First Step to Success
Problems addressed
Externalizing behaviors/problems
Low educational/academic performance
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 an early intervention program for children who exhibit antisocial behaviors. The aim is to identify those behaviors and introduce adaptive behavioral strategies to prevent them at school.
The program has the following components:
1) Proactive and universal assessment of all kindergarten children;
2) School intervention involving the teacher, peers, and the child being assisted, which teaches adaptive behavior patterns;
3) Training the child’s parents/guardians to provide support at school.
The program’s facilitation strategy relies on parents and teachers working together to provide the skills to teach children prosocial behaviors and reward them when those behaviors are displayed appropriately and consistently. Parents are trained through six weekly meetings and receive feedback on their child’s day every evening.

Impact evaluations

Impact evaluation studies have shown that participants in the program showed improvements in adaptive behavior, less maladaptive and aggressive behavior, and more attention to the teacher, but without significant effects on withdrawn behavior [1] [2] [3].
The first study carried out on the subject used an experimental design with a sample of 46 kindergarten children with behavioral problems [1].
The second study used a quasi-experimental design with a sample of 181 children from kindergarten to second grade [2].
A third study used a randomized experiment through two cohorts of four years of follow-up with a sample of 200 students from first to third grades in 34 urban public schools in the city of Albuquerque [3].

Bibliographic reference

[1] Walker, H. M., Kavanagh, K., Stiller, B., Golly, A., Severson, H. H. & Feil, E. G. (1998). First Step to Success: An Early Intervention Approach for Preventing School Antisocial Behavior. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 6(2), 66–80.

[2] Walker, H. M., Golly, A., McLane, J. Z. & Kimmich, M. (2005). The Oregon First Step to Success Replication Initiative. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 13(3), 163–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/10634266050130030401

[3] Walker, H. M., Seeley, J. R., Small, J., Severson, H. H., Graham, B. A., Feil, E. G., Serna, L., Golly, A. M. & Forness, S. R. (2009). A Randomized Controlled Trial of the First Step to Success Early Intervention. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 17(4), 197–212. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426609341645

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