Abstract
Improving children's learning and development in conflict-affected countries is critically important for breaking the intergenerational transmission of violence and poverty. Yet there is currently a stunning lack of rigorous evidence as to whether and how programs to improve learning and development in conflict-affected countries actually work to bolster children's academic learning and socioemotional development. This study tests a theory of change derived from the fields of developmental psychopathology and social ecology about how a school-based universal socioemotional learning program, the International Rescue Committee's Learning to Read in a Healing Classroom (LRHC), impacts children's learning and development. The study was implemented in three conflict-affected provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and employed a cluster-randomized waitlist control design to estimate impact. Using multilevel structural equation modeling techniques, we found support for the central pathways in the LRHC theory of change. Specifically, we found that LRHC differentially impacted dimensions of the quality of the school and classroom environment at the end of the first year of the intervention, and that in turn these dimensions of quality were differentially associated with child academic and socioemotional outcomes. Future implications and directions are discussed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-15 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Development and Psychopathology |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - Nov 21 2016 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
Cite this
Promoting children's learning and development in conflict-affected countries : Testing change process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. / Aber, J. Lawrence; Tubbs, Carly; Torrente, Catalina; Halpin, Peter F.; Johnston, Brian; Starkey, Leighann; Shivshanker, Anjuli; Annan, Jeannie; Seidman, Edward; Wolf, Sharon.
In: Development and Psychopathology, 21.11.2016, p. 1-15.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Promoting children's learning and development in conflict-affected countries
T2 - Testing change process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
AU - Aber, J. Lawrence
AU - Tubbs, Carly
AU - Torrente, Catalina
AU - Halpin, Peter F.
AU - Johnston, Brian
AU - Starkey, Leighann
AU - Shivshanker, Anjuli
AU - Annan, Jeannie
AU - Seidman, Edward
AU - Wolf, Sharon
PY - 2016/11/21
Y1 - 2016/11/21
N2 - Improving children's learning and development in conflict-affected countries is critically important for breaking the intergenerational transmission of violence and poverty. Yet there is currently a stunning lack of rigorous evidence as to whether and how programs to improve learning and development in conflict-affected countries actually work to bolster children's academic learning and socioemotional development. This study tests a theory of change derived from the fields of developmental psychopathology and social ecology about how a school-based universal socioemotional learning program, the International Rescue Committee's Learning to Read in a Healing Classroom (LRHC), impacts children's learning and development. The study was implemented in three conflict-affected provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and employed a cluster-randomized waitlist control design to estimate impact. Using multilevel structural equation modeling techniques, we found support for the central pathways in the LRHC theory of change. Specifically, we found that LRHC differentially impacted dimensions of the quality of the school and classroom environment at the end of the first year of the intervention, and that in turn these dimensions of quality were differentially associated with child academic and socioemotional outcomes. Future implications and directions are discussed.
AB - Improving children's learning and development in conflict-affected countries is critically important for breaking the intergenerational transmission of violence and poverty. Yet there is currently a stunning lack of rigorous evidence as to whether and how programs to improve learning and development in conflict-affected countries actually work to bolster children's academic learning and socioemotional development. This study tests a theory of change derived from the fields of developmental psychopathology and social ecology about how a school-based universal socioemotional learning program, the International Rescue Committee's Learning to Read in a Healing Classroom (LRHC), impacts children's learning and development. The study was implemented in three conflict-affected provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and employed a cluster-randomized waitlist control design to estimate impact. Using multilevel structural equation modeling techniques, we found support for the central pathways in the LRHC theory of change. Specifically, we found that LRHC differentially impacted dimensions of the quality of the school and classroom environment at the end of the first year of the intervention, and that in turn these dimensions of quality were differentially associated with child academic and socioemotional outcomes. Future implications and directions are discussed.
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U2 - 10.1017/S0954579416001139
DO - 10.1017/S0954579416001139
M3 - Article
SP - 1
EP - 15
JO - Development and Psychopathology
JF - Development and Psychopathology
SN - 0954-5794
ER -