Sandra Chafouleas

Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut

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About Sandra

Chafouleas's research focuses on supporting school system implementation of evidence-informed practices and expertise in areas of integrated health and learning (whole child), school mental health, and behavior assessment. Overarching themes in Chafouleas's writings include working with schools and families to support child well-being, with work appearing across diverse multi-media outlets. Chafouleas serves as co-director of the UConn Collaboratory on School and Child Health, an interdisciplinary resource to innovative and impactful connections across research, policy, and practice arenas to advance equity in school and child health.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

Our Teens Are Missing So Many Milestones, but There Are Things We Can Do

Commentary, October 2020

In the News

Opinion: "America Is Facing a Teen Suicide Pandemic," Sandra Chafouleas, Psychology Today, September 4, 2020.

Opinion: "4 Questions to Ask Now in Preparing Your Child for School," Sandra Chafouleas, Psychology Today, August 20, 2020.

Opinion: "How to Help Children Navigate Back-to-School Debates," Sandra Chafouleas, Psychology Today, July 29, 2020.

Opinion: "Schools Need More to Face Trauma," Sandra Chafouleas, Education Weekly, July 13, 2020.

Opinion: "5 Things College Students Should Include in a Plan for Their Wellness," Sandra Chafouleas, The Conversation, April 27, 2020.

Publications

"Reproducibility in the Era of Big Data" (with Sandra Chafouleas, D. Betsy McCoach, and Amy Briesch), in Lessons for Developing Robust Data Management and Data Analysis Procedures, edited by Craig A. Hill, Paul P. Biemer, Trent D. Buskirk,Lilli Japec, Antje Kirchner, Stas Kolenikov and Lars E. Lyberg.

Focuses on the challenges and opportunities of using structured data from administrative and publicly available data sources, such as school records; demographic data; or public health records, in conjunction with traditional survey data. Illustrates several issues associated with managing large, multifaceted, multisource datasets.

"Exploring Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Screening Approaches in U.S. Public School Districts," (with Sandra Chafouleas and Amy M. Briesch), American Educational Research Journal, March 26, 2021.

Uses a nationally representative sample of U.S. public school districts and explores the current landscape of social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) approaches and their impact on behavioral outcomes. Data suggest SEB screening is the exception rather than the rule, with most districts reporting that students are referred to an internal support team when SEB concerns arise.

"Comparing Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Beliefs About Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health in Schools" (with Sandra Chafouleas, Amy M. Briesch, Dakota W. Cintron, D. Betsy McCoach, and Emily Auerbach). School Mental Health 12 (2020): 222–238.

Compares stakeholders’ knowledge, beliefs, and opinions regarding school-based approaches to identifying/ supporting students at risk for social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) challenges. Discusses responses obtained from various stakeholder samples within 1330 US school districts. Shows how stakeholders generally reported being knowledgeable about SEB problems and school-based approaches believed student SEB problems should be a prioritized concern and identified using screening.