The effects of Life Space Crisis Intervention on troubled students' socioemotional growth and development

When educators focus primarily on increasing academic achievement, they have less time to understand and meet students' socioemotional needs. An increase in antisocial behavior, school crises, and the expectation of safe and effective learning environments has created a need for intervention models that address students' socioemotional needs. Few empirical studies have looked at the implementation and effects of Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI) and no extant research has examined the effectiveness of LSCI on socioemotional development. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey study was to examine teacher perceptions of the effects of LSCI strategies on the socioemotional development of troubled students. Participants in the study included 21 special education teachers in three psychoeducational programs in the North Central region of the State of Georgia. Fifty-four critical incidence survey forms documenting the perceived effects of LSCI on student socioemotional development were collected during a ten-week period. These data, comparing teacher perceived student levels of socioemotional development in the areas of sensitivity, awareness, and self-regulation of behavior, before and after LSCI, were analyzed using an estimated one sample t-test. This two-tailed analysis yielded a statistically significant difference, indicating that student socioemotional development scores did improve after LSCI interventions. The results of this study indicate that LSCI helps students develop more adaptive ways to respond to stressful situations. Information from this study contributes to social change in that LSCI and similar programs can be an alternative to suspension, improve attendance, reduce dropout rates, and potentially increase academic achievement.