Abstract
While the benefits of cross-age programming within youth have been understood for decades, such programs are rarely employed with curricula specific to social and emotional learning (SEL) or with a wide age range between the two groups of youth. This article describes the findings of a pilot implementation and feasibility study of the Emotion Coaches program, which sought to explore whether the conceptual and pragmatic challenges involved in bringing early childhood students (i.e., preschool to second grade) together with adolescent teachers delivering an SEL curriculum could be overcome. Findings from the pilot evaluation suggested that middle-school-age students are likely too young to beneficially assume the role of an Emotion Coach. In contrast, through 22 interviews with youth, experts in cross-age programming, and school leadership, the feasibility study exploring high school students in this role suggested that the incorporation of long-term training, additional supports such as mental health services, incentives for the teens such as pay or credit for civic engagement requirements, and continued partnerships with universities and extension schools could help insure sustainability of the program as well as positive outcomes for both the younger and older youth involved.
Recommended Citation
Moreno, Amanda; Kontoudakis, Maria; Davis-McIntosh, Whitney; and Bobbitt, Olivia
(2025)
"High-School-Age Youth Serving as “Emotion Coaches” for Young Children in the Early Grades: A Feasibility Study of a Cross-Age Approach to Social and Emotional Learning,"
Journal of Youth Development: Vol. 20:
Iss.
4, Article 10.
Available at:
https://open.clemson.edu/jyd/vol20/iss4/10
Included in
Child Psychology Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Learning Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Leadership Studies Commons
