Crane Research Forum recap: Teacher fidelity to the Conscious Discipline program in early childhood classrooms

February 2020
written by Sydney Green and Janelle Williamson

Crane’s February 2020 research forum hosted Dr. Mary Wagner Fuhs, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Dayton. Dr. Wagner Fuhs spoke about her research on teachers’ fidelity to a program known as “Conscious Discipline,” a widely-used social-emotional learning and classroom management curriculum that helps children develop vital social and academic skills as well as executive functioning.

The program is currently practiced in 47 countries and is widely implemented across the United States, including approximately 11,000 Head Start classrooms and 935 school districts (Loving Guidance Inc., 2018a). Although the increasingly popular Conscious Discipline program is based on theories of child development and neuroscience, longitudinal studies of program implementation and children executive functioning and social and academic skills have not been conducted. This is where Dr. Wagner Fuhs’ research comes in.

Dr. Wagner Fuhs started by laying out the importance of children’s executive functions (EF), such as working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. When working properly, these functions can all lead to improved emotional support and positive classroom climate for students.

Dr. Wagner Fuhs shared findings from her study, which was based on 293 children and 45 teachers from various educational backgrounds in the Midwest. The study found that teacher fidelity (correct implementation) of the Conscious Discipline program relates to the overall quality of the classroom environment and greater gains in children’s executive functions and social skills. However, the study found no associations between Conscious Discipline implementation and academic skills; one explanation for this could be that the curriculum is not directly focused on academic content.

Crane Research Forums are held monthly throughout the university-calendar year and feature researchers from across the university and Ohio who share their research and its impact on children and families. To learn more about upcoming Crane Research Forums and all events, visit our event calendar here.