The Confident Kids Program Analysis
The Confident Kids program is a short term intervention program that is operated in all states around Australia. The overall aim of the program is to reduce children's aggressiveness, anxiety, depression or social withdrawal behaviours while improving their peer interactions. The program is designed to help children of the ages 6-14 with their emotional and behavioural troubles. To accomplish this aim The Confident Kids program uses group activities such as games, stories and role-play. The program runs for a total of 10 weeks and includes one weekly session of 1/1 ½ hours. Along with this, they encourage parents and teachers to take two meetings each, near the beginning and end of the intervention (KidsMatter, 2012). Much like the Confident
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Kids program, preventative services and intervention programs are important as they aim to achieve a better quality of life, aid in human functioning and prevent illness from infancy through to adulthood. Programs usually take a developmental approach, focusing on children and adolescents to prevent future issues that may affect life later on (APA, 2014). Numerous studies have been done to investigate how effective intervention programs for children are, and whether or not they make a difference in the long term. Majority of social service programs are showing positive results but there are questions raised about what factors determine the effectiveness of a program or what errors should be avoided when planning and designing a prevention program (Gutman & Schoon, 2015). A study done by Gutman and Schoon (2015) summarised findings found across 15 different meta-analytic studies on prevention programs for children. The main question was which design was the most effective in achieving positive results. The four broad categories included mentoring, service learning, outdoor activities and social and emotional learning. The effectiveness of each of the intervention designs were considered as well as which produced the most positive and significant results. Gutmann and Schoon (2015) found that service learning, outdoor activities and social and emotional learning showed a range of small to larger effects and mentoring showed mostly small but significant effects. The Confident Kids program incorporates a range of outdoor activities, social and emotional learning and mentoring within their sessions. By using these the support groups aim to encourage, build self-esteem and gaining a sense of trust. Advances in developmental psychology have brought growth of success in interventions which aim to minimise errors and gain more success when working with children and adolescents (Gutman & Schoon, 2015).
To determine if a design is ready to be established, careful evaluation practises have been placed to determine whether a design will produce positive outcomes. Some questions that are addressed in the evaluation regard how the program was implemented, who the target population is, what some of the diverse outcomes, and what factors aid or hinder the the effectiveness of an intervention (Gutman & Schoon, 2015).When planning and choosing a design that will be beneficial for children and adolescents, it should be taken into consideration that different environments will need different interventions strategies. This means that choosing a strategy should be based on making sure that it conforms with the population where the intervention will take place. The design needs to be carefully planned with high skilled quality staff to maximise opportunity for significant results to occur. According to Eccles and Gootman (2002) programs for youth are more likely to create positive development if positive values and morals are encouraged within relationships. .A sense of belonging is created and there are opportunities to build and develop competence. (Weissberg, Kumpfer, & Seligman, 2003). They also suggest that programs that are developed from a decent theoretical framework as well as a structure that supports the program are more likely to be effective than programs that are not. Although there is no definite rules on how to identify the optimal design, selecting a theoretical based approach is encouraged along with making sure the design is clear with methods, goals and management. Eccles and Gootman (2002) suggest that intervention can be more beneficial when attempts are made to reduce risks that are direct and are combined with efforts to build strengths and protective
factors. If a design only focuses on either building ability or only on preventing undesirable behaviours it may not be as effective as design that focuses on both (Catalano, Berglund, et al., 2002). Another factor that may contribute in increasing significant results is whether a program is adapted to the specific environment in which it is implemented in. A particular program may be very effective in one specific setting, but may not be effective in another setting as it hasn't been adapted to the surrounding setting with a different population. (Kumpfer et al., 2002). Some limitations that may hinder program effectiveness are designs that do no recognise the diversity of different cultures, values, social class, geographic regions, education, different family value and ethnicity, mental illness and sensory disorders. Thus within the design planning process, making sure the intervention is adjusted to the specific surrounding and the population is important. Regardless of the advances in interventions for children and adolescents, a substantial amount of effort and progress is still required if a notable amount of children are to experience a change in quality of life. To maximise the success of programs, practitioners should be well informed and familiarised with which implementation and variations should be used (Weissberg, 2003). Moreover, they should concentrate on the quality and reliability of the program design in conjunction with the goals and outcomes. Overall, successful programs will be interventions that are theory driven, culturally relevant, appropriate for the youth development and is delivered throughout diverse conditions. With new technology and research on the way, there is a brighter future for progress in social service programs for children.
Kids program, preventative services and intervention programs are important as they aim to achieve a better quality of life, aid in human functioning and prevent illness from infancy through to adulthood. Programs usually take a developmental approach, focusing on children and adolescents to prevent future issues that may affect life later on (APA, 2014). Numerous studies have been done to investigate how effective intervention programs for children are, and whether or not they make a difference in the long term. Majority of social service programs are showing positive results but there are questions raised about what factors determine the effectiveness of a program or what errors should be avoided when planning and designing a prevention program (Gutman & Schoon, 2015). A study done by Gutman and Schoon (2015) summarised findings found across 15 different meta-analytic studies on prevention programs for children. The main question was which design was the most effective in achieving positive results. The four broad categories included mentoring, service learning, outdoor activities and social and emotional learning. The effectiveness of each of the intervention designs were considered as well as which produced the most positive and significant results. Gutmann and Schoon (2015) found that service learning, outdoor activities and social and emotional learning showed a range of small to larger effects and mentoring showed mostly small but significant effects. The Confident Kids program incorporates a range of outdoor activities, social and emotional learning and mentoring within their sessions. By using these the support groups aim to encourage, build self-esteem and gaining a sense of trust. Advances in developmental psychology have brought growth of success in interventions which aim to minimise errors and gain more success when working with children and adolescents (Gutman & Schoon, 2015).
To determine if a design is ready to be established, careful evaluation practises have been placed to determine whether a design will produce positive outcomes. Some questions that are addressed in the evaluation regard how the program was implemented, who the target population is, what some of the diverse outcomes, and what factors aid or hinder the the effectiveness of an intervention (Gutman & Schoon, 2015).When planning and choosing a design that will be beneficial for children and adolescents, it should be taken into consideration that different environments will need different interventions strategies. This means that choosing a strategy should be based on making sure that it conforms with the population where the intervention will take place. The design needs to be carefully planned with high skilled quality staff to maximise opportunity for significant results to occur. According to Eccles and Gootman (2002) programs for youth are more likely to create positive development if positive values and morals are encouraged within relationships. .A sense of belonging is created and there are opportunities to build and develop competence. (Weissberg, Kumpfer, & Seligman, 2003). They also suggest that programs that are developed from a decent theoretical framework as well as a structure that supports the program are more likely to be effective than programs that are not. Although there is no definite rules on how to identify the optimal design, selecting a theoretical based approach is encouraged along with making sure the design is clear with methods, goals and management. Eccles and Gootman (2002) suggest that intervention can be more beneficial when attempts are made to reduce risks that are direct and are combined with efforts to build strengths and protective
factors. If a design only focuses on either building ability or only on preventing undesirable behaviours it may not be as effective as design that focuses on both (Catalano, Berglund, et al., 2002). Another factor that may contribute in increasing significant results is whether a program is adapted to the specific environment in which it is implemented in. A particular program may be very effective in one specific setting, but may not be effective in another setting as it hasn't been adapted to the surrounding setting with a different population. (Kumpfer et al., 2002). Some limitations that may hinder program effectiveness are designs that do no recognise the diversity of different cultures, values, social class, geographic regions, education, different family value and ethnicity, mental illness and sensory disorders. Thus within the design planning process, making sure the intervention is adjusted to the specific surrounding and the population is important. Regardless of the advances in interventions for children and adolescents, a substantial amount of effort and progress is still required if a notable amount of children are to experience a change in quality of life. To maximise the success of programs, practitioners should be well informed and familiarised with which implementation and variations should be used (Weissberg, 2003). Moreover, they should concentrate on the quality and reliability of the program design in conjunction with the goals and outcomes. Overall, successful programs will be interventions that are theory driven, culturally relevant, appropriate for the youth development and is delivered throughout diverse conditions. With new technology and research on the way, there is a brighter future for progress in social service programs for children.