Internationale Zeitschrift für Schul- und Kognitionspsychologie
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Developing Social-emotional Vocabulary to support Self-regulation for Young Children at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Daunic AP

The current study was designed to examine the effects of a social-emotional learning intervention using interactive storybook reading, SELF: Social-Emotional Learning Foundations, on the vocabulary growth of kindergarten and first grade students at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties. Because SELF was intended to promote students' overall social-emotional development, the specific focus of this study was on Vocabulary related to social-emotional learning. A pretest-posttest control group design was used to compare outcomes for 23 kindergarten students (6 classrooms) and 32 first grade students (9 classrooms) in the SELF group to 16 kindergarten students (4 classrooms) and 20 first grade students (5 classrooms) in a business as usual (BAU) control condition on three specific aspects of vocabulary knowledge using a teacher completed curriculum based measure of social-emotional learning related vocabulary.Results indicated that students at both grade levels who received the intervention had significantly higher overall scores than students in the BAU control group. Subscale analyses indicated that both kindergarten and first grade students who received the SELF intervention were better able to provide a definition of the target vocabulary and use the word in context by providing examples of when they might experience a designated feeling. Receptive vocabulary subscale scores, derived using a multiplechoice format differed for kindergarten students only. Effect sizes for significant findings ranged from 0.61 to 1.18. Students' pretest scores on a researcher administered standardized measure of expressive vocabulary and understanding spoken paragraphs were significant predictors of overall posttest social-emotional learning