First-Grade Classroom Prevention Program
Problems addressed
Drug abuse
School dropout
Effectiveness

Effective

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Effective

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Life periods served
Children (4 to 13 years)
Where the program was applied
Education establishment
Country of application
United States
Description

This is a school class management program to reduce disruptive behavior and improve students’ reading, writing, math, and critical thinking skills through games.
The teacher creates teams with heterogeneous characteristics and explains the rules. During the game, the teacher observes the occurrence of prohibited behaviors in the game, marking it next to the team member’s name. Any team with four or fewer checkmarks at the end of a specified period of time (ranging from ten minutes at the start of the year to a whole day later on) is rewarded.
Tangible rewards are used at the beginning of the year (e.g., stickers, activity books). The game is complemented by weekly class meetings led by teachers to develop the students’ social problem-solving skills. In addition to games, there are interactive reading activities, journal writing, theatrical performances, critical analysis of topics from the students’ daily lives, and a mathematics program.
Additional strategies are used for students who do not respond to group intervention, such as providing tutoring to those with difficulties and putting together groups with students who remain disruptive to provide individualized incentives for good behavior.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies have shown that the program led to a reduction in cigarette and hard drug abuse, while increasing the likelihood of graduating from high school and attending college [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Bloom, H. S., Hill, C. J., Black, A. R. y Lipsey, M. W. (2008). Performance Trajectories and Performance Gaps as Achievement Effect-Size Benchmarks for Educational Interventions. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 1(4), 289–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345740802400072

[2] Bradshaw, C. P., Zmuda, J. H., Kellam, S. G. y Ialongo, N. S. (2009). Longitudinal Impact of Two Universal Preventive Interventions in First Grade on Educational Outcomes in High School. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 926–937. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016586

[3] Furr-Holden, C. D. M., Ialongo, N. S., Anthony, J. C., Petras, H. y Kellam, S. G. (2004). Developmentally inspired drug prevention: Middle school outcomes in a school-based randomized prevention trial. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 73(2), 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2003.10.002

[4] Ialongo, N., Poduska, J., Werthamer, L. y Kellam, S. (2001). The Distal Impact of Two First-Grade Preventive Interventions on Conduct Problems and Disorder in Early Adolescence. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 9(3), 146–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/106342660100900301

[5] Ialongo, N. S., Werthamer, L., Kellam, S. G., Brown, C. H., Wang, S. y Lin, Y. (1999). Proximal impact of two first-grade preventive interventions on the early risk behaviors for later substance abuse, depression, and antisocial behavior. American Journal of Community Psychology, 27(5), 599–641. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022137920532

[6] Storr, C. L., Ialongo, N. S., Kellam, S. G. y Anthony, J. C. (2002). A randomized controlled trial of two primary school intervention strategies to prevent early onset tobacco smoking. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 66(1), 51–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0376-8716(01)00184-3

[7] Wang, Y., Browne, D. C., Petras, H., Stuart, E. A., Wagner, F. A., Lambert, S. F., Kellam, S. G. y Ialongo, N. S. (2009). Depressed mood and the effect of two universal first grade preventive interventions on survival to the first tobacco cigarette smoked among urban youth. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 100(3), 194–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.08.020

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