The life-skills program Lions Quest in Austrian schools: implementation and outcomes

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• School Health Programs
• Child Development

Background:

• School-based life skills programs aim to enhance student well-being.
• The effectiveness of such programs can be influenced by how they are implemented.
• Lions Quest is a widely used school-based life skills program.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the impact of implementation levels on the effectiveness of the Lions Quest program.
• To analyze the effects of varying implementation fidelity on student outcomes.
• To identify critical factors for successful school program implementation.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design was employed over two years.
• Longitudinal data were collected from 363 Austrian students (aged 9-15).
• Multilevel analyses assessed outcomes across low, average, and high implementation levels.

Main Results:

• Highest implementation levels yielded the greatest positive effects on classroom climate and bullying.
• Average implementation showed smaller, yet positive, effects for some outcomes.
• Low implementation levels demonstrated no significant benefits and, in one instance, detrimental effects.

Conclusions:

• The level of program implementation is crucial for the effectiveness of school-based interventions like Lions Quest.
• Moderate to high implementation fidelity is necessary to achieve desired outcomes in classroom climate and bullying.
• Further research should focus on identifying and supporting key factors for successful program implementation in schools.