Effects of the SPARK teen mentoring program for high school students
Open accessAbstract
Abstract This study employed a randomized controlled trial with pre- and post-intervention measurement to investigate the impact of the Speaking to the Potential, Ability, and Resilience Inside Every Kid (SPARK) Teen Mentoring program on knowledge of the principles of mind, thought, and consciousness; communication, decision making, and problem-solving skills; emotional regulation; and resilience. The SPARK program is a resilience-focused social-emotional learning program designed to promote youth resilience, emotional well-being, and academic success. Study participants included 396 9th through 12th grade students from four high schools. Random assignment occurred at the classroom level and resulted in 12 classes ( n = 200 students) in the intervention condition and 12 classes ( n = 172 students) in the comparison condition. Students in the intervention condition received the SPARK intervention while students in the comparison condition continued with the regularly scheduled school curriculum. Results revealed that levels of knowledge of the principles of mind, thought, and consciousness; communication, decision making, and problem-solving skills; emotional regulation; and resilience increased for students who received the intervention and either decreased or remained unchanged for students who did not receive the intervention. Results from this study provide initial evidence for the efficacy of the SPARK program with high school age youth and demonstrate the positive effects of the program on the development of emotional and interpersonal capacity required for pro-social behavior and academic success. Considerations for future program development and evaluation efforts are discussed.
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The SBM program increased resiliency.
“resiliency (Green et al., 2021, 2022)”
From Outcome domains and assessment measures in school-based youth mentoring programs: a systematic review (2026) · cites this paper as Green et al., 2022
The Resilience results report a statistically significant improvement for students receiving the SPARK intervention relative to the comparison group, and the Discussion describes an increase in their perceived resilience. The paper identifies the intervention as SPARK, however, not an “SBM program,” so it does not establish the claim for the program as named. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe SBM program helped students develop interpersonal communication, problem solving, and decision-making skills.
“The program also helped students develop a variety of skills, such as interpersonal communication, problem solving, and decision-making (Meltzer et al., 2020; Green et al., 2021, 2022).”
From Outcome domains and assessment measures in school-based youth mentoring programs: a systematic review (2026) · cites this paper as Green et al., 2022
The Results section on communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills reports significant increases in self-reported skills for the intervention group relative to the comparison group. The Discussion identifies that intervention as SPARK, not SBM; this source therefore supports the skills finding for SPARK but not its attribution to SBM. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Tiraieyari, N., & Krauss, S. (2026) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2026.1518053
- Authors
- Green, A. L., Ferrante, S., Boaz, T. L., Kutash, K., & Wheeldon-Reece, B.
- Affiliations
- University of South Florida (US)
- Corresponding author
- Green, Amy L.
- ORCID
- Green, Amy L.
- Venue
- Journal of Child and Family Studies
- Published
- 2022-04-22
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1982-1993
- ISSN
- 1062-1024 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2843
- OpenAlex
- W4224211523
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 2.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Child and Family Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Youth Development and Social Support
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Social Sciences › Education › Social Skills and Education
- Keywords
- social-emotional learning, youth resilience, emotion regulation, high school students, communication skills, decision-making, problem-solving skills, prosocial behavior, academic performance, program efficacy
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