Social Emotional and Ethical Development (SEED)

NCT ID: NCT06122844

Last Updated: 2025-02-10

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

158 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-09-16

Study Completion Date

2024-06-03

Brief Summary

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The objectives of the present study are to (1) evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness in implementing teachers' training on mindfulness and developing their competency in delivering the Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) curriculum to preschool children and (2) pilot the SEED curriculum at kindergartens to assess its effectiveness.

To investigate the feasibility of SEED teacher training and the SEED Curriculum, randomized controlled trials will be conducted. A minimum of two kindergartens will be recruited to participate in the study. Half of the kindergartens, teachers, and children will receive the training and SEED curriculum, while the other half will be assigned to the waitlist control condition. Upon informed consent from the school principals and parents, parents, teachers, and children will complete pre- and post-assessments, additional follow-up assessments will be conducted in intervention group. Focus group interviews will be conducted with teachers to understand their acceptability, demand, practicality, integration, and efficacy of the teacher training at post-teacher training and delivery of the SEED curriculum for children at post-intervention. Another focus group interviews will be conducted with SEED trainers to get information about teachers' participation rate in the training session.

Detailed Description

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According to the World Health Organization, early child development lays a critical foundation for healthy habits and long-term development, including health and well-being, as well as changing the trajectory of the next generation in maximizing human potential. Specifically, social emotional learning (SEL) in early childhood lays the foundation for their later adjustment, including better emotional wellness and fewer internalizing and externalizing problems. Recently, numerous SEL programs have been developed worldwide . Among these evidence-based SEL programs, the Kindness Curriculum is a secular mindfulness-based SEL program designed for children between 4-6 years of age.

In Hong Kong, the Kindergarten Education Curriculum Guide has identified affective and social development as a major objective in early childhood. Better social emotional competence is associated with preschool-aged children's lower anxiety and fewer aggressive behaviors in Hong Kong. However, the implementation of evidence-based SEL programs remains immature, with very few programs available for kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care settings and none being mindfulness-based. In response to fulfilling children's psychosocial needs, the Bodhi Love Foundation (BLF) has adapted the Kindness Curriculum for young children in Hong Kong. With concerted efforts of a team of qualified local mindfulness teachers and Prof. Daniel Goleman as the advisor, the curriculum was translated from English to Chinese and has been adapted for implementation in the local cultural context. The adapted Kindness Curriculum, renamed as Social, Emotional, Ethical Development Curriculum (SEED), is a two-part program involving training teachers on mindfulness and delivery of SEED to young children. As such, the curriculum may be beneficial for both teachers and children.

The project's significance is to cultivate mindfulness and loving kindness among our teachers and children so to equip them with the mindset and skills needed for self-care and promotion of mental well-being. Such well-being promotion and distress prevention approach that starts early in childhood lays a critical cornerstone for children to develop healthily, which can potentially reduce the incidence of mental illness among younger generations.

Conditions

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Development, Child Mindfulness Mental Well-being

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

OTHER

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) curriculum

The kindergartens, teachers, and children will receive the training and SEED curriculum. Upon informed consent from the school principals and parents, parents, teachers, and children will complete pre-, post-, and 4-week follow-up assessments. Focus group interviews will be conducted with teachers to understand their acceptability, demand, practicality, integration, and efficacy of the teacher training at post-teacher training and delivery of the SEED curriculum for children at post-intervention. Another focus group interviews will be conducted with SEED trainers to get information about teachers' participation rate in the training session.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) curriculum

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

In response to fulfilling children's urgent psychosocial needs, the Bodhi Love Foundation (BLF) adapted the Kindness Curriculum for young children in Hong Kong by translating it from English to Chinese and adapting its length and content for implementation in the local kindergarten context. The adapted Kindness Curriculum, renamed as Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development curriculum (SEED), is a two-part program involving teacher training and delivery of SEED. The teacher training is consist of a 12-hour mindfulness course and a 1-day (6 hours) workshop to get familiarized with the understanding and practice of mindfulness, and the details of the SEED Curriculum. The SEED Curriculum involves 8 short sessions of basic techniques in mindfulness with 10 minutes each. In addition, it has 12 mindfulness-based lessons with specific themes for children in K2 and K3. Each lesson lasts for approximately 30-40 minutes.

Waitlist control group

One kindergarten will be assigned to the waitlist control condition. Teachers in the waitlist control schools will wait for at least 12 weeks before they receive the training, and children in the waitlist control group will receive SEED curriculum after the teachers' training. Upon informed consent from the school principals and parents, parents, teachers, and children will also complete pre- and post-test assessments.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development (SEED) curriculum

In response to fulfilling children's urgent psychosocial needs, the Bodhi Love Foundation (BLF) adapted the Kindness Curriculum for young children in Hong Kong by translating it from English to Chinese and adapting its length and content for implementation in the local kindergarten context. The adapted Kindness Curriculum, renamed as Social, Emotional, and Ethical Development curriculum (SEED), is a two-part program involving teacher training and delivery of SEED. The teacher training is consist of a 12-hour mindfulness course and a 1-day (6 hours) workshop to get familiarized with the understanding and practice of mindfulness, and the details of the SEED Curriculum. The SEED Curriculum involves 8 short sessions of basic techniques in mindfulness with 10 minutes each. In addition, it has 12 mindfulness-based lessons with specific themes for children in K2 and K3. Each lesson lasts for approximately 30-40 minutes.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* For children: aged 3-7 years old, understand Cantonese
* For parents: aged 18 years old or above, understand Cantonese
* For teachers: aged 18 years old or above, understand Cantonese, currently working at a kindergarten

Exclusion Criteria

* Cannot understand Cantonese
Minimum Eligible Age

3 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Chinese University of Hong Kong

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Winnie W.S. MAK

Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Winnie WS Mak

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Rebecca YM Cheung

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Locations

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Dept of Psychology, CUHK

Hong Kong, , Hong Kong

Site Status

Countries

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Hong Kong

References

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Blewitt C, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz M, Nolan A, Bergmeier H, Vicary D, Huang T, McCabe P, McKay T, Skouteris H. Social and Emotional Learning Associated With Universal Curriculum-Based Interventions in Early Childhood Education and Care Centers: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2018 Dec 7;1(8):e185727. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.5727.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30646283 (View on PubMed)

Bornstein MH, Hahn CS, Haynes OM. Social competence, externalizing, and internalizing behavioral adjustment from early childhood through early adolescence: developmental cascades. Dev Psychopathol. 2010 Nov;22(4):717-35. doi: 10.1017/S0954579410000416.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20883577 (View on PubMed)

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). (2021). CASEL's SEL Framework. https://casel.org/casel-sel-framework-11-2020/

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Curriculum Development Council, Education Bureau, Hong Kong SAR. (2017). Kindergarten education curriculum guide: Joyful learning through play balanced development all the way. https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-development/major-level-of-edu/preprimary/ENG_KGECG_2017.pdf

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Dunning D, Tudor K, Radley L, Dalrymple N, Funk J, Vainre M, Ford T, Montero-Marin J, Kuyken W, Dalgleish T. Do mindfulness-based programmes improve the cognitive skills, behaviour and mental health of children and adolescents? An updated meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Evid Based Ment Health. 2022 Jul 12;25(3):135-42. doi: 10.1136/ebmental-2022-300464. Online ahead of print.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35820989 (View on PubMed)

Flook L, Goldberg SB, Pinger L, Bonus K, Davidson RJ. Mindfulness for teachers: A pilot study to assess effects on stress, burnout and teaching efficacy. Mind Brain Educ. 2013 Sep;7(3):10.1111/mbe.12026. doi: 10.1111/mbe.12026.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24324528 (View on PubMed)

Flook L, Goldberg SB, Pinger L, Davidson RJ. Promoting prosocial behavior and self-regulatory skills in preschool children through a mindfulness-based Kindness Curriculum. Dev Psychol. 2015 Jan;51(1):44-51. doi: 10.1037/a0038256. Epub 2014 Nov 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25383689 (View on PubMed)

Heckman, J. J. (2011). The economics of inequality: The value of early childhood education. American Educator, 35(1), 31.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union. (2018, September 2). Teachers' Stress Survey. Retrieved February 15, 2023. https://hkps-dcp.org.hk/images/ourworks/TeacherStressSurveyPressRelease20180902.pdf

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Kim, S., Crooks, C. V., Bax, K., & Shokoohi, M. (2021). Impact of trauma-informed training and mindfulness-based social-emotional learning program on teacher attitudes and burnout: A mixed-methods study. School mental health, 13(1), 55-68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-020-09406-6

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Lam, L. T., & Wong, E. M. (2017). Enhancing social-emotional well-being in young children through improving teachers' social-emotional competence and curriculum design in Hong Kong. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 11(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40723-017-0031-0

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Roeser, R. W., Skinner, E., Beers, J., & Jennings, P. A. (2012). Mindfulness training and teachers' professional development: An emerging area of research and practice. Child development perspectives, 6(2), 167-173. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2012.00238.x

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Unicef. (2021, October 15). State of the world's children, caring for children's mental health. Retrieved February 15, 2023. https://webuat.unicef.org.hk/en/news/latest_news/state-of-the-worlds-children-caring-for-childrens-mental-health/

Reference Type BACKGROUND

World Health Organization. (2018). United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank Group. Nurturing care for early childhood development: a framework for helping children survive and thrive to transform health and human potential. Geneva: World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/272603/9789241514064-eng.pdf

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Other Identifiers

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SBRE-22-0785A

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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