Research Design & Number of Studies

The best evidence for Student Support Skills (SSS) for children aged 3-5 years comes from two internal cluster Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) (Brigman and Webb, 2003; Brigman et al., 1999), and one external pre-post, single group study (Abel et al., 2016). The first RCT included 260 kindergarten students (mean age 5.7 years) from three schools, located in a predominantly Caucasian, middle class, suburban area (Brigman and Webb, 2003). The second RCT included 140 children aged 4-5 years, from three preschool centres in a predominantly African American, urban area (Brigman et al., 1999). The third study included 203 grades K-3 students, equivalent to P1-P5 in Scotland (approximately 4-9 years old). Study participants in the third study were mostly of Caucasian ethnicity (Abel et al., 2016). All three studies were conducted in USA.

Outcomes Achieved

The following outcomes were observed in children who received SSS:

Child outcomes

• Significantly improved listening comprehension / listening skills at post-test (Brigman and Webb, 2003; Abel et al., 2016) and 7 months post-treatment (Brigman et al., 1999)
• Significantly improved behaviours at post-test (Brigman and Webb, 2003; Abel et al., 2016); and significantly better behaviour ratings and attending behaviours at 7 months post-treatment (Brigman et al, 1999)
• Significantly improved self-motivation, self-discipline, and coping skills at post-intervention (Abel et al., 2016)

Key References

Abel, N. R., Oliver, B. M., Keller, T. J., McAulay, A., & Piatek, L. (2016). Using student success skills to address ASCA behavior standards in grades K-3. Professional School Counseling, 19(1), 116-124

Brigman, G. & Webb, L. (2003). Ready to learn: Teaching kindergarten students school success skills. Journal of Educational Research, 96(5), 286-292

Brigman, G., Lane, D., Switzer, D., Lane, D. E., & Lawrence, R. (1999) Teaching children school success skills. The Journal of Educational Research, 92, 323-328

Research Design & Number of Studies

The best evidence for Student Success Skills (SSS) in children aged 6-12 years comes from three internally conducted randomised controlled trials (RCTs), and one pre-post quasi-experimental study. All four studies were conducted in USA.

The first RCT included 4,205 grade 5 students, equivalent to P7 in Scotland (approximately 10-11 years old) (Webb et al., 2019). Participants were recruited from 60 schools in two school districts. More than half of the participants (54.5%) were receiving free or subsidised lunch, and majority of the participants were of Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic ethnicities. The second RCT included 220 ethnically diverse students (African American, Haitian, Caucasian, and Hispanic American ethnicities) from 12 schools (Brigman et al., 2007). The students were in grades 5, 6, 8 and 9, equivalent to P7, S1, S3 and S4 in Scotland (approximately aged 10-15 years). The third RCT included 135 students from one suburban school (Wirth and Villares, 2015). Students were in seventh grade, equivalent to S2 in Scotland (approximately aged 12-13 years), and were mainly of Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic ethnicities. The fourth study, a quasi-experimental study, included 336 students recruited from five public schools in one school district in USA (Mariana et al., 2015). Students were in fifth grade (equivalent to P7 in Scotland) and had a mean age of 10 years. Study participants were mostly of African American, Caucasian and Latino ethnicities, and about a third of the participants received free lunch.

Outcomes Achieved

Compared to the comparison group who did not receive SSS, the following outcomes were observed:

Child Outcomes

• Significantly increased total wellness based on five wellness factors (i.e. creative self, coping self, social self, essential self, and physical self) at post intervention (Wirth and Villares, 2015)
• Significantly increased academic achievement at post intervention (Brigman et al., 2007)
• Significantly improved behavioural engagement, assertion levels, and cooperation over 30 weeks after final lesson delivery (Webb et al., 2019)
• Significantly decreased test anxiety over 30 weeks after final lesson delivery (Webb et al., 2019)
• Significantly increased prosocial behaviours, significantly higher levels of engagement in school success skills, and significant improvement in one of the four scales used to access classroom climate (i.e. satisfaction) at post-test (Mariana et al., 2015)

Parent Outcomes

None

Key References

Webb, L., Brigman, G., Carey, J., Villares, E., Harrington, K., Wells, C., Sayer, A., & Chance, E. (2019). Results of a randomized controlled trial of Student Success Skills. Journal of Counseling & Development, 97(4), 398-408

Wirth, J., & Villares, E. (2015). Examining adolescent wellness, success skills, and academic performance: A classroom intervention. The Journal of Happiness and Well-Being, 3(2), 204-217.

Mariani, M., Webb, L., Villares, E., & Brigman, G. (2015). Effects of participation in student success skills on pro-social and bullying behavior. The Professional Counselor, 5(3), 341-353.

Brigman G., Webb L.D., Campbell C. (2007). Building Skills for School Success: Improving the Academic and Social Competence of Students. Professional School Counseling 10(3)

Research Design & Number of Studies

The best evidence for Student Success Skills (SSS) in children aged 13-18 years come from four studies conducted in collaboration with programme developers or with researchers affiliated with the University where the programme was developed. All studies were conducted in USA.

The first study was a pre-post study that included 2,725 grades 6-12 students, equivalent to S1-S7 in Scotland (approximately aged 11-18 years) (Zyromski et al, 2017). The students were recruited from five (urban, sub-urban and rural) schools, and were mainly of Caucasian ethnicity with other students identifying as African American, Hispanic, or multi-racial. The second study was a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) that included 193 grades 7 and 8 students, equivalent to S2 and S3 in Scotland (approximately aged 12-14 years) (Lemberger, 2015). Participating students attended one rural suburban middle school in a majority Hispanic school district. The third study was an RCT that included 135 students from one suburban school (Wirth and Villares, 2015). Students were in seventh grade, equivalent to S2 in Scotland (approximately aged 12-13 years), and were of mainly Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic ethnicities. The fourth study was an RCT that included 220 ethnically diverse students (African American, Haitian, Caucasian, and Hispanic American ethnicities) from 12 schools (Brigman et al., 2007). The students were in grades 5, 6, 8 and 9, equivalent to P7, S1, S3 and S4 in Scotland (approximately aged 10-15 years).

Outcomes Achieved

Compared to the comparison group who did not receive SSS, the following outcomes were observed:

Child outcomes

• Significantly increased ability to self-regulate emotional arousal at post-test (Zyromski et al., 2017)
• Significantly improved academic achievement at post-test (Lemberger 2015; Brigman et al., 2007)
• Significantly improved executive functioning skills (i.e. shift, emotional control, planning, organization of materials, and task completion), and feelings of connectedness (i.e. classmate support) at post-test (Lemberger, 2015)
• Significantly increased total wellness based on five wellness factors (i.e. creative self, coping self, social self, essential self, and physical self) at post intervention (Wirth and Villares, 2015)

Key References

Zyromski, B., Mariani, M., Kim, B., Lee, S., & Carey, J. (2017). The impact of student success skills on students’ metacognitive functioning in a naturalistic school setting. The Professional Counselor, 7, 33-44

Lemberger, M. Selig, J. Bowers, H., & Rogers, J. (2015). Effects of the student success skills program on the executive functioning skills, feelings of connectedness, and academic achievement in a predominantly Hispanic, low-income middle school district. Journal of Counseling and Development, 93, 25-36

Wirth, J., & Villares, E. (2015). Examining adolescent wellness, success skills, and academic performance: A classroom intervention. The Journal of Happiness and Well-Being, 3(2), 204-217.

Brigman G., Webb L.D., Campbell C. (2007). Building Skills for School Success: Improving the Academic and Social Competence of Students. Professional School Counseling 10(3)