Running head : HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW

Cassandra Wong

Special Project:

Dr. Victoria Talwar

McGill University
HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 2

Kindergarten is a significant transitionary year in a childs life and this introduction to

schooling sets the tone for how they will perceive their academic journey. At the tender age of

five, children are introduced to a new world wherein new expectations are to be met and more

challenging benchmarks must be achieved. The foreign space, new routines and people are

exciting yet overwhelming (Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 2000). Not all children demonstrate the

ability to properly cope with these new experiences and expectations, thus the need for a

concrete curriculum on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and resilience to explicitly teach

students skills related to coping with their emotions and stressful situations. Such a curriculum

does not currently exist for Kindergarten students in Quebec. As such, the Heart and Mind

curriculum that will be discussed within this paper was created to cater and support Quebecs

Kindergarten teachers. This concise literature review will confirm the need for implementing a

SEL and resiliency Kindergarten curriculum to complement the current Preschool Curriculum

within the Quebec Education Program (QEP) (2001).

The implementation of a SEL and resiliency curriculum within the Kindergarten

classroom has not been a thoroughly studied topic. However, there is evidently a need for a SEL

and resiliency curriculum to support early childhood educators by providing them with resources

to successfully promote childrens positive social-emotional development to aid them in

succeeding (Green et al., 2012). The literature available primarily focuses on children with

learning difficulties, emotional trauma, children in higher grades or highlights results on children

coming from underprivileged backgrounds. Heart and Minds objective is to cater to all

Kindergarten students needs regardless of background. The pre-existing QEP-Preschool

Education program touches upon the notion of self-regulation and coping with daily stressors but
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does not present concrete lessons or guidance as how to go about teaching such topics. Few

studies are available for comparison regarding the general Kindergarten population. Though,

there is ample literature on the importance and benefits of SEL within schools (Greene et al,

2012; Nix et al., 2013).

This literature review will discuss the findings related to: 1) the early implementation an

benefits of a SEL curriculum in Kindergarten such as Heart and Mind, 2) the effectiveness of

teaching children mindfulness and coping strategies 3) teaching children how to become resilient

individuals. Through the synthesis of my research I intend to validate and strengthen Heart and

Minds purpose and need within the QEP curriculum and highlight the importance of allowing

young students the opportunity to understand their emotions and cope with their daily and life

challenges.

Early Implementation and Benefits

Implementing an effective social-emotional resiliency curriculum within the pre-existing

Kindergarten curriculum is an ideal approach to ensuring a childs first introduction to school

and school life be supported and facilitated. Such a program plays an important role in overall

school readiness (Nix et al., 2013). The early implementation of a social-emotional resiliency

program in a school setting substantially benefits a childs overall well-being and development.

Through the implementation of a social-emotional resiliency curriculum children effectively

master social-emotional competencies that are associated with greater and better school

performance (Durlak et al, 2011). Within their Kindergarten year students are expected to attain

social-emotional skills that are not simply to acknowledge emotions but navigate them. Social-
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emotional skills include: emotion understanding, competent social problem solving, and positive

social behaviour (...) (Nix et al., 2013, p.1001). In addition to all the benefits of obtaining such

skills, Ladd et al. (1999) found that through the development of such skills there is a fostering of

learning engagement and positive social behaviour in class.

Students becoming more aware and capable of coping with their emotions is in direct

correlation their academic engagement and success (Hernandez et al., 2016). Hernandez et al.

(2016) have highlighted the implications social-emotional well-being has on overall academic

achievement as well as social trajectories. Emotions displayed at school not only affect the

academic components of school but the relationships within the school. Furthermore, Durlak et

al. (2011) reinforce that emotions can also impede a childs academic engagement, work ethic,

commitment and school success. Emotions being such an impactful element to a childs life need

to be managed in order for children to have optimal conditions for academic success (Hernandez

et al., 2016). This strengthens the argument that the sooner a social-emotional curriculum such as

Heart and Mind is implemented, the sooner children will understand their emotions and how to

cope and react to them in constructive ways. An example of such a program being implemented

and succeeding in helping in academic achievement is the work of Ashdown & Bernard (2012)

who investigated the effectiveness of the You Can Do It! Early Childhood Education Program

(YCDI) on grade 1 students in Melbourne, Australia. The program focused on emotional

resiliency and confidence, was taught over a span of 10 weeks, 3 times a week. At the conclusion

of the YCDI curriculum, the grade 1 students showed an increase in reading achievement

(decoding text), less disruptive behaviours and a higher level of social emotional competence

(Ashdown & Bernard, 2012).

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By having the student engaged in his or her learning early on in Kindergarten this ensures

and encourages students to be committed to their overall schooling and school experience

throughout their academic lives. By properly implementing a social-emotional resiliency

program within a childs first year at school we can quickly educate them on their emotions and

coping strategies for them and prevent their emotions from impeding on their potential successes

(Hernandez, 2016; Hemmeter, Santos & Ostrosky, 2008). Green et al. (2012) state that early

social-emotional development, especially emotional control, self-regulation, attention, and

appropriate social skills, contribute to the development of higher-order cognitive functioning and

to school readiness (p.123). In accordance with this, Nix et al. (2013) found that Kindergarten

social-emotional skills play an important role in school readiness and that social-emotional skills

aid Kindergarten students adjust to school and facilitate their learning. By ensuring children can

manage their emotions and cope with them we are aiding in their overall ability to succeed in

school and life. There is evidently a need to discuss and bring emotions to light more than

superficially in the Kindergarten classroom in order to ensure students comprehension of

emotions and how to become resilient to lifes stressors.

The Heart and Mind curriculum offers a concise social-emotional resiliency curriculum

for Kindergarten students in the Quebec context because it corporates the pre-existing

competencies within the QEP. According to the Quebec government: Kindergarten is a special

place, where children continue their development, increasing their learning, acquiring new

learning strategies and forming relationships with other children and adults. This social

experience allows them to discover themselves as individuals, to become aware of their

potential, to structure their personality and gradually to increase their autonomy (QEP, 2001,

p52). This year of exploration is the ideal time to introduce a social-emotional resiliency
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program and easily integrate it in an already socially focused curriculum. Within the literature

there is much success attributed to joint curriculum ventures (Nix et al., 2013; Durlak et al.,

2011). Nix et al. (2013) explored the enhancement of the Head Start program with the REDI

(REsearch-based, Developmentally Informed) and the PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking

Strategies) enrichment intervention, which primarily observed the gains in the proximal

language/ emergent literacy and social- emotional competencies. The study focusing on

Kindergarteners found great gains in Kindergarten students academic and behavioural outcomes

as well as school readiness.

The PATHS enrichment intervention offered teachers lessons and extension activities,

which were created with the idea of enhancing childrens social-emotional competence (Nix et

al., 2013, p.1002). In addition to the material provided teachers were also offered professional

development which taught teachers how to coach children to calm down using dialogue and

natural social problem-solving dialogue (Nix et al., 2013). The study concluded that there were

gains in emotion understanding and competent social problem solving through the combination

of interventions (Nix et al., 2013, p.1012). There were also gains in both cognitive skills and

social-emotional skills, which were predictors for learning engagement. The PATHS program

offered students coping strategies and core themes related to friendship and emotions. The

blending of intervention strategies to promote language/ emergent literacy skills and social-

emotional competencies had additive and synergistic effects on Kindergarten adjustment (Nix et

al., 2013, p.1016).

By having an additional curriculum to compliment a pre-existing program that is already

in place is a great alternative to re-creating a whole program. As executed with the Head Start
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and PATHS joint venture, the addition of the social-emotional curriculum only enhanced the

students' coping abilities and social skills. Great benefits for student would come from the

combination of the QEP and a social-emotional resiliency program such as Heart and Mind

which would offer concrete lessons and coping strategies to students.

Mindfulness and coping strategies

In order to ensure a childs success in Kindergarten certain critical skills have been

identified by Hemmeter, Santos and Ostrosky (2008) the ability to recognize and express

emotions in appropriate ways, maintain relationships with peers and adults, persist at difficult

tasks, follow directions and participate in group activities, solve social problems and manage

difficult emotions (p.322). In order for students to achieve these skills they must be mindful of

their emotions and their reactions. A strategy and method that would be essential in this process

is mindfulness.

The definition for mindfulness that has been echoed throughout the literature is based on

the definition by Kabat-Zinn (2003): Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying

attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience

moment by moment (p.145). This trainable skill can allow students to pause and reflect on the

moment and their feelings and emotions before having a physical or vocal response (Black &

Fernando, 2013; Burke, 2010). By integrating mindfulness and meditation within my created

curriculum the students would quickly be exposed to mindfulness activities and awareness. As

Kabat-Zinn (2003) states in his work: Mindfulness is a way of being that takes ongoing effort to

develop and refine (p.149). The teaching of mindfulness would be an enhancing component to
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the curriculum and teach students to reflect on their situation and their potential actions. By

promoting mindfulness as more than a momentary method for stress relief, it promotes a mindful

lifestyle and state of being (Black & Fernando, 2014; Burke, 2010; Kabat-Zinn, 2003).

Mindfulness involves two primary mechanisms: self-regulation of attention and non-

judgemental awareness of experience. Regulation of attention promotes awareness of ones

emotional, cognitive and physical experience as it occurs moment to moment (Jennings, 2015,

p.738). There are ample benefits to integrating mindfulness within a curriculum, a non-disruptive

classroom environment, alleviating the teachers burden of conflict management and

improvement of student learning and focus (Black & Fernando, 2014; Semple et al., 2009). One

of the key points within the literature on mindfulness in the classroom is the alleviation of

psychological stress on students (Black & Fernando, 2014). Black and Fernando (2014) found

that stress alleviation plays a role in improved classroom behaviour, pro-social behaviour, school

readiness and academic achievement.

In addition, Burkes (2010) review found that students attention span and most

importantly self-regulation improved through a mindfulness program. Self-regulation within the

Kindergarten classroom is the key to a childs success and encouraging and promoting this

through a social-emotional curriculum rooted in mindfulness I believe would be greatly

beneficial. As stated as one the necessary skills to acquire by the end of Kindergarten students

are to control his/ her impulses (QEP, 2001, p66). By adding a mindfulness component to a

supporting curriculum this would aid students in managing their impulsivity.

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What mindfulness therapies entail are meditative and reflective techniques (Semple et al.,

2010). Semple (2010) also examined the work of Linden (1973) who studied the effects of

meditation during a controlled 18-week study. Findings were clear that participants reported

lower anxiety following their meditation trial. Semple (2005) discovered after a 6-week pilot

project that children as young as 7 years old could respond well and learn mindfulness

techniques (p.219). This study showed promise that mindfulness techniques could alleviate

attention problems and anxiety symptoms (Semple, 2010, p.219).

When faced with emotions such as anger and excitement children manage by coping

aggressively or ruminatively (Goodman & Southam-Gerow, 2010). Several factors are

contributors to a childs behaviour and comportment: peer experiences, victimization and

academic success. Through these emotions felt by children distinct motivational-behavioural

properties emerge (Goodman & Southam-Gerow, 2010). According to Eisenberger (2003): ...

coping refers to efforts to modulate the effects of stressful circumstances. Coping is viewed as an

ongoing, dynamic process that adapts to the changing demands of a stressful encounter or event

(p.291). The literature is clear that effective coping strategies help children overcome social

difficulties and daily stressors (Goodman & Southam-Gerow, 2010; Hemmeter, Santos &

Ostrosky, 2008; Zimmer-Gembeck, Lees & Skinner, 2011). Zimmer-Gembeck, Lees and Skinner

(2011) concluded that by having the ability to appraise a situation and associated emotions a

child could be able to select an effective coping strategy to overcome their challenges and

manage his or her emotions (p.131).

Heart and Mind would set forth concrete examples of coping strategies so that students

may use them on a daily basis which would coincides with the work of Zimmer-Gembeck, Lees
HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 10

and Skinner (2011) and Hemmeter, Santos and Ostrosky (2008). It is through the use of

mindfulness and coping strategies that children will overcome lifes stressors and obstacles.

Coping strategies would be referred to as calming strategies in the Heart and Mind curriculum to

make the language more accessible to young children. Siegel and Bryson (2011) found that

children are capable of discussing their emotions and ultimately creating their own coping

strategies catering to their needs and self which concurs with Semple (2005).

Helping students become resilient

In order to become resilient individuals, children need to learn coping strategies to

identify their struggles as well as how to help themselves. According to Burnham (2009):

Resilience is a set of qualities that fosters successful adaptation and transformation despite risk

and adversity (p.32). By becoming resilient individuals and possessing the skills of resilience

childrens emotions are less overwhelming and their ability to cope with adversity and stress is

higher (Burnham, 2009). Jennings (2015) states that: Self-compassion involves recognizing that

suffering and personal failure are part of the shared human experience involving taking a

balanced approach to one's negative emotions so that feelings are neither suppressed nor

exaggerated (p.737). This speaks volumes on the notion that one must come to terms with

personal failures, acknowledge them and overcome them. By explicitly discussing life setbacks

with students this allows for them to have a more realistic view on life as opposed to not being

able to cope when a minor failure occurs. Heart and Mind navigates through the curriculum by

teaching children about choices and how the choices they make influence different facets of their

lives.
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Szente (2007) reiterates this by discussing the importance of early exposure to child

empowerment through the support and interactions with adults which, leads children to develop a

strong belief system. Such belief systems directly impact childs self-esteem, self-worth and self-

efficacy. By teaching students about how to become resilient through strategies such as

mindfulness this allows them to have a better perception of self which in turn gives them a more

positive outlook on stressors and everyday situations. Not all students can become resilient nor

succeed in most aspects of social and emotional development without guidance and support from

their teachers (Szente, 2007). As such, Heart and Mind places the teacher at the center to act as a

pillar of support to students. The lessons within the units on anger, happiness, anxiety and

sadness offer teachers examples on how they can deliver the messages (concrete dialogue,

sample questions, tips on how to guide the instruction of the lesson) in an engaging and

stimulating way. This is all extremely relevant because who and how the message is delivered

greatly impacts the effect of becoming resilient.

According to Mazer et al. (2014) national surveys in the United States exploring factors

influencing student engagement have highlighted the importance of facultystudent interactions.

Their work focused on students emotions in relation to their perceptions of their teachers

communication. Mazer & al. (2014) observed that when teachers enact effective communication

behaviours, such as nonverbal immediacy and clarity, and are perceived as communicatively

competent, students report positive emotional experiences (p. 150). The more positive the

interaction with a teacher the more the child is likely to have retained the lesson and enjoyed the

class. This work brings to light a critical factor in the success of my created curriculum, if a

teacher does not execute the curriculum effectively and without a positive attitude then it will
HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 12

add nothing to the students lives. As a role model the teacher teaching the curriculum has to

display mindfulness and effective coping strategies in order to impact his or her students.

In conjunction with a teachers effective communication skills are also his or her overall

teaching approach. The teachers way of being within the classroom and how he or she chooses

to project his or her energy greatly influences the child. According to Davis, Rimm and Siegle

(2011) an ideal teacher would be The humanistic teacher. A humanistic teacher would

approach all students and individuals with arms wide open, without any biases or negative

attitudes. Such a teacher would be able to put their preconceived notions aside and stay positive

while teaching all subjects (Davis, Rimm & Siegle, 2011).

In addition, Mazer et al. (2014) also argued that a students perception of their teachers

emotional availability impacted their own emotions (p.151, 2014). If a teacher were to project

the feeling that they were available to emotionally support their students with school related

topics, students felt more comfortable and confident. And with this feeling of emotional support,

students felt that more desirable outcomes will come and their emotional health will improve

(p.151, 2014).

The importance of the delivery and language will be evident and clear throughout every

activity of the Heart and Mind curriculum. If there is to be an impact on students the language of

delivery must follow the model of explicit teaching and a playful tone. Saarni and Buckley

(2002) believe in the influence of language, as it is a means to communicate beliefs, desires,

feelings and intentions. Without language true meaning and expression would not be possible. It

is through the selection of the proper language that one can effectively reach children and allow
HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 13

for them to understand the significance of what we are teaching them. With language such an

important element of communication, the words and wording we choose must be selective and

intentional.

Kim et al. (2007) categorize emotions as negative or positive. They constituted happy and

excited as positive emotions and sad, scared and mad as negative emotions (p.226). The

terminology negative emotion brings about much negative stigma within the literature. For

example, Goodman and South-Gerow (2010) attribute what they label as a negative emotion,

anger to be associated with negative coping and sadness with ruminative coping (p.515). Their

theories and findings promote the notion that emotions have distinct motivational behavioural

properties (Goodman and South-Gerow, 2010, p. 530). Motivational behavioural properties

meaning direct actions related to their emotional reactions. Mazer et al.s (2014) categories of

positive emotions include a wider range of emotions which comprises of enjoyment, hope, pride,

and relief and their categorization of negative emotions include anger, anxiety, shame,

hopelessness, and boredom. What was not present within the literature was the notion that

labeling emotions as negative or positive will premeditate a childs expectations of their

reactions. As such, the words negative and positive will not be discussed during the presentation

of an emotion in the Heart and Mind curriculum.

Emotions are crucial in order to live meaningful lives, but we cannot allow them to rule

our lives (Siegel & Bryson, 2011, p.25). The terminology Siegel and Bryson (2011) use within

their book is big emotions. Their work prompted me to include happiness, anxiety, anger and

sadness within my curriculum. The emotions are discussed and taught to an equal extent within

the Heart and Mind curriculum.

HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 14

The Heart & Mind curriculum approach

Through the synthesis of my research, I find the Heart and Mind curriculum to be valid

and justified. Current findings document that SEL programs yield significant positive effects on

targeted social-emotional competencies and attitudes about self, others and school (Durlak, et al.,

2011). The social-emotional resiliency curriculum rooted in the foundation of the current Quebec

Education Program Preschool Education would enrich the current learning of emotions and

coping strategies already taught in the classroom. With guided lessons and explanations

throughout the curriculum on how to communicate the message to students, teachers should feel

confident in integrating this additional curriculum within their pre-existing curriculum. The end

goal of the curriculum is to help students become more aware of their emotions, learn to be

mindful and learn effective coping strategies to become overall resilient in life.

The teaching of emotions is complex and requires an approach that will draw in

Kindergarten students and not be too overwhelming for them to shy away from. In order to make

the Heart and Mind curriculum relevant and understandable to the students, lessons are

primarily based and inspired by childrens literature.

Storytelling allows us to understand ourselves and our world by using both our left and

right hemispheres together. To tell a story that makes sense, the left-brain must put things in

order, using words and logic. The right brain contributes the bodily sensation, raw emotions, and

personal memories, so we can see the whole picture and communicate our experiences (Siegel

& Bryson, 2011). Childrens books and stories are an integral part of a Kindergarteners day.
HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 15

Teachers read to their students on a daily basis, however the selection of childrens literature is

key to make the stories impactful on a childs social-emotional development.

Zambo (2007) explores the importance teaching emotional regulation to young students

as well as special needs students. She defines emotional regulation as ones ability to understand

our emotions and devise strategies to moderate them (p. 32). The author recommends using

picture books to teach emotions to children because they are easily accessible, they stimulate

cognition and have affective value. Having images and characters to provide prototypes for the

otherwise abstract emotions makes learning about emotions more concrete and relatable for

students (p. 34). Her work is quite relevant to the Heart and Mind curriculum because she sees

the strategy of using stories to teach and learn emotions as valid in conjunction with a SEL

program (p.34). Throughout Heart and Mind childrens literature will act as introductions to

emotions and lessons. Activities will be based off of certain stories in order to appeal to the

Kindergarten audience.

Heart and Minds goal

The curriculum that has been created is structured and formulated with a five year-old

child in mind, ensuring that there are components of play and fun incorporated within the lessons

to draw in and hold their attention. My goal is to explicitly teach students social-emotional skills

and aid them in obtaining the proper strategies to cope with their individual life stressors. By

learning through a structured yet playful fashion this allows for students to take ownership of

their own opinions and choices. To reiterate Saarni and Buckleys work, emotion communication
HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 16

is both verbal and nonverbal. Teaching students the proper life cues would help support their

overall growth as mindful individuals.

Heart and Mind is a practical and necessary tool to have within the Kindergarten

classroom because it would coincide with the already pre-existing QEP. The competencies the

curriculum center on are Competency 2 To affirm his/ her personality. and Competency 3 To

interact harmoniously with others and Competency Competency 4- To communicate using the

resources of language. The created curriculum teaches emotions, coping strategies such as

mindfulness and all with the end goal of helping students become more resilient. There is

evidently a need to enhance students abilities to cope with emotions and learn strategies to cope

with them. By offering students practical tools early on in their lives that they will use

throughout their personal and academic lives will truly benefit them. Also, offering teachers a

curriculum tool to help their students become more resilient is much simpler than expecting

teachers to create a new program on their own. The overall goal for Heart and Mind is to

facilitate the teaching of social-emotional learning (SEL) and resiliency to Kindergarten students,

offering concrete lessons and ideas in order to support Quebecs Kindergarten teachers.
HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 17

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HEART & MIND- LITERATURE REVIEW 19

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