The efficacy of a relationship building intervention in 5th grade

Highlights

• We evaluated the RBI, a school-based program to promote positive peer relationships.

• Fifth graders who participated in the RBI showed benefits in social behaviors.

• Fifth graders who participated in the RBI showed benefits in classroom connectedness.

• Fifth graders who participated in the RBI showed benefits in academic achievement.

• Overall, the RBI was implemented with high fidelity and teachers/students responded positively.

Abstract

The present study reports initial efficacy data for a new school-based intervention – the Relationship Building Intervention (RBI) – that includes a series of teacher-facilitated, structured activities designed to promote positive peer relationships and inclusive classroom communities. The RBI was evaluated in fifth-grade classrooms by estimating multilevel model (MLM) analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) comparing 368 fifth-grade students in intervention classrooms with 259 fifth-graders in control classrooms on social behaviors, perceptions of classroom connectedness, and academic performance. Controlling for pretest scores, cohort, and demographic variables, findings revealed that students who participated in the RBI liked school more, felt a greater sense of classroom identification and inclusion, were perceived by teachers to be less aggressive, and performed better academically than students who were in control classrooms. Further, implementation data showed that students and teachers responded positively to the activities. These results suggest that the RBI is a promising approach for improving the social and learning environment in fifth-grade classrooms.

Introduction

Social factors play a key role in children's academic success (Caprara et al., 2000, Malecki and Elliott, 2002, Welsh et al., 2001), as evidenced by longitudinal data showing that elementary school students' prosocial and empathic behaviors predict increases in standardized achievement test scores (e.g., Malecki & Elliott, 2002) and grades (Caprara et al., 2000, Welsh et al., 2001). Findings from studies such as these suggest that social skills help pave the way for academic success by promoting key academic enablers such as the development of positive peer relationships (Ladd, Kockenderfer-Ladd, Visconti, & Ettekal, 2012) and feelings of school connectedness (e.g., Valiente et al., 2007, Wentzel, 2009). Positive peer relationships in classrooms are associated with academic motivation, engagement in learning, and school-related accomplishments (Wentzel, Donlan, & Morrison, 2012) and increase the likelihood that instructional practices, especially ones involving peer collaboration, promote learning (Ladd et al., 2012). In contrast, children who exhibit behaviors that reflect low levels of social skill, such as aggression and defiance, tend to dislike school, have difficulty forming positive peer relations, and are at greater risk for academic difficulties (e.g., Hinshaw, 1992, Ladd and Burgess, 2001). Together, these patterns of findings suggest that fostering positive social development in schools facilitates the mission of academic excellence.

Although there are a number of school-based curricula available that aim to improve social and academic outcomes, most of these programs focus primarily on the development of individual-level skills (e.g., emotion regulation). In the present study, we introduce a new intervention that not only targets the development of social skills, but also directly addresses key context and peer relationship processes that contribute to students' academic success. The Relationship Building Intervention (RBI; Miller et al., 2015) is a universal school-based intervention for elementary school children, consisting of structured activities designed to promote classroom environments that are collaborative, inclusive, and conducive to the development and maintenance of positive peer relationships and academic success. The RBI is grounded in contemporary theories (e.g., intergroup contact theory, Allport, 1954, Pettigrew et al., 2011; cognitive theories of gender development, Martin, Ruble, & Szkrybalo, 2002) and empirical research on intergroup relationships, intervention science, education, and child development. The activities in the RBI consist of a series of developmentally appropriate, teacher-facilitated experiential exercises that promote relationship building skills such as empathy, communication, problem solving, diversity appreciation, and friendship formation and support. The present study represents the first test of the efficacy of the RBI in improving social behavior, school connectedness, and academic achievement in a sample of fifth-grade students.

The primary goal of the RBI is to foster peer interactions and connections that are positively toned, meaningful, and respectful. The RBI draws on the social and emotional learning (SEL) approach in that it involves the implementation of structured activities that are designed to promote key competencies, create supportive learning environments, and prevent the underlying causes of problem behavior (Greenberg et al., 2003). The RBI also provides opportunities for children to learn key social and emotional skills, as identified by The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) – namely, self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making (CASEL, 2012). The assumption is that when children acquire these five competencies, they will be equipped with the tools needed to achieve positive socio-emotional adjustment and academic performance.

Research has demonstrated that SEL interventions can be implemented successfully and can positively impact students' socio-emotional and academic abilities (Durlak et al., 2011, Sklad et al., 2012). For example, results from a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal SEL programs showed that students who participated in SEL programs demonstrated improved socio-emotional skills and classroom behavior, fewer conduct problems, and reduced emotional distress (Durlak et al., 2011). Analyses also revealed that students who participated in SEL programs, relative to those who did not, averaged 11 percentile points higher on achievement tests (Durlak et al., 2011). A similar meta-analysis focusing specifically on contemporary school-based, universal SEL programs produced similar results, showing positive effects of SEL programs on socio-emotional skills, self-image, mental health, substance abuse, antisocial behavior, prosocial behavior, and academic achievement (Sklad et al., 2012). Taken together, there is considerable evidence that supports the view that SEL programming is valuable for students and should be a part of the mission of teaching and learning in schools.

Although traditional SEL programs typically focus on teaching and practicing individual-centered social-emotional skills, research indicates that social-environmental factors also influence school success (Ryan and Ladd, 2012, Wentzel and Muenks, 2016). Evidence suggests that students' perceptions of their classroom and school social climate, including belongingness and cohesion, are predictive of scholastic engagement and achievement (Goodenow, 1993, Master and Walton, 2013, Ryan and Patrick, 2001, Walton et al., 2012). For instance, students who perceive that their peers are emotionally supportive are more likely to positively identify with school (Wang & Eccles, 2012) and show positive school engagement (e.g., Nelson & DeBacker, 2008). Moreover, research has consistently found that peers are among the most important socializers of academic competence (Wentzel, 2009) and that acceptance from peers is positively associated with academic achievement (e.g., Buhs and Ladd, 2001, Oberle and Schonert-Reichl, 2013). Consequently, the RBI was designed to move beyond a focus on individual-centered skill development (e.g., building self-awareness, regulating emotions) that typifies most SEL programs by also incorporating elements that specifically target context and peer relationship factors. For example, in the RBI, students participate in experiential activities that are designed to promote inclusion and a positive relational environment. Furthermore, all activities occur within the peer context; students learn, practice, and reflect on concepts in dyads, small groups, and within the whole classroom. Students are also explicitly taught developmentally appropriate cognitive and social skills that encourage the development of positive relationships with a diverse group of peers. Thus, the RBI represents a novel advance over many SEL programs by paying particular attention to the role of context and peer relationships.

The RBI aims to equip students with the social, emotional, and cognitive competencies needed to establish meaningful peer connections and to successfully interact with diverse peer groups in structured and unstructured contexts. It does so in a way that is consistent with current research on the factors that make some programs more effective than others. In their meta-analysis of school-based programs, Durlak et al. (2011) found that programs that incorporated “SAFE” practices were more effective than programs that did not. SAFE practices include: sequenced sets of activities, active forms of learning, a focus on developing personal or social skills, and an explicit focus on specific SEL skills (see Durlak et al., 2011 for additional descriptions regarding these practices). The development of the RBI was informed by these criteria. For instance, the RBI utilizes a set of developmentally appropriate, sequential activities for elementary school children that expand on the skills and concepts taught in previous years. Moreover, RBI activities promote active involvement by incorporating games, hands-on activities, role plays, and group discussions. The guiding assumption underlying the RBI approach is that students learn best when they have opportunities to actively participate in experiences that enable them to practice key skills and discover ideas in a personally meaningful manner.

Several theories also informed the RBI approach. For instance, unlike more traditional SEL programs, a primary goal of the RBI is to bring together classmates who may not typically interact with one another, thereby improving their sense of connection. This idea is grounded in intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954), which posits that attitudes about, and behavior towards, others can be improved by interacting with members of the other group, and that intergroup contact is especially influential when conducted under favorable conditions (i.e., intergroup cooperation, institutional support, being of equal status, and having common goals). Hundreds of studies designed to evaluate the effects of intergroup contact confirm that bringing people together who are from different backgrounds is an effective way to improve intergroup attitudes (Pettigrew and Tropp, 2006, Pettigrew et al., 2011). Similarly, the RBI activities are designed to promote a sense of classroom unity, which, according to the common ingroup identity model, should reduce intergroup bias as members of different groups are encouraged to conceive of themselves as part of the same group (see Gaertner & Dovidio, 2000).

Promoting and supporting intergroup interactions also involves equipping students with the competencies needed to successfully interact with diverse groups of peers in structured and unstructured contexts. Thus, based on current best practices for teaching and supporting social skills, students who participate in the RBI are provided with ample opportunities to learn, rehearse, and obtain feedback on communication, problem solving, and friendship skills (Frey, Elliot, & Miller, 2014). Guided by cognitive-behavioral and social-cognitive approaches, students who receive the RBI also participate in experiential activities that illustrate how their cognitions influence their feelings and behaviors (e.g., Friedberg & MacClure, 2015) and the benefits associated with having cognitions that are flexible and unbiased (e.g., Pahlke, Bigler, & Martin, 2014). Although the skill-based components of the RBI overlap with the skills taught in traditional SEL programs (e.g., problem-solving), the activities in the RBI focus on developing competencies that have implications for forming positive and diverse peer relationships at school (e.g., solving conflicts, cooperating with diverse peers during group tasks).

Given that the RBI is new and the need for evaluation is high, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of the RBI as it impacts fifth-grade students' relational, contextual, and academic outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental nonequivalent comparison group design, we expected that fifth-graders participating in the RBI would demonstrate more positive social behaviors (i.e., prosociality and low aggression), report improved feelings of school connectedness (i.e., school liking and classroom identification/inclusion), and earn better school grades relative to children in control classrooms. To examine implementation processes, we assessed fidelity, students' comprehension of RBI concepts, and both teachers' and students' responsiveness to the RBI.