Conscious Discipline

Category: Social Emotional Learning

Summary

Conscious Discipline provides organizational and teaching practices approaches to SEL. It includes programming for grades Pre-K-5 and demonstrates evidence of effectiveness at Pre-K. Translated materials for Conscious Discipline are available in Spanish.

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Strategies supporting educational equity (CASEL)

Conscious Discipline offers strategies for working with bias. This includes training for adults to examine bias and understand how it creates barriers to authentically connecting with students, assessing students SEL needs, and responding to conflict constructively and impartially.

Implementation

Below are key implementation details for this program. These specifications help determine if the program is a good fit for your school or organization.

Grade(s)

Pre-K, Elementary (K-5)

Setting

Classroom, Schoolwide, Home

Language

English, Spanish

Cost

Pricing available through provider

# Lessons

Unspecified

Program Design

Tier 1 (Universal)

Technology Requirements

Unspecified

Staffing Requirements

No additional staffing required

Professional Development

No additional staffing required

Outcomes

Improved SEL skills and attitudes

Reduced Emotional Distress

Improved Identity Development/ Agency

Improved Academic Performance

Reduced Problem Behavior

Improved School Climate

Improved School Connectedness

Improved Prosocial Behavior

Improved Teaching Practices

Improved SEL Skills and Attitude

Evidence of Effectiveness

Results from a quasi-experimental evaluation conducted in the 2012-2013 academic year (unpublished report from 2014) supported the effectiveness of the Conscious Discipline program for preschool students. In sum, these evaluations included 1,386 Pre-K students in three states (approximately 90% Black/African American and 69% Hispanic; approximately 53% from households with incomes under $25,000). This evaluation found that students receiving the Conscious Discipline program showed significantly greater growth in teacher-reported social skill behaviors, observer-reported classroom behaviors, school readiness, and both teacher- and parent-reported social emotional skills than the control group (outcomes reported approximately 36 weeks after baseline, while controlling for outcome pretest). Additionally, teachers implementing and receiving training on the Conscious Discipline program showed improvement in their teaching practices. More specifically, in comparison to the control group, Conscious Discipline-implementing teachers demonstrated significantly greater: self-reported personal SEL skills development and use of positive classroom structures, rituals, and routines; observer-reported use of positive discipline strategies; and both observer- and self-reported positive emotional climate.

Published Studies

Refer to the provided CASEL for the most up-to-date published studies.

Rain, J.S. (2014). Conscious Discipline Research Study Findings. Rain & Brehm Consulting Group. Unpublished Manuscript.