Date Presented 03/21/24
This pilot study examines the utility and effectiveness of two books and activities from Wagga®, a localized series, as a universal approach to teaching social skills in regular Singapore preschools.
Primary Author and Speaker: Cindy Teow
Contributing Authors: Laila Patel, Shu Zhen Ong, Wei Bin Glynis Lam
BACKGROUND: Wagga®, a cartoon character was created with the knowledge that appropriate local social-emotional (SE) resources may enhance SE learning (Yang et al., 2021). Two lessons from the Wagga series that focus on emotion literacy and anger regulation was piloted across four weeks in regular Singapore classrooms.
AIMS: This pilot study examines if the two mentioned lessons would strengthen preschool children’s SE skills. Additionally, teachers’ perspective on the utility of Wagga® was sought.
METHOD: 216 children aged 5-6 years were randomly assigned to intervention or control group. Teachers in the intervention group were trained by a multidisciplinary team on the series. Teachers in the control group received training after post-test had ended. Children’s SE skills were assessed, pre and post, using the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation - Short Form: Anger-Aggressive subscale (SCBE-30; LaFreniere & Dumas, 1996), and the Assessment of Children’s Emotion Skills (ACES; Schultz & Izard, 1998). Teachers’ perspectives were gathered through in-house developed questionnaires.
RESULTS: There was statistically significant improvement on SCBE-30 Anger-Aggressive subscale (p<.01) and ACES (p<.01) in the intervention group with a small to medium effect size, indicating that intervention was effective in strengthening children’s SE skills. All teachers strongly agree (>60%) or agree (40%) that the sessions were useful in building up SE skills in their classrooms. All teachers were keen on using this series even after the study.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated how two lessons from the Wagga® series strengthened SE skills in children, and how teachers found the series relevant. Results support the potential application of the two lessons from the Wagga® series as a resource to enhance children’s SE development through a universal approach. Future studies will examine the impact of the complete Wagga® series on children’s SE skills and classroom participation.
References
Corcoran, R. P., Cheung, A. C. K., Kim, E., & Xie, C. (2018). Effective universal school-based social and emotional learning programs for improving academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Educational Research Review, 25, 56–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.12.001
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). (n.d.). SEL in the Classroom - CASEL. https://casel.org/systemic-implementation/sel-in-the-classroom/
Lynch, H., Moore, A., O’Connor, D., & Boyle, B. (2023). Evidence for implementing tiered approaches in school-based occupational therapy in elementary schools: A Scoping Review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 77(1), 7701205110. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2023.050027
Yang, W., Peh, J., & Ng, S. C. (2021). Early childhood teacher research and social-emotional learning: Implications for the development of culturally sensitive curriculum in Singapore. Policy Futures in Education, 19(2), 197–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/1478210320983499
