Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Strengths: Promoting Productive Contexts for Students at-risk for EBD during the Transition to Middle School

Abstract

This study involved a pilot examination of the impact of the Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Strengths (SEALS) model on the 6th grade academic and social context following the transition to middle school. Two middle schools from a high poverty Appalachian school district were randomly assigned to the intervention and control condition. Following the SEALS training, students in the intervention school had higher peer norms for academic effort. Also, teachers in the intervention school had sustained levels of positive efficacy for meeting the instructional, behavioral, and social needs of all students while control teachers had a declining trend in their efficacy to meet students' needs across the school year. Further, compared to students in the control school, students in the intervention school with elevated levels of aggression were more likely to associate with academically productive peers and less likely to associate with peers who were identified as bullies or as victims. Implications for future research and for the development of strength-based programs for students at risk of EBD are discussed.

Notes

This work was supported by grant #R305A04056 from the Institute of Education Sciences. The views expressed in this article are ours and do not represent the granting agency.

Note. ^asignifies intervention school mean score is significantly greater than control school mean score for the time period.

^bsignifies a trend toward significant difference between intervention and control school scores.