goal setting: Establishing and working toward the achievement of short- and long term goals that are in keeping with society’s values
4. Responsible decision making
• Analysing situations: Accurately perceiving situations in which a decision is to be made and assessing factors that might influence one’s response
• Assuming personal responsibility: Recognising and understanding one’s obligation to engage in ethical, safe, and legal behaviours
• Respecting others: Believing that others deserve to be treated with kindness and compassion and feeling motivated to contribute to the common good
• Problem solving: Generating, implementing, and evaluating positive and informed solutions to problems
5. Relationship skills
• Communication: Using verbal and nonverbal skills to express oneself and promote positive and effective exchanges with others
• Building relationships: Establishing and maintaining healthy and rewarding connections with individuals and groups
• Negotiation: Achieving mutually satisfactory resolutions to conflict by addressing the needs of all concerned
• Refusal: Effectively conveying and following through with one’s decision not to engage in unwanted, unsafe, unethical, or unlawful conduct
Click here to find out how programs were selected for the Guide
