Adapting Social Emotional Learning Curricula for an Urban Context via Focus Groups: Process and Outcomes

Abstract

Although internalizing problems are of particular concern in under-resourced urban schools, interventions are often not culturally relevant for this student population. The current study explored a process of seeking stakeholder input through focus groups to inform the cultural adaptation of Merrell’s Strong Kids curricula, an intervention targeting internalizing problems. Focus group feedback revealed themes related to the importance of increasing the relevance of the curricula to better address the community context (addressing anxiety associated with the political climate and capitalizing on community strengths) and better supporting students’ needs (building in more communication with caregivers, developing skills stakeholders wanted students to learn, addressing concerns they had about their students’ feelings and experiences, and the need for building in strategies to help students generalize and adapt skills across settings). The adapted intervention was then implemented with a sample of 43 elementary student participants. Pre/post differences in screening outcomes suggested large decreases in students’ internalizing symptoms. These findings suggest that research-based behavioral health interventions can be adapted to be more responsive to the needs of students in urban schools.

Impact Statement

There is a need for more equitable access to culturally responsive mental health interventions for students in urban communities. Although this need is emphasized in research and practice, few studies provide a systemic process school teams can utilize to seek stakeholder input to inform adaptations to existing evidence-based interventions. The current study includes an example of a systematic process teams can utilize to adapt interventions.

Keywords:

• culturally adapting interventions
• stakeholder voice
• adapting evidence-based interventions

Associate Editor:

• Prerna Arora

DISCLOSURE

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Notes

1 For the purpose of the current study, high needs schools are defined as schools with a high percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged, have disabilities, and are English Learners or former English Learners (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 2020).

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by University of Massachusetts Boston Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Program.

Notes on contributors

Kathryn Doherty Kurtz

Kathryn Doherty Kurtz, PhD, NCSP serves as the Project Director of the BIRCh Project at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She recently completed her doctorate in school psychology at UMass Boston, where she trained with the Boston Public Schools’ Comprehensive Behavioral Health Model, the Home for Little Wanderers, and Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health. Kurtz’s prior work as a school psychologist in the Minneapolis Public Schools informs her research in the areas of cross-system collaboration, the cultural and contextual adaptation of interventions for implementation in urban communities, Tier 2 interventions targeting internalizing problems, and effective and efficient training practices.

Melissa Pearrow

Melissa M. Pearrow, PhD, serves as the executive director of the BIRCh Project and has been a professor in the School Psychology PhD Program at UMass Boston for 15 years. As the former program director, she has managed courses for the program of study, overseen admissions, secured field placements for practicum students and interns, and obtained program approval to meet state and national credentialing standards. Prior to joining the faculty, she spent ten years as a school psychologist, in which she coordinated the program for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Her training in inpatient, outpatient, and community mental health settings informs her research on school-based mental health, including her partnership with the Boston Public Schools and Boston Children’s Hospital in the development of the Comprehensive Behavioral Health Model. She is a past president of the Massachusetts School Psychologists Association and serves as cochair of the Ethics Committee of the National Association of School Psychologists. She is the author of Identifying, assessing, and treating early onset schizophrenia at school and serves on the Safe and Supportive Schools Commission.

Jill Snyder Battal

Jill Snyder Battal, PhD, NCSP serves as an Assistant Director of Special Education for the Boston Public Schools. She is the former Data & Research Coordinator for the Comprehensive Behavioral Health Model of the Boston Public Schools.

Melissa A. Collier-Meek

Melissa A. Collier-Meek, PhD, BCBA, (Mel) conducts research focused on helping educators implement evidence-based ­practices to improve outcomes for students. Informed by implementation science, her work addresses improving fidelity assessment; understanding the multi-level process that impacts school-based implementation; and testing feasible, tiered strategies for supporting teachers and paraeducators to deliver targeted and class-wide interventions. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed publications and delivered over 100 national and local presentations. Her research has twice been a finalist for article for the year in school psychology journals (Collier-Meek et al., 2019 at School Psychology Review; Sanetti et al., 2015 at Journal of School Psychology). With Dr. Lisa Sanetti, she is the co-author of the book Supporting Successful Interventions in Schools: Tools to Plan, Evaluate, and Sustain Effective Implementation published by Guilford Press in 2019. Dr. Collier-Meek received the Lightner Witmer Award from the American Psychological Association for her early career scholarship related to implementation in 2019. Dr. Collier-Meek is an Associate Editor for School Psychology and is member of the multiple editorial boards. In 2017, she was honored as the Reviewer of the Year from Journal of School Psychology and Editorial Appreciation Award from School Psychology Review. She is the Planning Committee Chair for the 2022 School Psychology Research Collaboration Conference. Dr. Collier-Meek is the Graduate Program Director for the School Psychology Doctoral Program at University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Collier-Meek received her PhD in School Psychology from the University of Connecticut in 2013.

Jillian Archer Cohen

Jillian Archer Cohen, EdS, NCSP is a school psychologist in the Boston Public Schools. She won Boston Public Schools Educator of the Year in 2019.

Whitney Walker

Whitney Walker, PhD is the CBHM Data and Research Coordinator for the Boston Public Schools. She earned her Master’s from the University of Colorado Denver in Sociology, going on to continue work in public and charter schools in the Denver metro area. She earned her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2021. Her experience working with urban youth and the systems in which they interact with prompted the pursuit for her doctorate degree. Through her research she is aspiring to influence systemic change towards equitable practices for all students.