Student Success Skills Research Articles

The effects of Student Success Skills on attendance and emotion regulation

AbstractThis study examines the effects of the Student Success Skills (SSS) intervention, an Advocating Student‐within‐Environment‐informed intervention, on Hispanic students’ (N = 681) school attendance and emotion regulation. The study variables reflected students’ attendance, self‐regulation, and test anxiety. The school counselors in the treatment group (n = 15) delivered the SSS program, while those in the control group (n = 15) did not. The results of multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) tests revealed significant differences in school attendance and test anxiety 30 weeks following the fifth SSS lesson. Statistical significance for self‐regulation was found only 2 weeks after the fifth SSS lesson.

The Effects of the Student Success Skills Program on Academic Achievement and Social-Emotional Skills and Competence: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT The rise of student mental health and behavioral issues increases the need for school counselors to identify effective interventions to maximize their direct services. This study investigated the effect of the Student Success Skills classroom and small group program on student affective (g = .55), behavioral (g = .20), and cognitive (g = .21) outcomes. Using the mean posttest scores for the treatment and comparison groups, the results revealed g = .37 for 13 studies conducted between 2005 and 2022. These findings indicate that students who received the SSS interventions experienced better outcomes than those who did not. Implications for practitioners and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Modified Student Success Skills for Students with Learning Disabilities: A Pilot Study

A modified version of the Student Success Skills (SSS) curriculum, designed to help address the need for intervention in executive functioning skills, metacognition skills, and social skills, was offered to a small group of students in eighth grade who were identified with learning disabilities to positively impact their learning strategies and knowledge. The purpose of this pilot study was to measure the effects of this modified version of SSS on students’ (a) skills and behaviors associated with improved school performance; (b) generalization of those skills to scenarios; and (c) school-related outcomes, including a teacher report. The study design applied a single subject multiple probe across students. The primary dependent variable measured in this study was the number of school-success-related skills and strategies students identified. Findings suggest a functional relation between the modified version of SSS and participants’ ability to name skills and behaviors associated with school success. The findings of the current study, as a collaboration with school counselors and special educators, provide a first step towards illustrating the impact of a modified SSS intervention with students with IEPs. Students reported enjoying and learning from the lessons.

Addressing the Social/Emotional Needs of Students During the Pandemic

This project revealed the positive impact of the SSS for SEL Success program (SSS-SEL) on students’ academics and perceived social/emotional adeptness. SSS-SEL, a new iteration of the Student Success Skills (SSS) program, teaches critical social/emotional concepts and strategies and was modified in this study to be delivered virtually to students. Results showed that students made increases in their reading standardized test scores and improved their overall grade in an intensive reading class. Students also reported improvements in their social/emotional knowledge and skill use.

The Effect of the Student Success Skills Small Group Intervention on Factors Associated with Dropout Potential

ABSTRACT The focus of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Success Skills group counseling (SSSGC) intervention with grade 9 students identified as at risk to dropout. This study analyzed two years of non-identifiable student data (N = 167) collected by school counselors at one high school in south Florida. An analysis of covariance was used to determine differences in academic grades, standardized test scores, and absences between the students who participated in the SSSGC program those who did not. Statistically significant differences were found for all dependent variables. Implications and future research recommendations are provided.

Pedagogical Framework for Integrating Developmental Writing and English Composition Through the Accelerated Learning Program Corequisite Model

Corequisite writing classes are becoming commonplace in developmental education for the model’s promise to increase student access to college while providing necessary support for writing fundamentals, applying writing skills in a meaningful context, and developing student success skills. The Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) corequisite model is ideally structured to accommodate research-based best practices that are often difficult to implement in traditional college classrooms. This paper presents an overview of the corequisite approach to developmental writing with an emphasis on the ALP model, proposes a framework for corequisite pedagogy, and discusses how the framework can be applied in context.

A Randomized Control Trial of Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions of School Counselor Impact

The purpose of this study was to determine if 5th grade teachers’ perceptions of the school counselor’s impact (SCI) would differ from those of classroom teachers who did not collaborate with a school counselor to deliver the Student Success Skills (SSS) classroom program. Teachers (N = 234) from two large school districts in Florida participated in a randomized control trial. The teachers completed the SCI scale of the Teacher My Class Inventory-Short Form at three data collection points. Results from a two-way repeated measures analysis of variance revealed statistically significant differences for treatment group teachers’ (n = 112) scores on the SCI scale from pretest to posttest and post-posttest as well as when compared to the control group teachers’ perceptions (n = 112). Implications for school counselors suggest that collaborating with educators when planning and delivering classroom programs can improve teachers’ perceptions about their impact. Recommendations for future research are discussed.

Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial of the Student Success Skills Program on Grade 5 Students’ Academic and Behavioral Outcomes

A randomized controlled trial of Student Success Skills (SSS) was conducted to determine the effect of the classroom program on Grade 5 students’ (N = 4,305) standardized test scores and proximal socioemotional variables associated with academic achievement. The SSS program was delivered by school counselors and reinforced through cuing and coaching by classroom teachers, which reflects the advocating student‐within‐environment approach to school counseling (Lemberger‐Truelove & Bowers, 2018). Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed the SSS program affected the treatment students’ behavioral engagement, disruption, assertion, cooperation, and test anxiety but did not result in a statistically significant difference on the participants’ reading and mathematics test scores. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

What Works: Learning Outcomes Due to Design Variations in Community College Student Success Courses

Background/Context Based on well-established evidence that certain student success skills and college knowledge are closely associated with academic achievement, persistence, and completion, community colleges increasingly implement various types of first-year student success courses and programs. However, by looking only at the distal impact of program participation, the question of whether these programs actually influence those mediating skills of college success has scarcely been investigated in the higher education literature, let alone which program features may be determining factors. Purpose/Objective This study examined the scope and design of community college student success courses to address which program features relate to learning objectives of student success skills, college knowledge, and engagement. Population/Participants/Subjects Participants were students and instructors drawn from 47 student success course sections at 42 public community colleges in 24 states, representing all U.S. geographic regions. Research Design The study adopted a multimodal research design, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods while primarily relying on quantitative analysis. Data Collection and Analysis Students in selected student success course sections completed a pre- and postsurvey. Instructors participated in a structured interview and provided course syllabi. Course design information was quantitized and merged with student-level data to model variation in learning outcomes as a function of course features, according to an activity theory conceptual framework. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. Conclusions Findings from this research point to several recommendations for practice by highlighting the reality that one term may be too little to learn some student success skills and that particular features of course designs may result in unintended adverse effects. Results indicate that structural elements are the most impactful features and that the skills-based curricular features that receive the most attention may be in fact the least influential features in realizing desired skills and knowledge outcomes. The study points to methodological ways forward to further explore and unpack the relationship between success course design features and educational outcomes.

Effects of the Student Success Skills Program With Exceptional Students: Influences and Outcomes

Counselor‐led interventions rarely target special education students. Conducting exploratory action research, the authors evaluated the influence of the Student Success Skills program on 6 students receiving special education services. Strong positive effects were observed in social and emotional learning, executive functioning, and academic competence. The authors suggest future practices for better meeting the needs of exceptional students.

Examining the Efficacy of the Spanish Cultural Translation of the Student Success Skills Program to Improve Academic Achievement

This study examined the efficacy of a Spanish cultural translation of the Student Success Skills classroom program, influenced by individual psychology and humanistic counseling, to improve standardized test scores of Hispanic high school students (N = 352). Analysis of covariance findings revealed a statistically significant difference between treatment and comparison groups.

The Impact of Student Success Skills on Students’ Metacognitive Functioning in a Naturalistic School Setting

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Student Success Skills (SSS) school counseling curriculum (Brigman, Campbell, & Webb, 2004; Brigman & Webb, 2012) delivered in a naturalistic setting on students' metacognitive functioning. In this case, the authors use the term naturalistic setting to describe a typical school environment, one which lacks the additional supports (e.g., hiring national trainers) that would be present in a more controlled research study. SSS is an evidence-based, school counselor-delivered, social-emotional learning intervention that is designed to support students by teaching them three integral skill sets: (a) cognitive and metacognitive skills (e.g., goal setting, progress monitoring and memory skills); (b) social skills (e.g., interpersonal skills, social problem solving, listening and teamwork skills); and (c) self-regulation skills (e.g., managing attention, motivation and anger). Research has identified this curriculum as important in promoting students' academic achievement and success in school (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, 2015; Webb & Brigman, 2006).SSS was designed based on reviews of educational psychology research literature that identified critical skills such as information processing, emotional self-management, and positive social skills needed for student success (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011; Greenberg et al., 2003; Hattie, Biggs, & Purdie, 1996; Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001; Masten & Coatsworth, 1998; Wang, Haertel, & Walberg, 1994; Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004). The curriculum (Brigman & Webb, 2012) can be delivered in two formats: (1) the SSS classroom program and (2) the SSS small group program (Brigman et al., 2004), both of which are intended for use with students in grades 4 through 12. SSS is a highly structured, manualized program that consists of weekly 45-minute lessons. The classroom format includes five lessons, while the small group program includes eight lessons. Both sets of weekly lessons are intended to be delivered in chronological order over the corresponding number of consecutive weeks. A 45-minute booster session is delivered once a month for 3 months in the spring.Developers of SSS designed the curriculum to follow a scripted, manualized format; implementers are encouraged to follow the sequencing, format and language provided in order to ensure fidelity of treatment. If practitioners go off-script or change the recommended delivery of the lessons, it may result in less favorable outcomes that might not meet the same levels as have been found in past research. That being said, the SSS program comes with detailed manuals that include recommended verbiage, descriptive diagrams and supplemental handouts (Brigman & Webb, 2012). During each lesson, students learn and practice strategies in five distinct areas: (a) goal setting, progress monitoring and success sharing; (b) creating a caring, supportive and encouraging classroom environment; (c) cognitive and memory skills; (d) calming skills; and (e) building healthy optimism. Specific strategies are taught and practiced each week and are reviewed and reinforced during subsequent lessons. Between lessons, students are encouraged to apply the new strategies that were taught and to work on the academic and personal goals that they set for themselves during the SSS session. Teachers also are expected to cue students to use the strategies during regular classroom lesson time.Research has established the effectiveness of SSS in several quasi-experimental and experimental studies. SSS implementation has resulted in enhanced academic achievement as measured by standardized achievement tests (Brigman & Campbell, 2003; Brigman, Webb, & Campbell, 2007; C. Campbell & Brigman, 2005; Webb, Brigman, & Campbell, 2005) and district math and reading achievement measures (Lemberger, Selig, Bowers, & Rogers, 2015). …

Implementation of Real‐World Experiential Learning in a Food Science Course Using a Food Industry‐Integrated Approach

AbstractSuccess skills have been ranked as the most important core competency for new food science professionals to have by food science graduates and their employers. It is imperative that food science instructors promote active learning in food science courses through experiential learning activities to enhance student success skills such as oral and written communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and team work. The aim of this study was to incorporate “real‐world” experiential learning into a food product development course. Undergraduate students enrolled in a food product development course worked on a semester‐long product development case study developed by the Instructor of the course and the Manager from ACH Food Companies, Inc. The case study was presented to students in the form of a product development competition. Students were placed into groups and given the task to develop a cake mix with specified parameters. At the end of the semester, student groups participated in a case study competition to showcase their product concepts. Each student group gave a PowerPoint presentation and was evaluated using selected criteria. Students rated the course overall as being very good. Students perceived the case study to be beneficial and informative regarding employer (ACH's) expectations. Students recommended that the Instructor minimize restrictions/specifications for product concepts and increase the quantity of course/laboratory meetings per week. This approach will continue to be used and further evaluated as an approach to incorporate active learning and provide food science undergraduates with a sense of employer expectations.

The Effect of a Student Achievement Curriculum on Grade 9 Completion Rate and Student Engagement

Data collected in a quasi-experimental, pre–posttest design study from Grade 9 students (N = 197) was used to evaluate the impact of the evidence-based student success skills classroom program on Grade 9 completion rate and student engagement. Results from analyses of covariance revealed there was a statistically significant difference at posttest on Grade 9 completion rate between students who participated in the intervention (n = 98) as compared to students who did not participant in the program (n = 99).

The Influence of Repeated Exposure to the Student Success Skills Program on Middle School Students’ Feelings of Connectedness, Behavioral and Metacognitive Skills, and Reading Achievement

The authors of the current study examined the influence of repeated exposure to the Student Success Skills (SSS) counseling intervention program on feelings of connectedness, behavioral and metacognitive skills, and reading achievement for 201 students in a predominately Hispanic, low-income middle school district in the Southwest United States. Results from multiple path analyses indicated model fits based on SSS participation for behavioral regulation for the treatment group, feelings of connectedness for females in the treatment group, and reading growth for low-achieving students.

Using Student Success Skills to Address ASCA Behavior Standards in Grades K-3

This study evaluated relationships between a school counselor's implementation of the Student Success Skills (SSS) program with 203 students in grades K-3 and teacher ratings of student competency on five learning behaviors from the ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success (American School Counselor Association, 2014). Using a paired samples t test, the authors discovered significant increases in all five behavior variables. The most substantial results were related to Coping Skills, Listening Skills, and Positive/Supportive Relationships.

Effect of Participation in Student Success Skills on Prosocial and Bullying Behavior

This study involved fifth-grade students (N = 336) from one Florida school district and examined prosocial behaviors, bullying behaviors, engagement in school success skills and perceptions of classroom climate between the treatment group who received the school counselor-led Student Success Skills classroom guidance program, and their peer counterparts (comparison group). Statistically significant differences were found (p values ranged from .000-.019), along with partial eta-squared effect sizes ranging from .01 (small) to .26 (quite large) between groups. Evidence supported the Student Success Skills classroom program as a positive intervention for affecting student engagement, perceptions and behavior.Keywords: bullying, prosocial behaviors, Student Success Skills, classroom climate, school counselorWhile some forms of youth victimization have steadily declined over the years, bullying occurrences have remained relatively stable (DeVoe et al., 2004; Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009). Reports have indicated that 30-40% of students admit to regular involvement in bullying behaviors (Bradshaw, O'Brennan, & Sawyer, 2008; Nansel et al., 2001; Spriggs, Iannotti, Nansel, & Haynie, 2007). Additionally, statistics reveal that bullying is much more common among early adolescents than elementary age children (Bradshaw et al., 2008; Olweus, 1993; Ortega & Lera, 2000). In fact, notable increases in the rates of peer aggression occur during the transition years, in both grade 6 (beginning of middle school) and grade 9 (beginning of high school; Olweus, 1993; Ortega & Lera, 2000); therefore, targeting students prior to these peaks would be considered more proactive.Recent approaches to combat the bullying problem have highlighted the importance of increasing students' social competencies and coping and social interaction skills (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). Greenberg et al. (2003) offered that alternative approaches to managing problem behavior are most beneficial when they simultaneously foster students' personal and social skills while improving the quality of the school environment. The philosophy behind incorporating these types of programs in schools suggests that in order for students to fully reach their potential, educators must address the whole child (Payton et al., 2008; Saleebey, 2008). Ultimately, building key skills in all children contributes to creating a positive, safe and caring learning environment, one that discourages aggression and violence.The Consequences of Bullying BehaviorsBullying can negatively impact victims and bullies, as well as bystanders. Emotionally, victims of bullying report higher levels of fear and anxiety (Gini & Pozzoli, 2009; Reijntjes, Kamphuis, Prinzie, & Telch, 2010), are more socially withdrawn (Roth, Coles, & Heimberg, 2002), and are more likely to experience depression (Ttofi, Farrington, Losel, & Loeber, 2011) than their peers. In terms of social consequences, victims suffer from increased levels of peer rejection (Gini & Pozzoli, 2009; Reijntjes et al., 2010). Victimization also has been linked to academic consequences, including increased tardiness, absentee and dropout rates (Beale & Scott, 2001; Nansel et al., 2001); poorer grades; and more academic struggles than their peer counterparts (Boulton, Trueman, & Murray, 2008). Similarly, bullies and bystanders experience distinct consequences that contribute to the struggles they experience in school. For example, bullies also may earn poorer grades and have higher absentee and dropout rates than non-aggressive peers (Bernstein & Watson, 1997), and bystanders have reported increased levels of fear about school safety (Olweus, 1993).The literature further indicates that the actions of those involved in bullying situations, including bystanders, can either enhance or damage a school's climate (Catalano, Haggerty, Oesterle, Fleming, & Hawkins, 2004; Swearer, Espelage, Vaillancourt, & Hymel, 2010). …

Effects of the Student Success Skills Program on Executive Functioning Skills, Feelings of Connectedness, and Academic Achievement in a Predominantly Hispanic, Low‐Income Middle School District

The authors examined the effects of the Student Success Skills program on executive functioning, feelings of connectedness, and academic achievement of a sample of 193 middle school students in a predominantly Hispanic and economically challenged school district in the southwestern United States. Using multilevel regression analyses in a two‐level randomized design, the authors found treatment effects for multiple executive functioning scales, feelings of connectedness to classmates, and mathematics and reading achievement.

The Effects of a Success Skills Group on Adolescents’ Self-Regulation, Self-Esteem, and Perceived Learning Competence

In this article, the authors discuss how school counselors at two middle schools identified and intervened with eighth-grade students who were at risk for academic failure using the Student Success Skills (SSS) small-group curriculum (Brigman, Campbell, & Webb, 2010). Participants reported significant increases in self-regulation and perceived competence for learning. The authors present results of the intervention, including (a) process, (b) perception, and (c) outcome data, and discuss implications for school counselors.

The Effects of a Success Skills Group on Adolescents' Self-Regulation, Self-Esteem, and Perceived Learning Competence

In this article, the authors discuss how school counselors at two middle schools identified and intervened with eighth-grade students who were at risk for academic failure using the Student Success Skills (SSS) small-group curriculum (Brigman, Campbell, & Webb, 2010). Participants reported significant increases in self-regulation and perceived competence for learning. The authors present results of the intervention, including (a) process, (b) perception, and (c) outcome data, and discuss implications for school counselors.