Preliminary Impacts of SECURe PreK on Child- and Classroom-Level Outcomes
Author: Jones, Stephanie M.
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Social Development,Emotional Development,Cognitive Development,Preschool Education,Kindergarten,Grade 1,Grade 2,Grade 3,Skill Development,Executive Function,Self Control,Literacy Education,Low Income Groups,Student Needs,Pilot Projects,At Risk Students,Early Intervention,Individualized Education Programs,Attendance Patterns,Child Development,Scores,Observation,Check Lists,Regression (Statistics),Program Effectiveness

This paper presents initial results from a pilot evaluation of the pre-K component of a new school-based intervention strategy (Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Understanding and Regulation in education, SECURe) for pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade that is designed to build skills in social-emotional learning (focusing on executive function and self-regulation as core developmental processes) and literacy. The SECURe intervention was conceived and developed based on the need to target low-income children's needs in school settings, given research suggesting that disparities in poor vs. non-poor children's educational outcomes widen as they move through early elementary grades. Researchers present findings in the context of findings from the K-3 pilot of SECURe, and discuss the process of developing and evaluating a cross-grade intervention, as well as the implications of this work for intervention in preschool and elementary settings. The SECURe K-3 and SECURe Pre-K studies took place over two consecutive years (2011-2012, and 2012-2013) in six public elementary schools in Phoenix, Arizona. In the SECURe Pre-K study, preschool classrooms receiving the SECURe intervention were Head Start classrooms that were co-located in elementary schools. Participants in the SECURe Pre-K study included 189 children (51% boys) in twelve Head Start classrooms. Data were gathered from children, their teachers, and in their classrooms over three waves in the 2012-13 academic year: fall, winter, and spring. The participating school district provided the following data for all preschool children and classrooms in the district: monthly attendance and tardy statistics; IEP status; DECA scores (Devereaux Early Childhood Assessment of social-emotional skills conducted by classroom teacher at school entry); Dial3 scores (a general developmental assessment conducted by classroom teacher at school entry); TSG information (Teaching Strategies Gold); and CLASS scores (Classroom Assessment Scoring System). Researchers also conducted observations in SECURe classrooms at the winter and spring waves. These observations included completing the TSRS (Teaching Style Rating Scale) for each teacher, and a SECURe observation checklist for each classroom. Using simple hierarchical regression models with classrooms nested in schools (6), preliminary findings show: (1) differences favoring the SECURe Pre-K classrooms in spring of the preschool year for Emotional Support (p&lt;0.07, ES = 0.88) and for Classroom Organization (p&lt;0.07, ES = 0.89); and (2) differences favoring SECURe Pre-K children or the TSG social-emotional scale (p&lt;0.01, ES = 0.72) in spring, controlling the fall score. This study was funded as a preliminary pilot designed to provide initial exploratory evidence of feasibility and effectiveness (as is consistent with the NIH R21 and IES Goal 2 mechanisms).