The June/July 2003 special issue of American Psychologist, Prevention That Works for Children and Youth, is now available at: http://www.apa.org/journals/amp/currentTOC.html. The articles were an outgrowth of noted psychologist Martin Seligman’s American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential Task Force on Prevention: Promoting Strength, Resilience, and Health in Young People. CASEL Executive Director Roger Weissberg was co-chair of the task force. He developed the special issue and was lead author of the introductory overview article, which provides a useful summary of prevention approaches and identifies key points and themes related to school-based prevention programming. A version of the article is available at: www.CASEL.org/weissbergAPA.pdf.

In addition, a group of seven CASEL collaborators led by Penn State professor Mark Greenberg contributed an article titled “Enhancing School-Based Prevention and Youth Development Through Coordinated Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning.” The article makes a compelling case for  school-based prevention, summarizes findings of key studies of comprehensive SEL-based prevention programming, and discusses the role of prevention programs in the context of other school-wide and district-wide practices and policies. The article is available at: www.CASEL.org/greenbergAPA.pdf.

Public Opinion Stresses Need for an Emphasis on “More than Just Test Scores”

How Important Is It to “Stick to the Curriculum”?

A large body of research shows that school-based substance abuse prevention programming works. But there’s a big “if.” Research has also determined time and again that the effectiveness of any school-based intervention depends on the quality of program implementation. A key aspect of this is whether a program was implemented as intended, otherwise known as “implementation fidelity.” The authors of a recent research report found that “about one-fifth of teachers of substance use prevention curricula did not use a curriculum guide at all, and only 15% reported they followed one very closely.”

What predicted whether teachers “adhered” to a program’s guidelines? The significant factors included (1) whether the teachers believed in the effectiveness of the the curricula they taught and (2) the level of support they received from their principals for doing this work. (Ringwalt CL, Ennett S, Johnson R, et al. 2003. Health Education and Behavior 30(3):375-391). 

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) held a conference in April 2003 to address the divide between prevention researchers and program developers, on the one hand, and educators trying to implement scientifically based prevention programs in the real-word conditions of schools today. A key presentation brought together school principals and administrators who have been close collaborators with CASEL. Feedback to the CASEL panelists indicated that participants agreed the conference will help researchers be more attuned to the day-to-day realities of schools when they design new programs. Teachers, on the other hand, are more likely to understand and accept the importance of fidelity to core program components.

"Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together."  --Vincent van Gogh

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process of developing fundamental social and emotional competencies or skills in children and creating caring and supportive school climate. A large number of school-based programs and practices are designed to do this. Many evidence-based school programs that focus on positive youth development, prevention, service-learning, and character education can be considered SEL. They work to develop students’ social and emotional competencies and create ways to nurture and support students. The resources in this e-newsletter cover a wide range of topics that fall under the umbrella of school-based SEL programming.