About this srcd poster session

---

Panel information
Panel 22. Social Relationships

Abstract

---

Research has shown that students’ social-emotional skills support positive relationships and academic outcomes in early elementary grades (Durlak et al., 2011; Jones et al., 2015; Korpershoek et al., 2016; Morris, et al., 2013; Zins et al., 2007). Conversely, unaddressed social-emotional needs in the early years results in significant and negative consequences for students, classrooms, and schools. As children attend more formal early learning settings, especially in kindergarten classrooms, they are learning to engage in social relationships, respond to the emotions of others, regulate their own emotions and behavior, and engage in social problem-solving. Social problem-solving specifically has been understudied but may be an important predictor of school readiness (Denham et al., 2012). Interventions focused on training early childhood teachers to support children’s social skills and prevent problem behaviors are critical for both teachers and children. This poster will examine the impact of a social-emotional intervention on kindergarten students’ social problem-solving skills as measured by the Challenging Situations Task across two studies. Sample. The first study included kindergarten children enrolled in two school districts in the southern United States participating in an RCT in the 2021-22 school year (SY). The second study occurred in the 2023-24 SY in the same districts. The first RCT study included 60 kindergarten teachers and approximately 295 students in their classrooms. The second RCT study included 30 kindergarten teachers and 186 students. Measures. We collected direct assessments and teacher ratings of children’s social-emotional competence, executive functions, problem-solving skills, and academic competence in the fall of the school year, prior to randomization, and again in the spring. Direct assessments included the Challenging Situations Task (Denham et al., 1994), as well as Peg Tapping (Diamond & Taylor, 1996; executive functioning) and Head Toes Knees Shoulders (Ponitz, et al., 2008). In the second study, we used the updated version of the Challenging Situations Task which includes new illustrations with racially/ethnically diverse characters (Obradović & Sulik, 2022) (Figure 1). Teachers provided information about their students’ social and academic skills using the Social Skills Improvement System (Gresham & Elliott, 2008) and Academic Rating Scale (Rock & Pollack, 2002), respectively. We performed intent-to-treat analyses using two-level HLM models, as students are nested in teachers and teachers are the unit of random assignment. Results. In the first study, we found that kindergarten students in the intervention classrooms employed more competent social problem-solving responses (g = 0.25; p=0.3) and fewer aggressive responses (g = -0.22; p = .06) when given imaginary conflict scenarios (Authors, 2024). We also examined students’ academic skills via teacher report in Study 1 but did not find impacts (Table 1). Final data analyses from Study 2 using the revised CST will be completed and shared at the poster session. We will also present data showing correlations between the two CST versions, and among CST scores and other measures of social skills and self-regulation. Together, these findings will shed light on the impacts of a teaching intervention on young children’s social-emotional skills and reveal associations among these skills.

Author information

Author	Role
Erika Elizabeth Gaylor, Ph.D., SRI International	Presenting author
ML Hemmeter, Vanderbilt University	Non-presenting author
Elisa Garcia, SRI International	Non-presenting author
Adrienne Golden, SRI International	Non-presenting author

⇦ Back to session