Early childhood social-emotional learning based on the Cope-Resilience program: Impact of teacher experience

Marissa Yi-Hsuan Wu, Monique Ancrum Alexander, Erica Frydenberg and Janice Deans
The University of Melbourne, Australia

A strong emphasis has been placed on social-emotional learning (SEL) during the preschool years; however, there is a dearth of research into the drivers of program success in this setting. This study examined the effectiveness of a formal, teacher-led social-emotional learning program, COPE-Resilience, on the development of 4 to 5-year-old children in an Australian preschool setting. Ninety-one preschool children from three classrooms in an early learning centre in Melbourne, Australia were allocated to receive the six-week COPE-Resilience intervention by experienced COPE-Resilience facilitators (n = 33), first-time program facilitators (n = 29), or participate as a non-intervention comparison group (n=29). Results indicated that children undertaking COPE-Resilience with an experienced teacher facilitator demonstrated the greatest improvements in teacher-rated empathy, prosocial behaviours, coping styles, inhibitory control, and problem behaviours. These results indicate that the level of program facilitation experience enhances implementation success. Consideration for the impact and implications of program delivery experience in evaluation design are discussed.
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Authors: Marissa Wu is a M.Psych (Ed&Dev)/PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne. She has a strong interest in social emotional learning and cross-cultural studies. Marissa completed a Masters in Educational Psychology in both Taiwan and the United States. She is currently a registered psychologist in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Email: marissaw2@student.unimelb.edu.au Monique Alexander is a school-based psychologist and Indigenous engagement support coordinator based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Monique completed a Masters in Educational Psychology at The University of Melbourne. Monique has published articles on the topic of sleep quality following alcohol consumption in adolescents. Email: moniqalexander@gmail.com Associate Professor Erica Frydenberg is a Principal Research Fellow in psychology in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. She has authored and co-authored over 150 academic journal articles and chapters in the field of coping, 25 books on topics ranging from early years through to adolescence and parenting and developed psychological instruments to measure coping. Email: e.frydenberg@unimelb.edu.au Dr Janice Deans is the Associate Director of Early Childhood Education at the University of Melbourne, and Director of the Early Learning Centre, which is the University's research focused preschool. She has broadly based expertise in relation to early childhood education and service delivery. Email: j.deans@unimelb.edu.au Please cite as: Wu, M. Y., Alexander, M. A., Frydenberg, E. & Deans, J. (2020). Early childhood social-emotional learning based on the Cope-Resilience program: Impact of teacher experience. Issues in Educational Research, 30(2), 782-807. http://www.iier.org.au/iier30/wu.pdf