The authors present the results of a study in which they investigated the implementation and effects of the Positive Emotional Development and Learning Skills (PEDALS) program in prekindergarten classrooms in Western and Central New York and Southeast Michigan. PEDALS is a social-emotional learning program that combines the Second Step curriculum with two years of supports for site directors and teachers.

Supporting the Social-Emotional Learning of Young Learners

An Evaluation of PEDALS

Christopher Joseph Doss, Elaine Lin Wang, Jill S. Cannon, Nastassia Reed, Joshua Eagan, Brian Kim

ResearchPublished Dec 5, 2024

This report presents the results of a study conducted by RAND researchers that investigated the implementation and effects of the Positive Emotional Development and Learning Skills (PEDALS) program in prekindergarten classrooms in Western and Central New York and Southeast Michigan. PEDALS is a social-emotional learning (SEL) program that combines the Second Step curriculum, a universal curriculum whose implementation provides SEL instruction to all children in a classroom, with two years of supports for site directors and teachers. Supports include screening children to connect them with resources as needed, coaching, collecting and using data to inform implementation, and sustainability planning. Through a collaborative process, RAND and PEDALS partners in each state conceptualized the implementation study and quasi-experimental impact study leveraging a propensity score weighting analysis.

This report—the second and final report in a series on PEDALS—summarizes and expands upon implementation findings and presents the results of the quasi-experimental study. This report should be of interest to PEDALS staff in Michigan and New York, early childhood educators who are implementing PEDALS, early childhood educators interested in implementing PEDALS or prekindergarten SEL programs more generally, state and federal policymakers interested in SEL and the effectiveness of PEDALS, and researchers interested in SEL approaches.

Key Findings

  • Teachers had very favorable perceptions of the PEDALS program and reported high levels of buy-in for PEDALS and SEL. They also reported a strong understanding of the PEDALS model and the Second Step curriculum and voiced satisfaction with the coaching supports they received.
  • Most teachers taught Second Step lessons with fidelity. However, PEDALS-aligned practices were less consistently applied when children were having intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts.
  • Teachers perceived that PEDALS improved child behavior. Teachers reported shifting their approach in supporting children's social-emotional development and noted an improvement in behavior of the children in their classrooms.
  • Site directors reported a high level of buy-in for PEDALS. They also provided a variety of supports in using validated instruments to screen children in social-emotional development.
  • Site directors reported a lower level of consistency in several PEDALS components. Fewer site directors reported setting organizational goals for continual improvement, engaging in practices to support sustainability, and engaging families.
  • There were no detectable effects of PEDALS on overall measures of social-emotional competencies and executive functioning nor on subscales of social-emotional competencies that align with the CASEL framework.
  • There were largely no detectable effects of PEDALS on overall measures of social-emotional competencies and executive functioning for subgroups of children.
  • The SEL practices of the comparison group might contribute to the lack of detectable effects of PEDALS.

Recommendations

  • Site directors play a critical role in sustaining PEDALS in the long term by infusing PEDALS into a site's organizational functioning. Helping site directors find time during the day for teachers to collaborate on SEL, review SEL data with teachers, observe teachers' SEL practices, and incorporate elements of SEL instruction into performance reviews can help improve implementation and sustainability.
  • Coaches could help teachers manage more-difficult SEL situations. PEDALS can build on the strong relationships between their coaches and teachers to help teachers master SEL instruction during particularly difficult moments, such as when children are having intrapersonal or interpersonal conflicts.
  • The choice of the core curriculum can be important. Programs can choose a curriculum based on their approach to SEL and its effectiveness in improving the outcomes that are most aligned to their goals.
  • Family engagement should be considered in supporting site-based SEL. Research indicates that programs that include a parent-training component can be more effective at improving child social-emotional competencies.
  • Future research should explore the relative advantages of various curricula at a more granular level. This knowledge can then inform more-nuanced policies around formal SEL instruction.
  • Policymakers should support further understanding of the relative effectiveness of different approaches to improving SEL by supporting evidence-based SEL approaches and curricula and research on those programs.

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Citation

RAND Style Manual

Doss, Christopher Joseph, Elaine Lin Wang, Jill S. Cannon, Nastassia Reed, Joshua Eagan, and Brian Kim, Supporting the Social-Emotional Learning of Young Learners: An Evaluation of PEDALS, RAND Corporation, RR-A3269-2, 2024. As of April 30, 2025: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3269-2.html

Chicago Manual of Style

Doss, Christopher Joseph, Elaine Lin Wang, Jill S. Cannon, Nastassia Reed, Joshua Eagan, and Brian Kim, Supporting the Social-Emotional Learning of Young Learners: An Evaluation of PEDALS. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2024. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3269-2.html.
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This research was sponsored by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York and conducted within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being and RAND Education and Labor.

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