The PATHS curriculum was originally designed as an experimental approach for deaf children to learn a variety of processes involved in the expression, understanding and regulation of
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emotion. It is based on the ABCD model (affective, behavioural, cognitive, and dynamic) with special emphasis on the developmental integration of affect, the vocabulary of emotion and cognitive understanding as they relate to emotional and social competence (Kelly et al., 2004). Greenberg et al., (1995) state that the underlying assumption of the program is that during the maturational process, emotional development precedes most forms of cognitive development, and conclude that the relationship between affective understanding, cognition and behaviour are crucial in fostering socially competent action. The underlying assumptions of this program are as follows: that the extent to which children are able to understand and discuss emotions is related to their behaviour; how children are able to manage, understand and discuss emotions is related to developmental issues and is affected by socialization processes; the extent to which they are able to understand their own and others emotions is central to effective problem solving and; the school environment is a fundamental ecology and can be an effective vehicle for change (Kelly et al., 2004). The curriculum is contained in 6 volumes, covering four conceptual units, and five conceptual domains are covered in each unit. The different units are integrated and each one builds on the previous unit, and they are sequenced according to increasing levels of developmental difficulty. The program makes use of multi modal methods including visual, verbal and kinaesthetic cues, and uses dialoguing, role playing, story-telling, modelling by teachers and peers, attribution training and verbal mediation. It also contains lessons and teacher’s scripts, pictures, photographs and activity sheets, home activities, supplementary ideas, letters and information necessary for parents (Kelly et al., 2004). Because the program is extensive and in its entirety covers a two year period, it was decided to complete the first year of instruction, which would cover a 25 lesson extract addressing feelings and relationships. The program will be taught to three whole classes with 15 learners in each class. Learners with AD/HD will be identified within this group and selected for more detailed history taking and observation.
The PATHS curriculum has been chosen by the researcher to be used as the intervention program in this study. This program was chosen because of its clearly demarcated concept of emotion, previous research outlining the success of the program in multiple contexts, and the emphasis placed on the cognitive and developmental aspects of the child (Kelly et al., 2004). The researcher wanted to use a program that was already shown to be successful in improving the emotional intelligence of students, so that in this study, the aim is not to
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evaluate the program, but to evaluate whether it would improve the symptoms and behaviour of learners with AD/HD. It is proposed by the researcher that these learners would benefit from the direct approach to teaching about emotions and how to manage these emotions that the PATHS program offers. The learners with AD/HD would not be singled out, but would be exposed to the program as part of the whole class and any resultant impact on their symptoms and behaviour would be evaluated qualitatively on an individual level as well as in relation to the results of the larger group. In terms of how emotional intelligence can be applied in the educational context, it must be noted that the domains of emotional intelligence as defined by BarOn (2001) show considerable overlap with many of the most commonly identified aspects of social skills (Kelly et al., 2004). This is particularly relevant in terms of the learner with AD/HD as one of the deficits of this disorder is related to a certain dysfunction in social interactions.
This program seems to dovetail with the outline from the Department of Education in South Africa (2003), where it is suggested that teachers use experiential learning and teaching methods for life orientation and that the learning and teaching activities must focus on the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values relevant to being able to function effectively in society. It is important to note that learning does not exist in isolation and that there are natural connections between and across learning areas (Department of Education, 2003). An outcomes-based curriculum aims to achieve knowledge whilst developing the appropriate skills for each learning area. The focus of assessment in life orientation is the process of learning and the changes that occur in knowledge, and not only on the product at the end of the learning experience. Although knowledge and skills may be assessed, values and attitudes are important areas of consideration, and refer to internal states that are closely linked with emotions (Department of Education, 2003). In order to assess life orientation, the following methods may be used: written tasks/tests, questionnaires/surveys, reflection worksheets, role-plays, presentations, journal entries, debates, and action research. Throughout the PATHS Program, the learners complete many of these assessment requirements during the course of the lessons.