Evaluation of Safer, Smarter Kids: Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Curriculum for Kindergartners

Abstract

This study assessed the effectiveness of the Safer, Smarter Kids kindergarten sexual abuse prevention curriculum in meeting its educational objectives of increasing children’s knowledge of safety risks and self-protection strategies. The study utilized a two-phase non-probability convenience sample of public school kindergarten students. The sample consisted of 1169 students in four school districts in Florida. Using an alpha level of .05, a paired-samples t test was calculated to compare the mean pretest scores to the mean posttest scores of the youth participants. The mean difference was significantly greater than zero (p-value ≤.001). The measurement instrument used to assess student gains functioned well in terms of reliability (α = .82). The effect size was large with a Cohen’s d effect size of 1.09. The results indicated that completion of the Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum was followed by a significant increase in students’ knowledge of key prevention concepts with a 77 % increase in scores post intervention.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Lauren’s Kids Sexual Abuse Prevention Curriculum Safer, Smarter Kids

Teacher/School Counselor: Pre & Post Testing

Thank you for participating in the Lauren’s Kids curriculum pilot project. The goal of this project to assess the learning gains of students who have completed the Lauren’s Kids Safer, Smarter Kids sexual abuse prevention curriculum. The curriculum is designed for kindergarten students. Your school was chosen for the pilot testing project because it currently utilizes the Monique Burr Foundation’s Speak Up Be Safe!™ child abuse curriculum for 1st through 5th grade students and/or your school superintendent elected the district to be a pilot county.

Each test should take approximately three (3) minutes per student to administer. Administer the tests to each student participating in the 6-week curriculum. You can print the form and manually enter the data or enter the data directly to the pdf, but remember to click “save as” for each student’s form in order to maintain a blank fillable form.

Pretest Directions:

1. School, County and Child Identifier

Enter the name of the school and county and child identifier (code). Assign each student a number—begin with number one (1) and then indicate the classroom with teacher’s initials. For example, there are 5 students in John Doe’s kindergarten class. You would assign the following identifiers: 1-JD; 2-JD; 3-JD; 4-JD and 5 JD.

2. Child Demographics

Enter the student’s date of birth and then circle (if using paper version) the child’s gender and race. Include the date the pretest was given and the initials of the person administering the test.

3. Question Guidelines

Follow the directions given on the test for each question. Some basic guidelines for administering pre and posttests:

• Start each interview with the same introduction. For example,

“Hi ——— [child’ name]. I’m going to ask you a few questions to help me understand more about kids and safety. Okay? There is no right or wrong answer. It’s okay to tell me if you’re not sure. I’d just like to know what you think. Ready?”

• Administer the test in the same or similar environment for each child. Ideally the environment should be a comfortable space that minimizes distractions.

• Ask each question in a simple and objective manner. Don’t encourage “correct” responses or give verbal or physical cues to guide the child’s answers, such as saying “are you sure?” when the student gives an undesirable response.

• Select “unsure” or “could not answer” if student’s response is off topic.

• Key to success—administer the test to each student with consistency and objectivity.

Posttest Directions:

Remember to do the following for each student post-tested.

1. Enter the same identifier for each student in order to link their pre and post-test responses.

2. Only posttest students who have attended all six (6) of the curriculum lessons.

3. Administer the posttest within 30 days of the final lesson (Lesson 6) of the curriculum

Question Guidelines

Follow the directions given on the test for each question. The guidelines for administering the posttest are the same:

• Start each interview with the same introduction. For example,

“Hi ——— [child’ name]. I’m going to ask you a few questions to help me understand more about kids and safety. Okay? There is no right or wrong answer. It’s okay to tell me if you’re not sure. I’d just like to know what you think. Ready?”

• Administer the test in the same or similar environment for each child. Ideally the environment should be a comfortable space that minimizes distractions.

• Ask each question in a simple and objective manner. Don’t encourage “correct” responses or give verbal or physical cues to guide the child’s answers, such as saying “are you sure?” when the student gives an undesirable response.

• Select “unsure” or “could not answer” if student’s response is off topic.

• Key to success—administer the test to each student with consistency and objectivity.

Submitting the pre and posttest data:

Please mail hard copies of the pre and posttests to the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, 1820 E. Park Ave., Suite 100, Tallahassee, FL 32301—ATTN: Donna Brown. For your convenience, Florida Council Against Sexual Violence will provide you with self-addressed manila envelopes. Pre and posttests must be mailed to the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence no later than May 21, 2012.

Appendix 2: Pretest and Posttest Questions

1. Read the following scenario: Jenny was at a friend’s house watching cartoons. At dinner time the friend’s dad told Jenny how nice she was and that he had some pennies for her to put in her piggy bank, but first she had to promise not to tell anyone. Not even her parents.