PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE THINKING STRATEGIES

The PATHS curriculum targets elementary-school-aged children and is designed to prevent violence, aggression, and other behavioral problems through the promotion of emotional and social competencies.

 

Program Content:

The 131-lesson curriculum is intended for use with students in kindergarten through sixth grade and consists of three primary components:  self control, emotional understanding, and interpersonal problem solving.  The curriculum is based on a multi-year, prevention model and provides teachers and counselors developmentally appropriate lessons that are taught using pictures, photographs, dialoguing, role-playing, and modeling by teachers and peers.  The PATHS lessons are intended to be taught three to five times a week, covering four conceptual units:

• Readiness and Self-Control “Turtle Unit – promotes the development of self-control and the ability to identify problem behaviors
• Feelings and Relationships Unit – teaches students to recognize feelings, communicate emotions, and to develop empathy
• Problem Solving Unit – teaches students to follow a series of cognitive and behavioral steps to stop, think, and try solutions to problems
• Supplementary  Lessons – optional lesions that focus on teasing and fair/unfair treatment

The program aims to develop the following attributes in students:

• Self-esteem and self-confidence
• Self-control, including frustration tolerance, anger management, personal responsibility, attention and concentration, and reflectivity vs. impulsivity
• Emotional understanding, including identification and internalization of feelings, guilt, ability to recognize feelings, recognition of inappropriate behaviors, emotional communication

 

National Recognition:

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Association (SAMHSA) Model Program
• Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) Blueprints for Violence Prevention Model Program
• National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Research-Based Prevention Program
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Model Program
• U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Violence Promising Program
• U.S. Department of Education Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program Promising Program
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Best Practices in Youth Violence Prevention Program
• Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning SELect Program

 

Program Effectiveness:

Research has demonstrated that children who have completed the program exhibit significant increases in cognitive skills, self control, emotional understanding, thinking before acting, and the effective use of conflict resolution skills.

The following outcomes have been demonstrated in various studies:

• 32% reduction in teacher’s reports of students demonstrating aggressive behavior
• 36% increase in teacher’s reports of students exhibiting self-control
• 68% increase in student’s vocabulary for and identification of emotions
• 20% increase in student’s scores on cognitive skills tests
• Improvements in student’s ability to tolerate frustration
• Improvements in student’s ability and willingness to use effective conflict-resolution strategies

 

Protective Factors

Targeted for an Increase

• Emotional understanding
• Self-control
• Empathy development
• Emotion regulation
• Problem-solving skills
• Communication skills
• Cognitive and academic skills
• Positive peer relations
• Family communication skills
• Positive classroom  atmosphere
• Teacher management
• Teacher-student relations

Risk Factors

Targeted for a Decrease

• Impulsivity
• Aggression
• Internalizing problems (depression and anxiety)
• Poor peer relations
• Disruptive classroom behavior
• Chaotic classroom environment