Over the past several decades, there has been a dramatic increase in research surrounding factors that influence children's school readiness, or preparedness that allows children to learn in a formal educational setting. It includes possessing early academic as well as cognitive and socio-emotional skills (e.g., self-regulation, emotion knowledge) that are important for children's later development and academic success. Although the literature has suggested that instruction and practice in social-emotional learning (SEL) can improve school readiness at a universal level, it is largely unknown if these programs are effective as a targeted, modular intervention. Further, there is a need to increase transportability of evidence-based interventions into school settings. Using a group pre/post-intervention design, the current study investigated the effects of a targeted, Tier 2 evidence-based SEL curriculum on students who demonstrated behavioral concerns and low self-regulation skills. Assessments measured self-regulation, emotion knowledge, and early literacy skills in intervention and comparison participants. Results suggested that SEL instruction was related to benefits in self-regulation, situational emotion knowledge, and early literacy skills. Further, teachers qualitatively reported barriers to effective SEL intervention implementation in early childhood education settings. Implications for school psychological practice and future research are discussed.
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