Abstract
The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of a 4-week, physical activity-infused social–emotional and character development (SECD) intervention on students’ self-perceptions. Children (N=29) identified as “at risk” (The Great Schools Partnership, 2013) in Grades 2 through 5 who were enrolled in an after-school program participated in the study. A quasi-experimental design was used as children were placed into 2 groups at each after-school program (ASP) site. Data collection included student completion of the Social Emotional Learning Scale (SELS) prior to the intervention and the Social-Emotional Character Development Scale (SECD) pre- and post-intervention. A 2 x 2 repeated measures analysis of covariance (RM-ANCOVA) was used to evaluate main effects and interactions among the independent variables (group and time) on the dependent variable (SECDS). Several covariates were also accounted for when analyzing differences including grade, gender, and students’ baseline trait scores on the SELS. Although no statistical interactions were found, the trend in the data across the groups and grades does provide information for the impact and feasibility of this type of program. More research is needed including interventions with longer duration and studies with larger sample sizes.
Highlights
Sport and physical activity involvement have been seen as a vehicle through which children can learn a variety of skills that go beyond the gross motor skills required to engage in different activities
Students’ reported means and standard deviations for the Social Emotional Learning Scale (SELS) and the social–emotional and character development scale (SECDS) at Time 1 and Time 2 are provided on Table 2
The intervention study focused on highlighting positive character development skills explicitly and intentionally, both programs were supporting youth in an afterschool setting and providing structured physical activity opportunities
Summary
Sport and physical activity involvement have been seen as a vehicle through which children can learn a variety of skills that go beyond the gross motor skills required to engage in different activities. Similar to SEL, social–emotional and character development (SECD) is slightly different in that it focuses on character skills, such as management of emotions and truthfulness towards self and others (Berkowitz & Grych, 2000; Eisenberg et al, 2004; King et al, 2005; Lerner et al, 2005; Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004). Given that SEL and SECD skills are considered by many to be “life skills,” this has led to the development of school-wide SEL programs where SEL is integrated into each class, including physical education. SECD skills can be learned both during and after school in various classroom and activity settings, including phyiscal activity. Studies have indicated that physical activity can be an effective medium for teaching SECD skills through the context of sports and games (Ciotto & Gagnon, 2018)
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