Feasibility of a Social-emotional Learning Curriculum in an After-school Program for Youth

NCT06619639 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 2024/111Les Lois Shaw Foundation
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 218
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this cluster randomized trial is to: 1\. primary purpose: to determine the feasibility of a novel social-emotional learning curriculum when implemented in the beyond 3:30 after school program; 2a. secondary purpose: to determine whether the novel social-emotional learning curriculum has positive effects youth social emotional learning skills; 2b. secondary purpose: to determine whether the novel social-emotional learning curriculum has positive effects on youth resilience and overall functioning. Participants:

• The investigators will compare the intervention arm \[10 sites within the beyond 3:30 program who will implement the EMPOWER social-emotional learning curriculum\] with the usual programming control arm \[10 sites within the beyond 3:30 program who will implement the usual beyond 3:30 program\] Secondary objective: Resilience and overall functioning \- The investigators will compare the intervention arm \[10 sites within the beyond 3:30 program who will implement the EMPOWER social-emotional learning curriculum\] with the usual programming control arm \[10 sites within the beyond 3:30 program who will implement the usual beyond 3:30 program\] Measures: Primary Objective: Feasibility After school program staff participants in the intervention arm will be asked to complete: \- 3 feasibility measures (feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness of intervention) every 4-weeks after each social-emotional module they complete teaching. \- weekly fidelity checklists to assess feasibility. Youth participants in the intervention arm will be asked to complete: \- the intervention appropriateness measure during the post-curriculum data collection time point. Secondary Objective: Social-emotional learning skills After school program staff participants in both intervention and usual programming arms will be asked to complete the following measure pre- and post-curriculum implementation: \- social-emotional learning skills measure for each youth aged 11-14 years in their class. Youth participants in both intervention and usual programming arms will be asked to complete the following measure pre- and post-curriculum implementation: \- social-emotional learning skills measure Parents participants whose youth are in the intervention arm will be asked to participate in an interview. Secondary objective: Resilience and overall functioning After school program staff participants in both intervention and usual programming arms will be asked to complete the follow measures pre- and post-curriculum implementation: \- overall functioning measure for each youth aged 11-14 years in their class. Youth participants in both intervention and usual programming arms will be asked to complete:
• resilience measure

Conditions

Efficacy of Intervention; Social Emotional Learning; Feasibility Studies

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Feasibility of Intervention

  Staff in the active intervention arm will complete the Feasibility of Intervention (Weiner et al., 2017) measure after each social-emotional domain (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship skills, decision-making) is taught. This is a 4-item, 5-point Likert-type scale that measures a composite feasibility of intervention score.

  20-weeks

• Acceptability of Intervention

  Staff in the active intervention arm will complete the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (Weiner et al., 2017) measure after each social-emotional domain (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship skills, decision-making) is taught. This is a 4-item, 5-point Likert-type scale that measures a composite acceptability of intervention score.

  20-weeks

• Intervention Appropriateness

  Staff in the active intervention arm will complete the Intervention Appropriateness (Weiner et al., 2017) measure after each social-emotional domain (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship skills, decision-making) is taught. This is a 4-item, 5-point Likert-type scale that measures a composite appropriateness of intervention scale. Youth in the intervention arm will complete the intervention appropriateness (Weiner et al., 2017) scale post-SEL curriculum implementation.

  20-weeks

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Overall functioning

  20 weeks

• Resilience

  20 weeks

• Social-emotional learning skills

  20 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Usual programming control (implement beyond 3:30 programming as usual)

NO INTERVENTION

Groups assigned to the usual programming control arm will deliver regular beyond 3:30 programming.

Social-emotional learning curriculum

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention is the EMPOWER social-emotional learning curriculum.

Behavioral: Social-emotional learning curriculum

Interventions

Social-emotional learning curriculum BEHAVIORAL

EMPOWER is a 16-week social-emotional learning curriculum that is integrated into the after-school program context.

Social-emotional learning curriculum

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 11 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Must be a youth aged 11-14 years attending the beyond 3:30 program
• Must sign and date the informed consent form
• Must speak and understand English
• Must be a facilitator of the beyond 3:30 program
• Must sign and date the informed consent form
• Must speak and understand English
• Must be a caregiver/parent of a youth aged 11-14 years attending the beyond 3:30 program. Caregivers/parents whose children decide not to participate in data collection are still able to participate in an interview post-SEL curriculum implementation.
• Must sign and date the informed consent form
• Must speak and understand English

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health: lead

Study Sites (1)

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Balter AS, Racine N, Al-Khooly D, Somir I, Bandoles E, Utchay C, Sylvestre D, Sibalis A, Suri A, Pierre S, Parkes S, Quesnelle S, Brodkin S, Andrade BF. Strengthening Youth Emotional and Behavioral Well-Being Through Community-Academic Partnership: The EMPOWER Project. Health Promot Pract. 2025 Sep;26(5):837-840. doi: 10.1177/15248399241255372. Epub 2024 Jul 27.

  PMID: 39066621 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Brendan F Andrade, PhD

  Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 17, 2024
• First Posted: October 1, 2024
• Study Start: October 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: May 1, 2025
• Study Completion: May 1, 2025
• Last Updated: March 18, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)