A multi-site cluster randomized trial of CharacterStrong’s Secondary Curriculum in middle schools

SEL programs have consistent, positive impacts on a broad range of student outcomes, including increased SEL skills, attitudes, prosocial behaviors, and academic achievement and decreased conduct problems and emotional distress. Although there is immense utility to SEL across child development, the need for effective SEL instruction at the secondary level is especially great given the elevated needs of adolescents compared to younger children and the lack of evidence-based SEL programming available at the secondary level. The purpose of this study was to address gaps in evidence-based SEL programs accessible for secondary settings by testing the effectiveness of CharacterStrong’s Secondary Curriculum , a primary prevention program that combines SEL and character education to meet the unique needs of secondary students. Thirty-six 6th through 8th grade teachers were recruited from these schools to participate in the study. At least 20 students from each teachers’ classroom participated in the study from each of the 36 classrooms for a total of 726. Pre-and post-intervention measures of student-reported (Belonging, Challenging Feelings, Growth Mindset) and teacher-reported outcomes (Disruptive Behavior, Academic Engagement, Positive Interactions with Peers, Positive Interactions with Teacher) were collected. Multi-level modeling and baseline-targeted moderation were used to answer research questions. Findings from this study provide evidentiary support for improvements in teacher-reported academic engaged time, reduction of problem behavior, improvements in prosocial behavior, and improved student-teacher relationships. We also found that students’ behavior improved among those with the greatest room for improvement, which is an important finding for prevention-focused, universal programs such as CharacterStrong.