TY - JOUR
T1 - School–based social competence promotion as a primary prevention strategy
T2 - A tale of two projects
AU - Elias, Maurice J.
AU - Weissberg, Roger P.
N1 - Funding Information:
With funding from the William T. Grant Foundation and the Justice Planning Division of the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, we conducted an intervention and evaluation during 1985-
Funding Information:
CMHC's catchment area occurred, followed by county-wide expansion funded by the Board of Chosen Freeholders and the County Mental Health Board. The cycling of our work from the innovation design to field trial phases began to include the next phase in Price and Smith's (1985) model.
Funding Information:
Our action research, which was aided by funding from the Prevention Research Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health and the William T. Grant Foundation, led to findings that encouraged our viewing the field trials-and the trials of conducting those trials-as worthwhile. Specifically, children trained in social decision-making and problem-solving demonstrated, when compared to controls: (1) greater sensitivity to others7 feelings; (2) greater understanding of behavioral "consequences"; (3) increased ability to analyze and understand interpersonal situations and plan appropriate actions; and (4) a more positive self-concept. Furthermore, they were judged by their teachers as better adjusted, and their peers sought them out more frequently for help with problems. Most critically, students seemed to be aided in handling their difficult transition to middle school. Whether or not children were trained, and how much training they had, significantly discriminated their response to stressors upon entry into middle school (using a prion' contrasts). Social decision-making skills had an asymmetric but significant relationship to middle-school adaptation. It was also important to document that the curriculum was enjoyed by children and teachers, valued by administrators, and that the children used what they learned during school-based lessons in situations outside of the classroom (Elias, 1986; Elias & Associates, 1986; Elias & Clabby, 1988,1989).
PY - 1990/2/6
Y1 - 1990/2/6
N2 - School–based promotion of social competence continues to be a promising strategy for the primary prevention of psy–chosocial difficulties in children. Drawing on more than a decade of experience using this strategy, the authors identify major challenges they have encountered in the process of developing, implementing, evaluating, and maintaining social competence promotion programs in the schools. They emphasize the importance of using a dynamic, social–ecological conceptualization of both social competence and the organizational change process. Particular attention is given to overcoming obstacles to implementation and to long–term adoption of programs. Throughout, examples are drawn from the author's specific experiences with two longitudinal, multi–site projects.
AB - School–based promotion of social competence continues to be a promising strategy for the primary prevention of psy–chosocial difficulties in children. Drawing on more than a decade of experience using this strategy, the authors identify major challenges they have encountered in the process of developing, implementing, evaluating, and maintaining social competence promotion programs in the schools. They emphasize the importance of using a dynamic, social–ecological conceptualization of both social competence and the organizational change process. Particular attention is given to overcoming obstacles to implementation and to long–term adoption of programs. Throughout, examples are drawn from the author's specific experiences with two longitudinal, multi–site projects.
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U2 - 10.1300/J293v07n01_09
DO - 10.1300/J293v07n01_09
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0025321803
SN - 1085-2352
VL - 7
SP - 177
EP - 200
JO - Community Mental Health Review
JF - Community Mental Health Review
IS - 1
ER -