Times are displayed in (UTC-05:00) Central Time (US & Canada) Change
About this paper symposium
| Panel information |
|---|
| Panel 16. Prevention and Interventions |
| Paper #1 | |
|---|---|
| Impacts of MindUP Early Years on Preschool Children’s Self-Regulatory, Emotion and Social Skills | |
| Author information | Role |
| Andrew J. Mashburn, Ph.D., Portland State University, United States | Presenting author |
| Robert Roeser, Pennsylvania State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Jaiya Choles, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Eli Labinger, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Brielle Petit, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Cristin McDonough, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Edwin Garcia, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Tessa Stadeli, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Corina McEntire, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
|
MindUP Early Years is a 15-week social emotional learning (SEL) program in which preschool teachers implement weekly lessons and daily activities that support young children’s development of social, emotional, and self-regulatory skills. Most notably, the program includes repeated opportunities for focused attention (FA) practice, including a brain break that is repeated multiple times each day. The purpose of this paper is to present results from a cluster randomized trial testing the impacts of the MindUP Early Years program on children’s development of social, emotional, and self-regulatory skills. The study took place in 57 center-based early childhood classrooms serving 4-year-olds in a metropolitan area located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The study included two independent cohorts of classrooms—27 in 2022-23 and 30 in 2023-24--and within each cohort, classrooms were randomly assigned to either the MindUP group (n=29) or a Waitlist control (WLC) group (n=28). A total sample of 371 children (6.5 per class, on average) were selected to participate in fall and spring assessments of social, emotional, and self-regulatory skills. Table 1 provides a description of the children in the study. Assessments included teachers’ reports of children’s self-regulation, social, and emotional skills on items from the Child Behavior Rating Scale-Short Form (CBRS; Bronson et al., 1995), the Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS; Gresham & Elliott, 2008), and the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA-P; LeBuffe & Naglieri, 1999). Direct one-on-one assessments were conducted on a tablet-based measure of three components of executive functioning-working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility (EF Touch; Willoughby & Blair, 2011); behavioral self-regulation (Head Toes Knees Shoulders, Ponitz, McClelland et al., 2008), and emotion recognition (Emotion Matching Task; Izard, et al., 2003). Analyses of the main impacts of MindUP Early Years involve Hierarchical Linear Models to account for the clustering of children within classrooms, and follow-up exploratory analyses investigate potential moderators of the impacts to identify specific sub-groups of classrooms and children for whom the impacts are relatively stronger. Data collection ended three months ago, and we are still in the process of finalizing datasets before they are ready for these analyses. For the purposes of this proposal, we provide preliminary data in Table 2 shows the mean scores in fall and spring for children in the MindUP and WLC conditions on each measure of social, emotional, and self-regulatory skills. These data indicate that in spring (post-intervention), children in classrooms assigned to the MindUP group had higher teacher reported social, emotional, and self-regulatory skills and higher direct assessments of inhibitory control and behavioral self-regulation. Full results including the addition of pretests, covariates and moderated effects will be presented in this paper. |
|
| Paper #2 | |
|---|---|
| Impacts of the MindUP Early Years Program on Preschool Teachers’ Well-being | |
| Author information | Role |
| Robert W. Roeser, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, United States | Presenting author |
| Andrew J. Mashburn, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Corina McEntire, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Brielle Petit, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Cristin McDonough, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Edwin Garcia, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Tessa Stadeli, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Eli Labinger, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Sebrina Doyle Fosco, Pennsylvania State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
|
The Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020 brought the issue of teacher well-being to the forefront of the U.S. national consciousness (USHHS, 2021). Many teachers felt burned out after this period (Marken & Agrawar, 2022), fueling concerns about a coming teacher shortage and calls for more attention to teacher well-being (NEA, 2022). Even before the pandemic, however, levels of job stress, anxiety, burnout and depression were higher among teachers than other groups of human service professionals (Wieclaw et al., 2006) or the population more generally (Hooker et al., 2024). Research shows teacher-focused mindfulness-based SEL programs can directly support teacher well-being (Roeser et al., 2024), and some research showing that student-focused, mindfulness-based SEL programs can not only benefit students, but can indirectly benefit the teachers who implement them in the classrooms. Two studies have shown, for example, that elementary school teachers who implemented the MindUP curriculum in their classrooms showed better occupational health (e.g., less emotional exhaustion, greater sense of personal accomplishment at work) and mental health (e.g., self-kindness) outcomes than comparison teachers (de Carvalho et al., 2017; Kim et al., 2021). In this study, we were interested in the impacts of preschool teachers’ implementation of the MindUP Early Years program on their own occupational and mental health. It is useful to note that we also know, based on post-program surveys, that treatment teachers, both before and after the Pandemic, were highly satisfied with the MindUP program (75-90%), thought the program had positive impacts on students (90-100%), and would recommend/highly recommend the program to preschool colleagues (91-99%). Thus, we were interested in the impacts of program implementation on teacher outcomes knowing that they generally found the program to be satisfactory and impactful for students. Survey measures assessed teachers’ occupational health and mental health at baseline and post-program. Occupational health refers to the relative absence of feelings of job stress and burnout, and the relative presence of feelings of job satisfaction and efficacy for teaching. Mental health refers to the relative absence of symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the relative presence of life satisfaction and flourishing. Demographic characteristics of teachers and mean scores on measures of teacher well-being in fall and spring are presented in Table 1 and 2, respectively. Preliminary analyses of teacher outcomes were assessed with ANCOVAs, with teachers’ age, cohort, and pre-measures of each outcome as the covariates, and experimental condition (MindUP/treatment, control) as the between-groups factor. Cohen’s d effect sizes were calculated from post-program differences. Results showed that preschool teachers in the treatment condition showed better occupational health (e.g., less job stress and burnout; greater job satisfaction and efficacy) than teachers in the waitlist control condition. These program-related differences constituted moderate-sized effects. In addition, results showed that preschool teachers in the treatment condition also showed better mental health (e.g., less stress and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression) compared to control teachers. These constituted small-to-medium sized effects. Results will be discussed in terms of the direct and indirect impacts of student SEL-programs on teacher and classroom outcomes (e.g., teacher-student interactions). |
|
| Paper #3 | |
|---|---|
| More than Just the Curriculum: A Cost Analysis of Supported MindUP Implementation in Preschools | |
| Author information | Role |
| Sebrina Doyle Fosco, Pennsylvania State University, United States | Presenting author |
| Tessa Stadeli, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Eli Labinger, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Brielle Petit, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Cristin McDonough, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Edwin Garcia, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Robert Roeser, `Pennsylvania State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Andrew Mashburn, Portland State University, United States | Non-presenting author |
| Abstract | |
|
Far too often, the cost of a curriculum is mistakenly thought to be the cost to implement a program. The intention of this study is to provide a full accounting for what is needed to support teachers when they are implementing a well-researched mindfulness-based social and emotional learning program in preschool settings. This study gives educational administrators who make decisions about which programs to use in their schools a clear and accurate estimate of the costs associated with adopting MindUP (Crowley et al., 2014; Hollands & Levin, 2017). Costs were gathered across three cohorts during a cluster randomized trial (CRT) of MindUP-Early Years in an urban area of the Pacific Northwest. In addition to training, this RCT also provided supplies to accompany the curriculum and offered ongoing support through communities of practice (COPs) and coaching calls. In 2019-2020, training and COPs were conducted in person for a pre-Covid cohort or classrooms, which was not included in the impact study (C0; 19 classrooms). For C1 (2022-2023; 14 classrooms) and C2 (2023-2024; 15 classrooms), training and COPs were virtual. Classroom size ranged from 6-24 students (Median = 18). This cost analysis was conducted using an ingredients-based approach (Levin & McEwan, 2000). We (1) identified all resources used to implement and support the intervention; (2) monetized those resources; and then (3) calculated the costs across multiple cohorts with varied implementation structures. Costs were tracked for the initial training, classroom supplies, and ongoing support activities. Opportunity costs (i.e., teacher payments) were also used in calculation of the costs. We used the median classroom size to calculate per student costs. For C0, all study-enrolled teachers attended training. All but one (94.7%) also attended COPs (average attendance = 67%). All teachers participated in coaching calls (Median = 4). For C1, 14 teachers were compensated for training. Almost all (92.8%) also participated in COPs (average attendance = 52%). Only two teachers (14.3%) completed two coaching calls each. For C2, fourteen teachers (93.3%) completed some training. Most (86%) also participated in COPs (average attendance = 48%). Only one teacher engaged in coaching calls. For C0, conducted in-person, the total cost per classroom was $1053 including: initial training costs ($156), ongoing support ($367), classroom supplies ($296), and opportunity costs (i.e., teacher pay; $234). The average cost per classroom across virtual cohorts (C1 and C2) was $782 including: asynchronous training costs ($50), ongoing support ($140), classroom supplies ($331), and opportunity costs ($261). Using the average number of students in each classroom, across all cohorts the cost for Year 1 was $49 per student. Because most supplies and training are received in the first year, costs for later years drop significantly. Future expected per student costs range from less than $1 considering just basic supplies replenishment to $16 if MindUp leads are utilized in schools/districts for continued implementation support. This study offers clarity on the full costs for training, supplies, and support needed to implement MindUP in preschool settings during an RCT. This clarity can help educational leaders make important decisions and secure needed resources. |
|
⇦ Back to session
Impacts of MindUP Early Years on Teacher Well-Being and Preschoolers’ Social-Emotional and Self-Regulatory Skills
Submission Type
Paper Symposium
Description
| Session Title | Impacts of MindUP Early Years on Teacher Well-Being and Preschoolers’ Social-Emotional and Self-Regulatory Skills |