18 Oct Feeling Explorers Pilot Shows Very Promising Results
Developed by the Institute of Childhood Trauma and Attachment, Feeling Explorers is a Social and Emotional Learning program for children in grades 1, 2, and 3. Children’s mental wellness is promoted through the delivery of 10 play-based, skill-building sessions.
The Institute was invited to pilot Feeling Explorers in classrooms in both the Toronto Catholic and the Toronto District school boards. The pilot involved 15 classrooms with a total of 295 students. The Institute Research members carried out detailed research to evaluate the pilot, with 132 students participating in a series of measures before and after the program.
Students completed the Child Rating Scale, a questionnaire designed to explore school interest, rule compliance, anxiety and withdrawal, and peer social skills in the school environment. Parents and caregivers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) based on their children, which assessed behaviours related to conduct, emotions, hyperactivity, peers, prosocial, and other difficulties. Teachers completed the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA), assessing student behaviours within school and classroom environments.
The research yielded exciting and positive results, suggesting that Feeling Explorers was a valuable addition to the classrooms in which it was delivered. For example, statistically significant improvement was noted in several scales on the SDQ survey, including emotional problems, hyperactivity, prosocial behaviours, the total score, and the impact (of additional difficulties) score. According to parents/caregivers, their children’s difficulties improved in 47% of cases following the program. Additionally, 84% of parents/caregivers found the program to be helpful in some capacity, with respect to the information provided and the changes seen in their children.
A significant improvement was also found in scores on the DESSA surveys. This was the case for the overall population of students (132), as well as for a smaller sample of students within the overall population that were classified as “high-risk” (54). From the interviews, it was noted that 100% of teachers found Feeling Explorers helpful in a moderate to high capacity. Furthermore, 100% of teachers reported using the Feeling Explorers strategies with their students at least multiple times a week, with 21% of teachers using them daily, and 29% using them multiple times a day.
Regarding the students, 66% reported feeling that, because of Feeling Explorers, people know them better, and 57% reported feeling that people accept them more. Following the program, 69% of students reported feeling more supported by their classmates, and 70% of students reported feeling more understood by their teachers because of Feeling Explorers. Following the program, 82% of students reported feeling like they can go to someone they trust in the classroom if they are upset. Overall, students and teachers were happy to receive the program, enjoyed the learning experience, and continued to use the tools and strategies provided, both inside and outside the classroom.