Trialing a social-emotional learning program for adolescents

Trialing a social-emotional learning program for adolescents
The MindOut program is a social-emotional learning program, developed in Ireland, and based on CASEL's five core competencies for social-emotional learning: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management, and responsible decision-making. A new article by Katherine Dowling and colleagues in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence reports the results of a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the program.
 
The study took place in 34 secondary schools in Ireland (17 intervention, 17 control) with high levels of disadvantage (at least 70% of students classified as educationally disadvantaged). Teachers from the intervention schools took part in a one-day training session, and then delivered the MindOut program over 13 weekly sessions. A total of 675 students (ages 15-18) completed a baseline assessment, with 497 students remaining in the study post-intervention. A range of measures were used to evaluate the impact on social-emotional skills, mental health and well-being, and academic outcomes.
 
Results showed that for some social and emotional skills, there were significant improvements for intervention students, including the use of more positive coping strategies and increased social support coping. On mental health and well-being, the intervention significantly reduced levels of stress and depressive symptoms. However, there was no effect on academic outcomes (students' achievement motivation as rated by teachers, and attitudes toward school).

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