Thesis advisor: Raquel Muniz Castro / Researchers and educators recognize the benefits of developing students’ social and emotional competencies, but there is little research about the impact of leadership practices on the social and emotional competencies of adults in schools. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the relationship between leadership practices (i.e., what leaders think and do) that promote SEL opportunities, and how they shape the work of mental health staff (MHS) — defined in this study as, school counselors, and nurses. Findings indicated that school-based leaders promoted SEL opportunities for MHS when they (1) provided time to meet, (2) provided resources for professional development, (3) provided feedback through dialogue, (4) accessed MHS’ expertise through dialogue, and (5) provided coaching. These leadership practices shaped the work of MHS proactively. These findings suggest that principals should use social awareness to diagnose issues within the school, engage in responsible decision-making to set direction, and promote relationship-building to convince MHS to implement a plan. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Raquel Muniz / Traditionally, district leaders are the initiators of large-scale reform efforts including the establishment of social emotional learning (SEL) initiatives. However, school-based leaders also bear the responsibility of implementing the programs and practices associated with such district-wide initiatives. While there is a significant body of research on strategies leaders can use during the implementation process, as well as the content of those strategies that enable sensemaking, there is little information about what district and school leaders should do to ensure successful implementation of social emotional learning (SEL) initiatives. Further, no research to date has focused on the manner in which district leaders support school-based leaders as they make sense of a district-wide focus on SEL, and how such a focus on SEL shapes school-based leadership practices. This study is part of a larger qualitative case study about leadership practices that model SEL competencies for adults or, promote the social and emotional learning for teachers and other staff, and the way those leadership practices shape a district and its schools in a Massachusetts public school district. The purpose of this individual study was to examine, through the lens of sensemaking, how district leaders supported school-based leaders as they made sense of a district-wide focus on SEL, how a district-wide focus on SEL shaped school-based leadership practices, and which school-based leadership practices, if any, modeled SEL competencies. Findings indicate that district leaders supported school-based leaders’ sensemaking by articulating a clear mission and goals, providing structures that fostered collaboration, and supporting professional development. However, the school-based leaders’ sensemaking could be deepened through greater opportunities to share their learning through collaboration. School-based leaders acknowledged that a district-wide focus on SEL shaped their leadership practices, namely that SEL serves as the foundation from which they lead. More specifically, all respondents mentioned leadership practices associated with the competencies of social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Implications suggest successful implementation of district-wide SEL initiatives relies on district leaders creating and supporting interactions that will support school-based leaders’ sensemaking of a district-wide focus on SEL. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Raquel Muñiz / Due to opportunity and achievement gaps in schools, leaders face the challenge of monitoring student expectations related to academic rigor and emotional health. As a result, social and emotional learning (SEL) has gained traction for students in the field of education. However, SEL competencies are rarely developed with the adults who work with these students. In this dissertation in practice, interviews, observations and questionnaires were used to collect data about the practices of school-based leaders in a qualitative case study at the elementary and middle school levels. Research revealed what leadership practices modeled SEL competencies, practices such as those involving time and resources, relationship building and sharing of expertise; and how they shaped the ways in which adults collaborate, including honest and authentic dialogue, adult learning, and the improvement of practices. This is important due to the many leadership practices employed in schools that influence adult behaviors. The findings suggest that socially and emotionally competent leadership considers both an awareness of self and other, as it cultivates individual capabilities, collaborative relationships, and a greater capacity in the schools in which it exists. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

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About 20 percent of school-aged children, 18 years and younger, struggle with mental health issues in America today. Mental health issues lead to greater rates of suicide, depression, loneliness, anxiety, and bullying that takes place in and out of schools. This exploratory multiple case study looks at how 10 fourth graders, five male and five female, use a weekly entry in a dialogue journal letter to their teacher to share their emotional lives. I explore how a dialogue journal can open up a space between students and teachers for emotional aspects of life and learning to be included in schools. This study specifically explores what children say about their lives and feelings in a dialogue journal across a period of a school year. I also inquire into changes in a period of crisis teaching when a worldwide pandemic closes down school and children are forced into distance learning in their homes. We find that 1) students can share feelings, ideas and parts of themselves with me in a dialogue journal that they don't share in class, 2) the journal provides a space for them to elaborate upon and become more aware of their feelings, 3) students seek to have a personal connection with their teacher, 4) students have comments and feedback about what is happening in the classroom, and 5) the student's entries affected my immediate practices as a teacher and added insights and ideas for future practices on how I could have been even more supportive to the students.

Orientador: Dagmar Aparecida Cynthia França Hunger / Resumo: A Educação Física na infância é fundamental para a socialização e aprendizagem dos alunos num contexto escolar. Hoje, muitas crianças têm dificuldade em socializar entre elas, nos jogos não aceitam as regras em muitas vezes a frustração é algo bem presente quando jogam ou brincam gerando na maioria das vezes discussões e falta de respeito onde é necessária a intervenção para uma reflexão. Será que jogos e brincadeiras focados em uma perspectiva da aprendizagem social e emocional contribuem numa mudança comportamental? Nesse sentido, na presente pesquisa objetivou-se investigar e analisar o quanto jogos e brincadeiras, fundamentados na perspectiva da aprendizagem social e emocional, contribuíram para uma mudança comportamental de alunos de nove e dez anos, totalizando 29 crianças, de duas turmas de 5.º anos do Ensino Fundamental do período matutino. Para tanto, realizouse revisão da literatura conforme Bardin (1977) abordando-se: a) Corpo e seus sentidos; b) o corpo e seus sentidos a partir dos jogos e brincadeiras: respeito, cooperação e empatia- primeiras intervenções e c) o corpo e seus sentidos a partir dos jogos e brincadeiras: respeito, cooperação e empatia-segundas intervenções. Trata-se de uma investigação qualitativa e os instrumentos para coleta de dados com os alunos de uma escola municipal do interior paulista foram desenhos e entrevistas semiestruturadas com os alunos e diários de campo construído pela professora /pesquisadora durante os encontros das aulas. Por i... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Physical education in childhood is fundamental for the socialization and learning of students in a school context. Today, many children present difficult to socialize among themselves, in games they do not accept the rules and often the frustration is very present when they play or play generating most of the time discussions and lack of respect where intervention is necessary for reflection. Do the games and play focused on a social and emotional learning perspective contribute to behavioral change? In this sense, this research aimed to investigate and analyze how much games and plays, based on the perspective of social and emotional learning, contributed to a behavioral change in students aged nine and ten, totaling 29 children, in two classes of 5th years Elementary School in the morning. Therefore, a literature review was carried out according to Bardin (1977), addressing: a) Body and its senses; b) The body and its senses from games and play: respect, cooperation and empathy- first interventions and c) The body and its senses from games and play: respect, cooperation and empathy-second interventions. It is a qualitative investigation and the instruments for data collection with students from a municipal school in the interior of São Paulo, were drawings and semi-structured interviews with students and field diaries built by the teacher / researcher during the class meetings. Through the content analysis method, the following categories were highlighted: a) youth protagon... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

At a time where technology is easily accessible, emotions are high, and students are dealing with more and more as they earn a basic education, in-person and cyberbullying add to students' stress. As 21st century students have easy access to technology, adolescents have multiple ways to encounter bullying and cyberbullying. The purpose of this study was three-fold: (a) to identify the relationship between bullying and cyberbullying and student engagement; (b) to identify the impact of school culture and climate on the incidences of bullying and cyberbullying; and (c) to identify how the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) skills into the curriculum could mitigate the negative effects of bullying and cyberbullying. The five SEL core competencies are self-regulation, self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills. In this mixed methods study, district discipline data, a culture and climate survey, and focus groups were utilized to examine how each SEL competency impacted classroom engagement and school climate and culture and mitigated any negative effects of bullying and cyberbullying. Findings showed that a positive school culture and SEL can increase student engagement. In addition, SEL was shown to improve classroom engagement as well as mitigate the negative effects of bullying and cyberbullying among the studied participants.

School-wide screening can be used to effectively identify students within schools struggling with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD), so that school teams can implement instructional strategies and interventions to provide early and timely supports for all students. While research has explored many aspects of screening within schools, the extant research lacks studies reviewing screening data interpretation process. This research study was designed to investigate how school teams could use a discussion guide to facilitate using their screening data. This involved having school leadership teams answer a series of guiding questions about data from the Student Risk Screening Scale -- Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE). The SRSS-IE Discussion Guide was presented to teams to use as they reviewed their data and then explored the usefulness of the discussion guide in practical settings. This qualitative study sought to understand feedback from seven teams who used the Discussion Guide during their data interpretation meetings, inviting participants to share what they found helpful and what was not helpful as well as what they might add to the Discussion Guide. Content analysis was used to understand qualitative data gained through focus groups. The results yield a variety of praise for the Discussion Guide, valuing its ability to guide teams through the data analysis process and focusing team discussions. Data from the focus group participants included changing the Discussion Guide to include ideas for strategies and supports that matched student needs, encouraging several meetings to review data and use the discussion guide, and adding charts for further student information organization and exploration in regard to higher risk students.

Strong Kids is a social-emotional curriculum designed to reduce students' externalizing and internalizing symptoms. Strong Kids has shown promise in elementary school, but this was the first study to evaluate the newly updated version of the intervention in a middle school setting. The curriculum was implemented by two general education teachers with students at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. A mixed method design was used to evaluate outcomes with eight middle school students. Overall findings suggest that Strong Kids was effective at improving students' social emotional knowledge and internalizing symptoms; however, there were no significant changes in students' externalizing symptoms. Teachers were able to implement the curriculum with fidelity. Teachers and students also found the curriculum to be predominantly positive. Future studies should include a larger sample size, control group, and follow up data points.

This quantitative, nonexperimental study addressed the gap between research-established benefits and outcomes of social-emotional learning implementation as compared to actual instances of implementation. It has been suggested that social-emotional learning as a systemic initiative is necessary for school health (Elias et al., 2013). Additionally, most educators relay some confidence in the importance of social-emotional learning; however, around half report actual implementation within their school (Atwell & Bridgeland, 2019). Focusing on social-emotional learning as a whole as well as the specificity of use of CASEL SELect programs, the research questions of this study explored differences between implementation and usage, length of implementation, poverty classification, student growth composite (as measure by TVAAS composite), and attendance in elementary schools in Tennessee. There were two significant findings in this study. First, Tennessee elementary schools using a social-emotional learning program that is not CASEL SELect were found to have significantly higher attendance than schools using a CASEL SELect program. Additionally, Tennessee elementary schools classified as Title I were found to be more likely to use a CASEL SELect program than a program that is not CASEL SELect.