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| Second Step | |
|---|---|
| Name | Second Step |
| Type | Social-emotional learning program |
| Developer | Committee for Children |
| Introduced | 1997 |
| Country | United States |
| Subjects | Social-emotional skills, bullying prevention |
Second Step
Second Step is a social-emotional learning and violence-prevention curriculum developed to teach children skills in emotion management, empathy, problem-solving, and bullying prevention. The program has been disseminated through schools, community organizations, and juvenile justice settings and has been evaluated in research involving districts, counties, and nonprofit partners. It is produced by the nonprofit Committee for Children and has been used alongside initiatives led by local education agencies, state departments of education, and international aid organizations.
Second Step provides lessons, classroom materials, and training focused on age-graded competencies such as emotion recognition, impulse control, conflict resolution, and bystander intervention. The program is designed for implementation in elementary, middle, and early childhood settings and is often adopted by school districts, charter networks, and child welfare agencies. Materials are distributed to teachers, counselors, and school administrators and are sometimes coordinated with district initiatives, university research centers, and philanthropic funders.
Second Step was created by the Committee for Children, an organization founded by educators and child advocates in Seattle. Early pilot work involved partnerships with public school districts and municipal agencies in Washington State and later expanded through collaborations with foundations, state education departments, and international development programs. Over time, the curriculum underwent revisions informed by research from university research groups, randomized controlled trials funded by agencies and foundations, and feedback from local implementing partners in metropolitan areas, rural counties, and tribal schools.
The curriculum is organized into grade-banded units that include lesson plans, scripted activities, skill-practice exercises, parent newsletters, and assessment tools. Core components cover emotion knowledge, problem-solving steps, bullying prevention scripts, and social problem-solving models used by teachers, counselors, and paraprofessionals. Programs often incorporate classroom posters, role-play, small-group activities, and home connection materials to engage families and community organizations. Implementation materials reference developmental work by child development centers and behavioral research units.
Adoption typically involves district-level decision-making, purchase of licensing from the producing nonprofit, and delivery of teacher training workshops led by program trainers or authorized trainers affiliated with educational service centers. Training modules instruct classroom teachers, school psychologists, and school counselors on lesson delivery, fidelity monitoring, and integration with schoolwide positive behavior programs. Implementation partners have included local education agencies, regional service centers, juvenile justice programs, and international NGOs working with ministries of education.
Second Step has been the subject of multiple evaluations, including quasi-experimental studies and randomized controlled trials conducted by university research teams and independent evaluators. Outcomes reported in the literature include changes in teacher-reported behavior, reductions in peer aggression, and improvements in prosocial skills in some studies carried out in urban school districts, suburban counties, and head start sites. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews that include trials of Second Step report heterogeneous effects, with variation by site, fidelity of implementation, and contextual factors documented by research centers and evaluation firms.
Critiques have focused on mixed empirical findings reported by academic researchers, concerns raised by some parent groups and school boards about content and age-appropriateness, and debates among policymaking bodies about funding for universal versus targeted interventions. Implementation challenges cited by practitioners and district administrators include resource constraints noted by school finance officers, turnover among teachers, and variation in cultural adaptation for diverse school populations. Debates have appeared in local media outlets, school board hearings, and policy analysis by think tanks and advocacy organizations.
Adaptations of the program have been produced for preschool settings, middle schools, juvenile justice facilities, and community-based afterschool programs, sometimes in partnership with universities, county social services departments, and international development agencies. Local adaptations have involved translation of materials, cultural tailoring for indigenous and immigrant communities, integration with trauma-informed practices promoted by child welfare agencies, and digital resource supplements co-developed with educational technology firms and research labs.
Category:Curricula