PROGRAM
HISTORY
The Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program began
in 1979 as the Improving Social Awareness - Social Problem
Solving Program. The program was developed as a collaborative
effort among the teachers and school administrators of Middlesex
Borough, New Jersey; psychologists and researchers from
the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University; and
the Community Mental Health Center; (currently University
Behavioral HealthCare) of the University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey(UMDNJ).
The program was founded by an elementary school principal,
Thomas Schuyler; a psychologist from the University of Medicine
and Dentistry of New Jersey, Dr. John Clabby; and a psychologist
from Rutgers University, Dr. Maurice Elias. Seeing the need
for a systematic skill-building approach to social problem
solving, these men, with the support of some very creative
and innovative teachers, developed a curriculum.
The research, development, and expansion of the project
were made possible by securing grant funds from the William
T. Grant Foundation, the National Institute of Mental Health,
the Middlesex County, (NJ) Board of Freeholders, and in-kind
contributions from the University of Medicine and Dentistry
of New Jersey and Rutgers University. Originally disseminated
within Middlesex County, New Jersey, the program received
statewide funding as a model innovative prevention program
in the area of substance abuse. The curriculum has been
repeatedly evaluated and refined through classroom use,
and a body of research has been gathered, which finds that
the SDM/PS curriculum and procedures are successful in teaching
emotional intelligence to children. Evidence has been found
that children can learn to cope more effectively with stress
and make social adjustments more easily after learning the
skills in the curriculum.
The SDM/PS Program is research validated and it was rigorously
evaluated and twice-validated, in 1989 and 1995, as an "Exemplary
Program" by the United States Department of Education,
a distinction and designation it maintains to this day.
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