No description available.

No description available.

School safety is one of the most important issues facing administrators, teachers, and parents. Several risk factors have been identified as antecedents to aggression including poor social skills, difficulty dealing with anger and frustration, and inadequate problem solving abilities. No Child Left Behind requires all schools receiving Title IV funds to implement research based violence interventions. Second Step, an internationally recognized violence prevention curriculum published by Committee for Children was implemented in an urban elementary school with 66 African American students in grades 3 through 5 for 9 weeks. This study employed a randomized control group design with two treatment conditions; Second Step instruction and Second Step instruction with digital role-playing, an adaptation of digital storytelling, to increase program effectiveness and intensify student motivation. The School Social Behavior Scales-2 (Merrell, 2002) was used to assess differences in aggression and prosocial skills. MANOVA indicated significant differences for grade only. Older students had higher prosocial behavior scores and younger students had lower scores on the program's content assessment. Results indicated that the Second Step curriculum did not affect behavior. Although the benefits of teaching students to respond empathetically to others, solve problems, and control anger have been documented in the literature, the use of Second Step to accomplish these goals has not been supported. / Educational Psychology

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among high school teachers' self-reported social and emotional competencies (SECs), social interaction teaching practices, and instructional interaction teaching practices. Yoder's (2014) research suggests to successfully implement social-emotional learning (SEL) practices, teachers must have strong social and emotional competency skills (Brackett et al., 2009; Jennings and Greenberg, 2009). This study included a quantitative descriptive method to examine the anonymous survey data collected. Additionally, the data were examined for possible correlations between social, and instructional interaction teaching practices to identify areas of strength or weakness and suggest professional learning options for teachers related to their scores. This study sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the relationship among high school teachers' self-reported social, and instructional interaction teaching practices that influence students' social, emotional, and academic skills? 2. What is the relationship between educators' self-reported self-efficacy of their social and emotional competence and how it influences their ability to implement social, and instructional interaction teaching practices? 3. What is the relationship between teachers' overall social interaction score and their overall instructional interaction score? 4. What do the scores from the overall social interaction score and the overall instructional interaction score suggest about the professional learning needs of the participating high school teachers? High school teachers in this study who reported a higher self-efficacy in positive social interactions had a higher self-efficacy in social interactions influencing students' social, emotion, and academic skills. High school teachers with a high self-efficacy in Teacher SEC: Social Interaction Teaching Practices strongly correlated to a higher self-efficacy of Teacher SEC: Instructional Interaction Teaching Practices. Furthermore, high school teachers with a higher self-efficacy in their Overall Social Interaction to that of their self-efficacy of their Overall Instructional Interaction also strongly correlated. Conversely, high school teachers who reported higher self-efficacy with instructional interaction did not report the same level of self-efficacy of their social interaction, albeit the finding was deemed small. The study suggests division and school leaders could prioritize supporting teachers' development of their self-efficacy of their social and emotional competence. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among high school teachers' self-reported social and emotional competencies (SECs), social, and instructional interaction teaching practices. The study examined the possible correlations between the self-efficacy of social, and instructional interaction teaching practices to identify areas of strength or weakness and to identify and differentiate the professional learning needs of teachers related to their scores. This study included High School teachers from one school division in Virginia. The high school teachers participated in a pre-published survey from Yoder, 2014a (see Appendix A). The findings suggest teachers with a higher self-efficacy in their SECs were more likely to implement them in their teaching practices. Whereas high school teachers that had a higher self-efficacy in their Instructional Interactions practices did not have a statistically significant higher self-efficacy in their Social Interaction practices. Future actions could include building leaders can provide on-going professional learning to improve the self-efficacy of teachers' SECs and implementation of school-wide practices. Additional implications and future study suggestions are shared.

Many schools have adopted social and emotional learning programs, but few schools have achieved significant impacts on student outcomes because of challenges with implementation quality. Although there is guidance on selecting evidence-based social and emotional learning programs for classroom use, schools need guidance on how best to integrate social and emotional learning in context. This study examines how an elementary school integrated school-wide social and emotional learning into its daily practices, using a qualitative single case study grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. The study, which was conducted during an eight-week period, identifies promising practices that could be beneficial for implementing and improving social and emotional learning practices. Data collection includes multiple sources of data, such as observations, document analyses, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. Drawing upon Stake’s (1995) process for data analysis, the following themes emerge: (1) routines and shared practices, (2) physical environment and classrooms, (3) common language (4) school family, and (5) leadership support for social and emotional learning. The implications of this study support understandings of what integrated school-wide social and emotional learning programming look like in an elementary school context. Keywords: school-wide, integrated, social and emotional learning, SEL, school micro-contexts, elementary school, implementation, school-wide SEL programming.

Educators involved in the teaching, learning, and assessment of social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies face challenges on how to integrate these competencies into instruction. Limited research has been conducted about how to integrate such SEL competencies into instructional practices, particularly in the context of a summer enrichment program. The purpose of this single case study was to explore how teachers and counselors at a summer enrichment program for preK-4 students integrated SEL competencies into instructional activities. The conceptual framework was based on core competencies and standards for quality program design that the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) developed. Participants included 2 teachers and 2 camp counselors at a summer enrichment program located in a western state. Data were collected from individual interviews with participants, observations of activities that integrated these SEL competencies into instruction, and documents related to the summer program. Data analysis included coding and categorizing of interviews and observations and content analysis of documents to identify themes and discrepant data. Key findings were that the 5 core competencies were intentionally and systematically integrated into the instructional activities of the summer enrichment program as evidenced by program planning, curricular development, implementation of a variety of instructional strategies, and informal teacher and parent assessments. This study contributes to positive social change because students who have mastered these competencies may demonstrate fewer behavioral issues and form more positive interpersonal relationships, which may lead to improved academic achievement.

Across North America concerns have been raised about the social, emotional, and mental health of our youth. Many primary prevention programs have been proposed to address these issues, however, few have met the criteria for effective interventions, including being longitudinal, cross-curricular, emphasizing specific concepts and skills, and being within the skills and understandings of teachers and the school system at large (McCombs, 2004). The Respecting Diversity (RD) program is a social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention designed by teachers that uses a Multiple Intelligences (MI) framework to develop self-awareness, self-respect and respect for diverse others. It teaches skills such as goal setting, meta-cognition, and perspective taking that underlie SEL. The program is designed to develop, a safe, positive classroom climate to begin the school year, and facilitate social and academic learning. The study herein was intended to explore emotional and behavioral outcomes of the RD program. The study involved 218 intermediate (grades 4-7) students and their teachers, divided into intervention and control groups. Students were assessed pre and post intervention for the development of self-awareness, self-respect, awareness of others, and respect for others. Measures of classroom climate were also included. Students completed several measures of SEL, and a selected sample were interviewed to obtain detailed information about their experiences in inclusive diverse classrooms, and with the RD program itself. Data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods, including thematic content analysis procedures and repeated measures MANCOVA’s. Both students and teachers indicated that the RD program significantly increased students’ self-respect, awareness of others, and respect for others, while students in control classrooms decreased in these factors. Classroom climate also significantly improved for treatment classrooms, and, similarly, decreased in control classrooms. Results are discussed in terms of their educational implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research.

Across North America concerns have been raised about the social, emotional, and mental health of our youth. Many primary prevention programs have been proposed to address these issues, however, few have met the criteria for effective interventions, including being longitudinal, cross-curricular, emphasizing specific concepts and skills, and being within the skills and understandings of teachers and the school system at large (McCombs, 2004). The Respecting Diversity (RD) program is a social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention designed by teachers that uses a Multiple Intelligences (MI) framework to develop self-awareness, self-respect and respect for diverse others. It teaches skills such as goal setting, meta-cognition, and perspective taking that underlie SEL. The program is designed to develop, a safe, positive classroom climate to begin the school year, and facilitate social and academic learning. The study herein was intended to explore emotional and behavioral outcomes of the RD program. The study involved 218 intermediate (grades 4-7) students and their teachers, divided into intervention and control groups. Students were assessed pre and post intervention for the development of self-awareness, self-respect, awareness of others, and respect for others. Measures of classroom climate were also included. Students completed several measures of SEL, and a selected sample were interviewed to obtain detailed information about their experiences in inclusive diverse classrooms, and with the RD program itself. Data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods, including thematic content analysis procedures and repeated measures MANCOVA’s. Both students and teachers indicated that the RD program significantly increased students’ self-respect, awareness of others, and respect for others, while students in control classrooms decreased in these factors. Classroom climate also significantly improved for treatment classrooms, and, similarly, decreased in control classrooms. Results are discussed in terms of their educational implications, limitations, and suggestions for further research.

xv, 149 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The present study examined the initial and follow-up effect of Strong Kids , a social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, among a sample of 106 third and fourth graders. Students were assigned by classroom to either the treatment or wait-list condition, and completed questionnaires on SEL knowledge ( Strong Kids Knowledge test) and perceived use of SEL skills (the Coping Scale, Social and Emotional Assets and Resiliency Scale) across 3 assessment periods (pre-testing, post-testing, and follow-up). The classroom teachers also completed a social functioning questionnaire (the School Social Behavior Scales-2nd edition) on each student at each assessment period. The classroom teachers implemented 12 weekly lessons across a 3-month time period and 1 booster session approximately 1 month after the last lesson. They also promoted generalization of SEL skills by providing praise and pre-correction to students on the SEL skills they were learning. Analyses revealed that the treatment group had greater positive gains across all of the dependent measures from pre-test to post-test. These gains maintained at the 2-month follow-up period, providing preliminary evidence of the preventative quality of SK . The results are discussed within the broader framework of a three-tiered model of support for SEL, and the possibility of using SK as a universal level of support within school. / Committee in charge: Kenneth Merrell, Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Robert Horner, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Tary Tobin, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Lynn Kahle, Outside Member, Marketing

This thesis reports on a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the SEL policy makers’ conversations taking place in England and Wales during the New Labour period. The research sets out to offer a critical explanation of Welsh and English SEL policy thinking and doing and how the SEL policy discourse worked to privilege certain ideas and topics and speakers and exclude others. Thinking with theory and building on the work of Apple (2007) and Ball (2012) I draw on the contemporary tenets of critical theory to examine the (dominant) English and (often subjugated) Welsh discourse(s) to historically locate and contextualise the mainstream SEL literature within the ideological discourse of neoliberalism (Harvey, 2005). This neoliberalism is one which unequivocally drives policy in the direction of markets and propounds a thorough marketization of educational provisions and practices (Lynch, 2006).Drawing on data from a series of eight semi structured interviews with key national level policymakers, alongside documentary analysis, I argue that New Labour in England, particularly in its second term, through a particular policy network and the SEAL programme, adopted SEL as a tool of managerialism designed to shape and govern a self-managing, entrepreneurial, placid subject in the service of the neoliberal economic model. Alternatively I contend that the Welsh assembly adopted SEL as a practical and progressive tool for developing a more equal society and a more egalitarian and democratic modus operandi of social justice (rooted in normative precepts of the collective and of community cohesion). This “Welsh” approach was powerfully intertwined with the devolution programme and notions of the child as a democratic citizen with agency and rights. In both England and Wales this understanding and application of SEL was intimately connected with national identity and notions of nationhood. This work was undertaken using a CDA approach. It employed Fairclough’s Three Dimensional Model (1992) of Critical Discourse Analysis and engaged with the subject and data through the three lenses of text (the written and spoken word), discursive practice (the production, distribution and consumption of the text) and social practice (the wider social, political and economic forces shaping the discourse). By illuminating through CDA the ideologically infused discursive claims to truth and value, which underpinned the rhetoric and substance of the UK (Anglo-centric) Government’s version of SEL in schools and that of the devolved Welsh Government, my findings reveal the broader scale ideas and political-ontological truth claims which drove the development of SEL across England and Wales during the New Labour period; the research therein unveils the implicit but reified notions of childhood and children’s wellbeing which were central to SEL development at both the national and devolved levels; it identifies the unspoken and latent ideological projects which were core to the production of divergent SEL discourses in each of the countries; and finally, it reveals the influence which national tradition, domestic power structures, cross-societal inequities and the subjugation of certain identities have had on the conceptualisation and practical delivery of SEL in England and Wales. The study concludes that the relationship between language and political ideology in England and Wales during the New Labour years powerfully shaped the SEL policy discourse. In England the result of this was a thin version of SEL co-opted into the service of the neoliberal marketplace. In Wales a similar outcome occurred but only after a very different contextualised and transformative version of SEL was relinquished due to the invasive neoliberal forces attacking Welsh education.