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The Hexagon: An Exploration Tool
The Hexagon can be used as a planning tool to guide selection and evaluate potential programs and practice for use.
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Core Components
Roots Of empathy (ROE) is a classroom-based prevention programme delivered to primary school age children to enhance their socio-emotional competence and empathy. Central to the programme is a baby (2-4 months old at the first family visit) and parent(s), who visit the classroom every three to four weeks. A trained instructor coaches the classroom of children to observe the baby’s development, label the baby’s feelings, and observe the infant’s attachment to the parent(s). The baby therefore serves as the teaching lever that helps the children recognise, understand, and consider their feelings, as well as the feelings of others. The emotional literacy and empathy promoted allows for the creation of a safer, warmer and more supportive classroom.
The ROE curriculum is divided into 9 themes, each theme delivered over 3 sessions; 1) Pre-family visit to prepare the children and introduce the theme; 2) Family visit; and 3) Post-family visit to reinforce the teachings from that theme. Hence ROE is delivered in 27 sessions (one session delivered weekly) which cover 9 themes and include 9 baby and parent visits. The nine themes are delivered in order. They are designed to follow along with the physical and cognitive development of the baby, and of the parent(s) experience with the baby.
Each of the 9 themes are categorised into four age ranges in order to make them developmentally appropriate; 1) Kindergarten curriculum (ages 4-5, curriculum applied to P1 in Scotland); 2) Primary curriculum (Grade 1-3, ages 6-8, curriculum applied to P2-P4 in Scotland); 3) Junior curriculum (Grade 4-6, ages 9-11, curriculum applied to P5-P7 in Scotland); and 4) Senior (Grade 7-8, ages 12-13, not typically used in the UK).
Sessions last 25-40 minutes and are delivered according to a specialized lesson plan to individual classes. One instructor delivers the programme to each class. Instructors can deliver more than one programme, but typically do not deliver more than three programmes at a time. ROE sessions are delivered during school hours, over the course of the school year.
Activities conducted include music, literature and art activities, discussion and group activities, and other general classroom activities. These activities give the children experience in participatory democracy and consensus building; help build solidarity and empathy; and open the door to feelings and others’ perspectives. Successful ROE implementation requires strong head teacher support and supportive classroom teacher. A photocopier and digital camera (to take photos during family visits) are needed to deliver the programme. Parental consent is required for ROE to use any photographs taken in the ROE classrooms.
Fidelity
Fidelity is ensured by adherence to the measures below:
Annual programme evaluation to determine programme effectiveness
Practitioner training and individual mentoring support
Use of certified curriculum for programme delivery
Modifiable Components
ROE has been delivered in several countries including UK, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Canada, USA, Republic of Ireland, and Republic of Korea. In addition to English, ROE is available in other languages including Dutch, German, Spanish, Norwegian, Korean, and French.
Roots Of empathy (ROE) programme was created by Dr. Mary Gordon in Canada and is owned by Roots Of Empathy organisation. A similar programme called Seeds Of Empathy is delivered in early childhood settings. Action for Children is responsible for the administration of ROE in Scotland.
Support for Organisation / Practice
Implementation Support
Implementation support is provided by Action for Children (AFC) ROE Programme Managers. They are certified trainers or mentors and provide practitioner training to ensure structured delivery of programme curriculum. ROE also provide mentoring support to instructors during programme delivery. These include four regularly scheduled support calls (between the mentor and instructor) at key intervals in the first programme year, and three calls in subsequent years of programme delivery. Mentors are also available for support calls as required. In addition, ROE Mentors promote ongoing instructor professional development via in person or online workshops.
ROE Programme Managers work with schools and local community organisations to recruit ROE families.
Licence Requirements
There are no licence requirements for this programme.
Start-up Costs
Implementation costs vary depending on instructor model employed. If the local authority instructor model is applied, practitioner training costs £1772 plus VAT. This model is used when AFC provides training, accreditation, mentoring, guidance, support and supervision to a new ROE instructor. The new ROE instructor is typically chosen by the local authority/ school. This one-off cost also includes the cost of AFC quality assurance to ensure model fidelity. Thereafter, annual ROE instructor reaccreditation is required. This costs £353 plus VAT.
The AFC instructor model costs £6235 plus VAT. This model is applied when a trained member of AFC fulfils the role of ROE instructor. The cost covers ROE training, mentoring and oversight, and also includes the additional cost of the AFC staff member's time over the 27 sessions. Other costs include photocopier, camera, and supplies for classroom activities.
The above costs have been set by AFC and apply to Scotland only.
Building Staff Competency
Qualifications Required
ROE instructors are often AFC staff, or school / local authority staff, and they deliver the programme as part of their role. In Scotland, there are a small number of volunteer instructors who deliver the programme. ROE instructors are typically teaching assistants, early childhood educators, social workers, guidance counsellors, community volunteers, or other practitioners with background in health or recreation. One instructor delivers the curriculum to each classroom of children. ROE families (baby and parent) participate as volunteers and are recruited from the local community.
ROE programme managers from AFC are responsible for instructor recruitment. Head Teachers may recommend candidates from their school staff, however the programme manager is responsible for introducing them to the programme and determining their suitability for the role. Classroom teachers do not deliver ROE.
Training Requirements
Practitioner training prior to programme delivery is required. Practitioners interested in delivering ROE complete an online application and interview prior to being approved to attend the training programme. Practitioners attend four days of training and receive a curriculum manual. Training sessions include discussions on social and emotional competence in children, and curriculum instructional techniques. Training is delivered to groups of about twenty practitioners. Certification is achieved after a successful full year of programme delivery. Annual recertification is required and is achieved by continued successful delivery of the programme, and attendance of at least one in person or online professional development workshop. ROE programme resources are available on ROE Instructor dashboard. These resources support instructor’s programme delivery and deepen their understanding of the key concepts, philosophies and topics of the programme.
Supervision Requirements
ROE Mentors support ROE instructors in programme delivery. Mentors are contracted by ROE to maintain regular contact with instructors. Mentors observe instructors programme delivery of a class during the first year of programme delivery, and work with instructors to develop personal and professional individual plans for growth that will support programme delivery.
Theory of Change
Roots Of empathy (ROE) is based on the theory that children’s empathy increases as their emotional literacy and understanding of others’ perspectives increase. This is evident in the ROE programme model as it includes children’ observation of the infants’ feelings, intentions and attachment to parent. It enables children to understand how babies communicate and provides a mirror for their own feelings. It also helps children to be more considerate of those more vulnerable than themselves.
Preschool: 3 to 5 years - Rating: 4+
Research Design & Number of Studies
The best evidence for children aged 3-5 years old comes from one independently conducted cluster Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) (Santos et al., 2011). Children included were from three grades, kindergarten, grade four and grade eight. The children’s ages were not specified, but their approximate ages would have been 5 years, 9 years and 13 years respectively. Separate outcomes for 5-year olds only was not reported.
Outcomes Achieved
Across all grades, compared to the control group, the following outcomes were observed:
Child Outcomes
Significantly reduced teacher-rated child physical aggression and indirect aggression at post-intervention. Reduction in physical aggression maintained at 3 years follow-up (Santos et al., 2011).
Significantly improved teacher-rated pro-social behaviour at post-intervention and 3 years follow up (Santos et al., 2011).
Parent Outcomes
None
Key References
Santos, R. G., Chartier, M. J., Whalen, J. C., Chateau, D. and Boyd, L. (2011). ‘Effectiveness of school-based violence prevention for children and youth: A research report’, Healthcare Quarterly , 14(S2), pp. 80–91.
Primary school: 6 to 12 years - Rating: 4+
Research Design & Number of Studies
The best evidence for children aged 6-12 years old comes from two externally conducted cluster Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) (Connolly et al., 2018; Santos et al., 2011), and one external quasi-experimental design (QED) (Schonert-Reichl et al., 2012). One study included children in kindergarten, grade 4 and grade 8 (Santos et al., 2011). The children’s ages were not specified, but their approximate ages would have been 5 years, 9 years and 13 years respectively. The other 2 studies included children with ages ranging from 8 to 12 years (Connolly et al., 2018; Schonert-Reichl et al., 2012).
Outcomes Achieved
Compared to the control group, the following outcomes were observed:
Child Outcomes
Significantly reduced teacher-rated physical aggression and indirect aggression at post-intervention. Reduction in physical aggression maintained at 3 years follow-up (Santos et al., 2011).
Significantly improved teacher-rated pro-social behaviour at post-intervention and 3 years follow up (Santos et al., 2011).
Significantly improved peer-rated pro-social behaviour at post-intervention (Schonert-Reichl et al., 2012), and teacher-rated pro-social behaviour and reduction in difficult behaviour at post-intervention (Connolly et al., 2018).
Significantly reduced teacher reported proactive aggression and relational aggression at post-intervention (Schonert-Reichl et al., 2012).
Parent Outcomes
None
Key References
Connolly, P., Miller, S., Kee, F., Sloan, S., Gildea, A., McIntosh, E., Boyer, N. and Bland, M. (2018) ‘A cluster randomised controlled trial and evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis of the Roots of Empathy schools-based programme for improving social and emotional well-being outcomes among 8- to 9-year-olds in Northern Ireland’, Public Health Research , 6 (4).
Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Smith, V., Zaidman-Zait, A. and Hertzman, C. (2012) ‘Promoting children’s prosocial behaviors in school: Impact of the “Roots of Empathy” programme on the social and emotional competence of school-aged children’ School Mental Health , 4 (1), pp. 1–21
Santos, R. G., Chartier, M. J., Whalen, J. C., Chateau, D. and Boyd, L. (2011) ‘Effectiveness of school-based violence prevention for children and youth: A research report’, Healthcare Quarterly , 14 (S2), pp. 80–91.
Need
Comparable Population
Roots Of empathy (ROE) is a classroom-based programme designed to enhance socio-emotional competence and empathy in primary school children. Research which supports ROE’s effectiveness were conducted in children aged between 5-13 years.
Is this comparable to the population your organisation would like to serve?
Desired Outcome
Roots of Empathy (ROE) aims to enhance primary school aged children’s socio-emotional competence, help build solidarity and empathy; and open the door to feelings and others’ perspectives. Programme delivery is associated with significantly increased pro-social behaviour and reduced aggression.
Are the above outcomes priorities for your organisation? (1) Does your organisation have other initiatives in place that effectively and efficiency address the above outcomes?
Need Score
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Fit
Values
Roots Of empathy (ROE) is a school-based programme designed to enhance socio-emotional competence and empathy in primary school children. At the core of this universal prevention programme are an infant and parent who visit the classroom over the course of the school year and give children the opportunity to observe the infants’ feelings, intentions and attachment to parent. This then enables children to understand how babies communicate and provides a mirror for their own feelings.
Does this approach align with the key values of your organisation?
Priorities
ROE is a classroom-based prevention programme delivered to primary school age children and aims to enhance their socio-emotional competence, help build solidarity and empathy; and open the door to feelings and others’ perspectives.
Is enhancing socio-emotional competency and empathy in primary school children a priority for your organisation? Is your organisations’ priority to deliver a school-based intervention? Would a home visiting programme, telehealth programme or clinic based programme fit better? Would your organisation like to implement a programme that is delivered to classroom of children, or would an individualised programme be a better fit? In what classrooms will the programme be delivered?
Existing Initiatives
Does your organisation have existing programmes to enhance socio-emotional competence and empathy in children? Are the existing initiatives effective? Do existing initiatives fit your current and anticipated future requirements? Can they be delivered to primary school children? Are the existing initiatives school based? Are they delivered to the classroom of children or are they individualised programmes? Are there components that ROE addresses that are not met by existing programmes?
Fit Score
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Capacity
Workforce
Roots Of empathy (ROE) instructors are often AFC staff, or school based/ local authority staff who deliver the programme as part of their role. ROE instructors are typically teaching assistants, early childhood educators, social workers, guidance counsellors, or other practitioners with a background in health or recreation. Certification as a ROE Instructor is achieved after a successful full year of programme delivery. Successful ROE implementation requires head teacher and classroom teacher support. One certified instructor delivers the curriculum to each classroom of children. Instructors can deliver more than one programme to cover the year group, but typically do not deliver more than three programmes at a time.
Can your organisation have identified qualified volunteers from your community, or staff within the school/ local authority who are interested in learning and delivering this programme? Do they have sufficient time to undertake training, delivery and certification? Will an AFC staff deliver the programme instead? Does your organisation have a head teacher and teachers who are or will be supportive of the programme? How many classes will the ROE be delivered to in the first year? Based on this, how many practitioners will receive training in the first year?
Technology Support
A photocopier and digital camera (to take photos during family visits) are needed to deliver the programme.
Will your instructors have access to a photocopier and digital camera? Can these be made available?
Administrative Support
Volunteer practitioners from the community can also be trained to deliver the programme. Pictures are taken during family visits. Parental consent for use of children’s artwork and photos is required.
Will staff or volunteer practitioners deliver the programme? If volunteers, then how will they be recruited from the community? Are there policies and procedures in place regarding the taking pictures and storing of these pictures? How will parental consent be obtained? Does your organisation have administrative capacity and systems for a classroom intervention?
Financial Support
The local authority instructor model costs £1772 plus VAT, and annual re-accreditation costs £353 plus VAT. The AFC instructor model costs £6235 plus VAT. One instructor delivers the programme to each class, and classes are not combined. Instructors can deliver more than one programme to cover the year group, but typically do not deliver more than three programmes at a time.
Which Instructor model will be applied? If the local authority model is to be applied, how many practitioners will be trained? Can training and annual recertification be financially supported? If the AFC model is applied, how many programmes will instructors deliver? Can this be financially supported?
Capacity Score
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