3-184 - Opening Dialogue: The Importance of Communication Between Basic Science and Program Evaluation for Advancing Science and Society

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

For decades, developmental science has sought to further our scientific understanding of child development and enhance child well-being in society (Lerner, 2012; SRCD Strategic Plan, 2016). While we have aligned research agendas with questions of interest to policymakers (Huston, 2005) and have built pathways to disseminate research widely to stakeholders, the impact of our research has been limited (Jenson et al, 1999; Tseng, 2012). This may be due, in part, to limited communication between researchers in academic institutions and program evaluators who work in the field. In this symposium, we explore how evaluation work expands our scientific understanding and illuminates how to maximize generalizability of research to real world settings.
The first paper explores how validated measures of socio-emotional learning (SEL) and non-cognitive factors perform in an evaluation of a college readiness program for low-income, minority high school students. The second paper examines how SEL measures perform in two evaluation studies with low SES children. The third paper examines how a new measure designed to assess caregivers’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors related to children’s language and literacy development performs across diverse urban samples. Presenters will discuss how their work in naturalistic settings relies on the synthesis of research to inform theories of change and the adaptation of research tools to suit the needs of the learners and the educational context. This symposium will initiate a new interactive dialog between researchers and evaluators in an effort to advance science and society.

Sub Unit

• Methods, History, Theory

Chair

• Kelly Fisher, JHU

Individual Presentations

• Measuring Socio-Emotional Learning and Non-Cognitive Factors in Low-Income, Minority High School Students - Presenting Author: Tiffany Berry, Claremont Graduate University; Adriana Ariza, Claremont Graduate University; Lisa Teachanarong, Claremont Graduate University

• Measuring Socioemotional Learning in Diverse Samples of Children - Presenting Author: Steven Holochwost, Johns Hopkins University; Dennie Palmer Wolf, WolfBrown

• Developing a Measure of Caregiver Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors About Language and Literacy Development - Presenting Author: Kristin Gagnier, Johns Hopkins University; Kelly Fisher, JHU; Steven Holochwost, Johns Hopkins University