SEL
A research–practice partnership
of the RCCP lessons. This new program is
called “The 4Rs: Reading, Writing, Respect
and Resolution.” By creating the 4Rs, it was
possible to support SEL in the context of
literacy, dramatically reduce implementation
time, and become more attractive to both
educators and policy makers who were
under pressure to use class time to raise
academic scores.
A strong evidence base for the 4Rs
Higher standards of scientifi c evidence
are increasingly sought in the design and
implementation of education interventions.
After the fi rst RCCP evaluation, we could
not state with certainty that if RCCP were
expanded, children’s social-emotional
and academic learning would improve.
We therefore tested the impacts of the
successor to RCCP, the 4Rs program, using
a true experimental design in which schools
volunteered to be randomly assigned to
receiving the 4Rs or to a control group.
Beginning in 2004, we recruited 18 New
York City public elementary schools serving
ethnically diverse, low-income children. Half
were randomly assigned to implement 4Rs for
three years, and the other half were randomly causal impact of 4Rs means a lot to the of resources, and the will of policy makers,
assigned to a control group. The interim Morningside Center, to the participating educators, and parents to support SEL and
results of the impact of the 4Rs program are schools, and to the NYC Department of grow it to scale.
just beginning to be accepted for publication. Education. It means that they can be sure
The headlines to date support and extend our that if they replicate 4Rs faithfully, it will About the authors
earlier fi ndings from RCCP: improve SEL and the reading and math Lawrence Aber is Distinguished Professor of
●
After one year of implementation, the ability of the children with the greatest Applied Psychology at New York University.
4Rs improved the quality of teaching behavioral problems. His collaborators are Joshua Brown,
and emotional support provided in Assistant Professor in the Department
4Rs classrooms. What next? of Psychology at Fordham University,
●
After two years of implementation, 4Rs The worlds of education practice and research Stephanie Jones, Assistant Professor in
improved students’ social and emotional continue to change and evolve. RCCP and the Harvard Graduate School of Education,
learning. 4Rs slowed the growth of 4Rs are two of dozens of evidence-based Harvard University, and Tom Roderick,
children’s tendency to interpret the approaches to SEL. A recent meta-analysis Executive Director of the Morningside Center
social world in a hostile fashion as well of over 200 studies of SEL interventions for for Teaching Social Responsibility.
as in their use of aggressive strategies more than 270,000 students conducted over
to resolve interpersonal confl icts and the last 20 years will be published soon.
Further reading
their disruptive behaviors. In addition, The fi ndings from RCCP and 4Rs are not
Aber JL, Brown JL, & Jones SM (2003),
children in 4Rs schools showed reduced isolated. SEL on average across these studies
Developmental trajectories toward
signs of depression and ADHD and improves children’s SEL skills, behavior
violence in middle childhood: Course,
improved social competence. Perhaps problems, emotional distress, and academic
demographic differences, and response to
most importantly to those who prioritize achievement. For those of us who have
school-based intervention. Developmental
academic learning, 4Rs dramatically always believed that educating the whole
Psychology, 39(2), 324–348.
improved the standardized math and child was what schools should and could do
reading achievement scores for the 8% of well, this is tremendously validating news. Brown JL, Jones SM, LaRusso MD, &
the children who were most behaviorally This news ushers in a new phase of our Aber JL (2009, in press), Improving
disruptive at the start of the intervention. collaborative work. It is time to spread the Classroom Quality: Teacher Infl uences and
(Note: the third year of data from the 4Rs word that SEL works. It is time now to learn Experimental Impacts of the 4Rs Program.
impact evaluation is still being analyzed how to bring SEL into the big tent of school Journal of Educational Psychology.
and is expected to be ready by mid-2010.) reform as an active and critical strategy. If
Unlike the quasi-experimental evaluation SEL strategies that have been proven to
Jones SM, Brown JL, & Aber JL (2009,
of RCCP, the true experimental evaluation work are going to be brought to a scale to
in press), The Longitudinal Impact of a
of 4Rs shows it “worked.” There is no rival benefi t all our children, we have a new set of
Universal School-Based Social-Emotional
explanation for the improvements (e.g., questions that require broader and deeper
and Literacy Intervention: An Experiment
the best teachers chose to implement the collaborations: How to build the training
in Translational Developmental Research.
program more). This certainty about the and technical assistance capacity, the fl ow
Child Development.
winter 2010 Better: Evidence-based Education 15
Better(US)Win10 pp14-15 Research.indd 15 23/2/10 17:04:51
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