Institution: New York University www.education.nyu.edu

Program: The 4Rs: Reading, Writing, Respect, and Resolution www.esrmetro.org/programs_conflict.html

Principal Investigators: J. Lawrence Aber, Stephanie Jones*, Joshua Brown

Key Staff: Genevieve Okada

Program Description and Site-Specific Research:

The Reading, Writing, Respect, & Resolution (4Rs) Program uses the K-5 language arts curriculum to focus on language and social-emotional skills. Its primary components include a literacy-based curriculum focused on conflict resolution, intergroup understanding, and social-emotional learning; and 25 hours of teacher training followed by ongoing coaching. The researchers are evaluating this program in New York City, one of the largest, urban, ethnically diverse school districts in the U.S.

In their complementary study, the researchers are examining the effects of implementing the 4Rs program on students' perceptions of other people's behavior (specifically, "hostile attribution biases", the tendency to attribute others' behavior as being hostile toward them) and their ability to solve social problems without acting aggressively. There is also an interest in how the 4Rs program affects teachers' professional development, their own social-emotional skills, and their ability to engage students in social and emotional learning. The researchers are testing whether the effects on teachers in turn account for the improvement in children's social-emotional development and academic achievement.

*Stephanie Jones is an Assistant Professor at Fordham University.  www.fordham.edu