All social and emotional education programs are not the same.

Aug 28, 2008
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Submitted by: Ginny Deerin

I wish my frugal nonprofit collected a dollar for every time someone says that our social and emotional education program sounds exactly like some other program around the corner or across the country.

Maybe the other program offers to make better leaders out of kids or boost their self-esteem. Kids learn life skills. They discover the importance of ”team” building. Sounds promising – but delve into the methodology, and you find good intentions without rigor.

There are hundreds of varying social and emotional education efforts and initiatives in practice today. Many of these are ineffective at best and harmful at worst.

This kind of programming is a far cry from an evidence-based program model like WINGS for kids . We teach and reinforce self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making through a curriculum using 45 learning objectives intentionally embedded in after school activities. We recruit college students as role models of educational success and require 65 hours of staff training. We closely monitor and measure whether each participant is mastering the learning objectives so we can customize interventions and ensure effectiveness to reach the desired outcomes.

But without the proper research, it’s difficult to discern the difference between the programs grounded in empirical evidence and the ones that simply sound good.The claims for the benefits of these often well-meaning but slapdash youth programs invariably lack scientifically rigorous evaluation of whether they work.

Scientific research that carefully measures implementation and outcomes has clearly shown what characterizes effective social and emotional learning education programs. Effective programming requires a carefully designed, age-appropriate curriculum that provides instruction and opportunities for children to practice integrated life skills in a respectful, trusting learning environment where ongoing monitoring and evaluation guides continuous improvement.

I second that!

On October 23rd, 2008 Nicole Lovecchio says:
Every time I explain where I work, I hear, "That's just like __________ program." Or, "Is that like ________ program?" Although I want to roll my eyes and scream, "No, it's not at all like ______ program!" I reach deep down for some relationship skills and politely say, "Not really," and try to briefly describe the in-depth teachings we focus on daily at WINGS. Much of which goes over people's heads. WINGS is an organization that really soars above and beyond. We are constantly trying to improve how and what we teach. Social and emotional skills just don't happen. It takes a lot of work and practice. Once someone is exposed to WINGS, they "get it". I tried to explain to my family what WINGS was and they just thought I ran an after-school program until they came to visit me at work. After their trip, they realized that what we are doing is changing lives and much more than an after-school program. It's sometimes hard to see the changes in the kids we work with. Many times, these changes and lessons won't even hit them until later in life. I am so excited to see the results of all of the research going into our program. Although I know we are helping these kids soar, it will be great to have that validated on paper! Nicole Lovecchio Program Director WINGS @ Chicora Elementary