title: Improving elementary school quality through the use of a social-emotional and character development program: a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled trial in Hawai'i.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  School safety and quality affect student learning and success. This study examined the effects of a comprehensive elementary school-wide social-emotional and character education program, Positive Action, on teacher, parent, and student perceptions of school safety and quality utilizing a matched-pair, cluster-randomized, controlled design. The Positive Action Hawai'i trial included 20 racially/ethnically diverse schools and was conducted from 2002-2003 through 2005-2006.
  
  
  METHODS
  School-level archival data, collected by the Hawai'i Department of Education, were used to examine program effects at 1-year post-trial. Teacher, parent, and student data were analyzed to examine indicators of school quality such as student safety and well-being, involvement, and satisfaction, as well as overall school quality. Matched-paired t-tests were used for the primary analysis, and sensitivity analyses included permutation tests and random-intercept growth curve models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analyses comparing change from baseline to 1-year post-trial revealed that intervention schools demonstrated significantly improved school quality compared to control schools, with 21%, 13%, and 16% better overall school quality scores as reported by teachers, parents, and students, respectively. Teacher, parent, and student reports on individual school-quality indicators showed improvement in student safety and well-being, involvement, satisfaction, quality student support, focused and sustained action, standards-based learning, professionalism and system capacity, and coordinated team work. Teacher reports also showed an improvement in the responsiveness of the system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  School quality was substantially improved, providing evidence that a school-wide social-emotional and character education program can enhance school quality and facilitate whole-school change.
authors.affiliation: Division of Prevention and Community Research, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, The Consultation Center, 389 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT 06511, USA. frank.snyder@yale.edu
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vuchinich
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acock
authors.forename: Isaac J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Washburn
authors.forename: Brian R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Flay
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires