speaking truth to policy: the importance of quality educational and human developmental research

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Speaking Truth to Policy: The Importance of Quality Educational

and Human Developmental Research

Patrick Tolan Ph.D.

Youth-Nex Center, University of Virginia

2013 Steele Symposium

College of Education & Human Development

University of Delaware April 12, 2013

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

YOUTH-NEX Mission

• Promote Healthy Youth Development • Reduce Risk & Prevent Problems in Development

• Through Focused Research, Training and Service

• For Integrated Multidimensional Understanding of Youth Development

• To Facilitated and Enhance Potential of Youth as Healthy Productive Citizens

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

How Do We Get Directions on

Questions about Youth Development?

• School Size• Teacher/Classroom Qualities?• Early Intervention Help?• Focus on High Risk or All?

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

In Search of the One Armed Scientist

RESEARCH• Theory• Variables• Incremental• Conservative• Qualify Results• Not Wrong

POLICY• Politics• People• Binary• Resolute• Emphasize Certainty• Not Wrong

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Research is Our Best Hope for Good Policy

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

The facts are coming! The facts are coming!

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Two Examples:

SAFE CHILDREN

GREAT SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Can Early Support Help Children in High Risk Neighborhoods Succeed?

• Family Groups with Parents of Entering First Graders

• Tutoring 1/2 hour, 2 x per week on Reading Mastery

• Across 8.5 months (16 family sessions, 22 tutoring)

• Booster for half of treatment in fourth grade

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Reduces Delinquency F(2,318) = 5.28, p=.005

Low Family Risk Hi Family Risk0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

ControlInitial Only2Initial + Booster

p < .01 p < .01

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Improves Graduation Rates

• Control: 35%• Early Only: 40%• Early Plus Booster: 44%

Booster increases Graduation Rate by 29%

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Multisite Violence Prevention Project(MVPP)

Efficacy of Universal Versus Selective Approaches to Youth

Violence Prevention

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Collaborating Groups

UGA VCU Duke

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Early Adolescence/Middle School as Time of Increasing Risk Level and

Prevalence• Increased Risks• Decreased Support for Development• Increased Beliefs/Values Supporting Problem

Behavior and Lower School Affiliation• Rise of Social Group as Most Influential

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

MVPP Interventions• Universal

– 20-session social-cognitive curriculum– 12-hour teacher workshop– 10 consultation/support meetings for teachers

• Selective− 15 week group-based family intervention-− parenting, school involvement, school achievement

• Combined Universal Plus Selective

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Effects for Cohort-Wide Sample

• Effect on Aggression in Selective Intervention Schools

• Effect on Victimization in Universal Intervention Schools (Maybe)

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Intervention

Selective only vs. Control p < .05

Selective School Effects on Aggression(Cohort Wide Sample)

Co

mp

osi

te A

ggr

ess

ion

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Targeted Sample Effects of Selective Intervention

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Table 5 Weighted Intervention Condition Linear Slope Effects for Primary Outcomes and Individual Mediators

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Monitoring Composite

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Cohesion Composite

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Sometimes You Get Them To Listen

New Findings on Approaches to Improving Children’s Social

and Emotional Learning

Implications for Academic Performance and Behavior

Briefing Presented to the

US Department of Education

Monday, June 20, 2011

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

Annual Taxpayer Costs & Benefits: Forecast with Moderate Portfolio

of Evidence-Based Programs

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development

The U.Va. Center to Promote Effective Youth Development