The effectiveness of Småsteg on Socio-Emotional Learning in Kindergarten: a cluster randomized controlled trial

We investigate the emotional and social growth in young children through a social and emotional learning program, already implemented in more than 200 kindergartens in Norway, and compare this with children who will have extra playtime. The program, Småsteg, lasts 28 weeks and focuses on teaching children skills like making friends, understanding emotions, and handling the broad range of feelings humans experience. The study compares the addition of the social and emotional learning program Småsteg to an increased amount of playtime in kindergartens to see which improves children’s social and emotional learning (SEL). Learning how to recognize and manage emotions at an early age can shape a child’s future. Emotional skills like empathy, managing stress, and understanding others are crucial to thrive in society. If the addition of Småsteg proves to be more effective than just playing, it could help improve educational strategies across kindergartens, ensuring children get the support they need from the start. The study involves 990 children from 66 different kindergartens, where the kindergartens are split into two groups: one group will use Småsteg, while the other will have an increased amount of playtime. We will investigate how children develop socially and emotionally over time using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), filled out by parents, kindergarten teachers, and schoolteachers. Empathy will be evaluated by their parents using the Empathy Questionnaire for Children (EmQue). The children will be evaluated three times: before the program starts, right after it ends, and six months after they start a new school year in the first grade. This study can demonstrate how one program can help kids manage emotions.

This project evaluates the effectiveness of Småsteg, a program of 28 weeks that emphasizes learning, friendship skills, and managing several strong feelings (e.g., scared, worried, surprised, frustrated, excited), not only anger, on socio-emotional learning (SEL) in kindergartens versus play is a cluster randomized controlled trial. Our hypothesis states that Småsteg is superior to play only in improving children's SEL. We will allocate 990 children within 66 kindergartens, which will be the randomization at the school level. The primary outcome is based on the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which will be answered by parents and teachers at baseline, immediately after the 28 weeks of intervention and then six months after the change to the new school (K1). The secondary outcome is empathy, assessed by the Empathy Questionnaire for Children (EmQue), a parent report-based questionnaire comprising 15 items assessing three domains: emotion contagion, attention to other's feelings, and prosocial actions. We believe that the Småsteg impacts the joint attention score, which, in turn, affects the SDQ score. A mobile application (app) will be developed to track children's behaviors via teachers, parents, and children's activities. This study contributes to the scientific understanding of how such interventions can impact (SEL) and future academic achievement in kindergarten-aged children but also brings insights into mechanisms throughout intervention like Småsteg in early childhood might help the development of SEL, shaping early education policies and practices.