"Everyday Practices" as Disruptive Innovations in Advancing Student Well-Being

• In Event: 16.060 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 16.060-2 - Beyond Subject Knowledge Acquisition: Two Distinct Approaches Toward Student Well-Being and 21st-Century Competencies

Abstract

Objectives:
• Establish the theory and rationale for ‘everyday practices’, (i.e. simple, scalable interventions with the aim of advancing student wellbeing)

• Discuss the key developments and review the impacts and opportunity of ‘everyday practices’ using case studies from 6 school districts in British Columbia, Canada.

Perspective
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is increasingly recognized as a fundamental component of education systems in preparing young people with the skills necessary to thrive both personally and professionally (OECD, 2015). Core to the SEL movement are the concepts that SEL skills are teachable, and that evidence-based programming can produce measurable impact on social-emotional development (CASEL, 2016). Despite the enthusiasm for SEL, uptake of evidence-based programs (EBPs) has been limited and fidelity has also been low (U.S. Department of Education, 2011).

The resources for professional development and implementation of program act as barriers to sustainability (Hallfors & Godette, 2002). Furthermore, in many cases EBPs are often only accessible to school districts (not early adopters such as educators), are complex in nature, and are not compatible with existing practices in schools (Embry & Biglan, 2008).

To counteract these challenges, and to support the development and scaling of efficacious practices to advance student wellbeing, Embry and Biglan (2008) have proposed the theory and practice of ‘evidence-based kernels’: simple, proven strategies that can be drawn upon to supplement or strengthen existing programming, develop new interventions, or provide opportunity for impact in situations where programs are unavailable, impractical or unnecessary.

Modes of Inquiry and Sources of evidence
Drawing on primary evidence from 6 case studies of school districts in British Columbia, Canada, and secondary evidence from relevant academic literature, this paper will discuss insights gained from the process of developing and testing ‘everyday practices’ (a local reframe of evidence-based kernels), early signs of impacts, and their potential in disrupting the current dissemination model for EBPs in the k-12 education system.


Point of view
Initiatives such as the Collaborative for Social, Emotional and Academic Learning (CASEL)’s Collaborating Districts Initiative (CASEL, 2013), which looks at supporting capacity at multiple levels of the system to support SEL, demonstrate the field’s increasing interest in developing strategies in addition to traditional program dissemination to bolster uptake of SEL in schools and school districts. As part of a holistic approach to advancing SEL, evidence-based kernels may act as disruptive innovations by:
• changing the point of access from districts to individuals and schools,
• offering a lower-cost intervention, and
• expanding the intervention from a specialized few to many more educators and students in schools.

Significance
Given the importance of SEL in promoting student’s academic and personal success and wellbeing, and the limited uptake of proven approaches in the education system, testing a complementary and novel approach of disseminating simpler, more scalable interventions is warranted. With an explicit intention to bring ‘everyday practices’ to scale, the application of the evidence-based kernels through case studies in BC, Canada, helps to explore the promise of this approach.

Authors

• Paul McArthur, McConnell Foundation

• Mali Bain, The University of British Columbia