There are many difficulties associated with problematic social-emotional skills in childhood. These range from poor academic performance (Brinbaum, et al., 2003; Delany-Black et al., 2002; Wallach, 1994), school suspension (Lippincott-Williams & Wilkins, 2004), school drop-out (Farmer & Farmer 1999; Gagnon, Craig, Trombley, Zhou, & Vitaro, 1995), aggression (Cicchetti & Toth, 1995), and poor peer relations (Izard et al., 2001; Schultz, Izard, & Ackerman, 2000; Schultz, Izard, Ackerman, & Youngstrom, 2001). Preschool programming provides an early opportunity to build social-emotional skills and avoid some of these adverse outcomes. The question for many school districts is how to design a preschool program format that is both consistent with best practice and fits within a feasibility framework. The goal of this research study was to provide information that could be used by school districts to guide preschool program development. The study looked at the differential outcomes on dependent measures of social-emotional functioning for children aged 3 to 5-years who participated in an 8-month preschool program (n=74). The children were in 2 treatment groups (i.e., those receiving a classroom-based social skills intervention and those receiving the classroom intervention plus a home-based intervention) and a non-treatment control group. The groups also differed in group membership. The treatment group children met a criterion such as having a diagnosis or low socio-economic status. The control group consisted of children who met these same criteria, but also had members who were invited by teachers or attended based on parent request. Therefore, the control group was more heterogeneous than either treatment group. The implications of this study for school districts developing a model for preschool programming are discussed. In addition, the limitations of this study as well as potential directions for future research are reviewed.

archives@tulane.edu / Working with traumatized individuals can result in the development of secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms, which can lead to significant emotional and occupational impairment (e.g., Figley, 1995; Lee et al., 2015). Although STS has been investigated across many helping professions, few studies have considered its effects among educators. The primary goal of the current study was to determine whether teacher secondary traumatic stress (STS) influences student socio-emotional functioning through its effects on teacher-student relationships. A second goal was to examine predictors associated with the development of STS symptomology in teachers. This study was conducted with 150 educators and 610 students across six urban, public, charter schools in the Gulf South. Multi-level structural equation modeling (ML-SEM) was used to examine the impact of STS symptoms on two important dimensions of teacher-student relationships (sensitivity and quality) and the subsequent implications for student socio-emotional outcomes. The model also examined predictors of teacher STS symptom severity including teacher adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and use of cognitive reappraisal (CR) as an emotion regulation strategy. Findings indicated that STS was associated with increased student socio-emotional difficulties. Contrary to study hypotheses, teacher STS was not associated with teacher-reported relationship quality nor was it associated with observations of teacher sensitivity. When predictors of STS were examined, teachers’ use of cognitive reappraisal (CR) was negatively associated with STS and teacher ACEs were positively associated with STS. The current findings highlight the importance of continued efforts to identify the prevalence and impact of STS among teachers as well as the associated outcomes for students. Additionally, by helping to identify risk and protective factors associated with STS symptoms in teachers, the current findings can inform efforts to prepare, train, and support educators as they work to foster students’ socio-emotional development in concert with academics. / 1 / Kathryn Simon

The role of the practitioner assessing social-emotional functioning of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) youth is complex and requires extensive cultural, linguistic, and educational training. The range of required competencies, the insufficient number of professionals currently in practice, the dire need for service provision, and the ultimate influence of service provision on youth functioning merit deeper exploration of the challenges faced while assessing social-emotional functioning. This study employs a grounded theory approach to analyze semi-structured interview data from 13 school- and community-based professionals to explore challenges related to the assessment and conceptualization of social-emotional functioning of DHH youth. Seven key categories emerged from the data: challenges in early training and supervision, challenges in gathering sufficient background information, dual challenges in employing specialized assessment and therapy techniques, challenges in writing descriptions of youth functioning, challenges in working with interpreters, and the need for professional support. Future directions and implications for future generations of practitioners are discussed. / text

Social-emotional development in preschoolers often functions as a gateway into more advanced social and academic behaviors; social-emotional experiences during the preschool years may enhance or diminish a child’s later adjustment and academic outcome. With the current focus on promoting pre-academic skills in preschool programs, the importance of social-emotional development has been left behind. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires initial and follow-up screening of academic readiness skills for the Head Start programs. At the same time, much of the research that relates social-emotional development to academic outcome was completed 20 to 30 years ago. This study examined the relation between academic skills and social-emotional development in the beginning and end of one school year. Approximately 150 children ages 3 to 5 years old were assessed in six Head Start centers in different cities in rural Texas. Each student participated in an academic screening within the first 45 days of school and again at the end of the school year. A parent and teacher also completed a rating scale on each student’s social and emotional skills at the beginning of school. The purpose of this study was to contribute to a better understanding of the impact social-emotional development has on the academic progress for preschool-aged children. The overall goal of this study was to determine the extent to which socialemotional development can predict school readiness in Head Start children. The central hypothesis of this study was that social-emotional development can facilitate or impede children’s academic progress. This project was a prospective, repeated measures, singlesample design. The Head Start children who participated in this study were assessed at the beginning and end of the school year. Gain scores were used to measure the growth in academic skills over one school year and compared to initial social-emotional skill level. Results suggest a relationship between adaptive skills and academic gains in one year is evident in Head Start children, which indicates the importance of continuing to provide services and funding for services that go beyond the basic academic tasks. This study found that social-emotional development influences many vital attributes in a child’s growth, including academic success.

Educational research on students with mild and moderate hearing loss (MMHL), who represent up to 15% of the student population in regular classrooms, provides neither consistent nor meaningful attention to their learning and social-emotional experiences in school contexts. The purpose of this research is to investigate the perspectives of students with MMHL to gain insight into how they, as learners, conceptualize and manage their hearing loss at school and to develop recommendations for researchers and educators. Reviewed literature includes both quantitative and qualitative research which relies heavily on teachers’ and parents’ perspectives and achievement scores over student perspectives. Literature also indicates that there are discrepancies in student reporting depending on methods of data collection. Three students with MMHL were asked directly during in-depth interviews to describe their experiences in educational contexts. Self Determination Theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 1985) provides an analytical and organizing framework for social-emotional elements of these learners’ experiences based on three psychological needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy. In addition to SDT, a discussion of disability identity development research (e.g., Gill, 1997) provides a supplementary conceptual tool to expand the latent meanings of these experiences and socially constructed elements that students with hearing loss negotiate. Findings provide descriptive accounts of participants’ lived experiences with MMHL in educational contexts. Emergent patterns and themes identify broadly defined yet coherent messages highlighting the importance that educators (a) understand the lived experience of students with MMHL, (b) recognize the inherent contradictions that can accompany this disability, and (c) attend to needs, to communication, learning, and social-emotional needs. Each case indicates that student needs are met inconsistently resulting in adverse consequences for self-determined learning and social-emotional well-being. It is recommended that classroom teachers proactively facilitate potential learning outcomes for students with MMHL by attending to not only academic and communication needs, but to social-emotional needs as well. Researchers in education must further investigate the population of students with MMHL to assess their strengths and to ascertain the type of supports and interventions from which they could benefit. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-19 17:27:44.048

The occurrence of psychological late effects resulting from the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) been the subject of empirical investigations for approximately 25 years, with an emphasis on those patients treated with radiation therapy. In more recent years, however, research has shown that children and adolescents with ALL treated only with chemotherapy may also be at risk for treatment-related cognitive and academic deficits, although many specific treatment regimens remain to be investigated. Purpose: The present investigation was designed to examine 76 pediatric patients with ALL who were randomized to receive 1g/m² or 2g/m² of intravenous methotrexate (IVMTX) with regard to cognitive, academic, and social-emotional/behavioral functioning over a 3-year period beginning shortly after diagnosis. Method: Scores from a preexisting database were analyzed with particular interest in main effects for methotrexate dose level, time since diagnosis, age at diagnosis, ALL vs non-ALL status and interactions between group and time variables. Participants with ALL and group of non-ALL siblings had participated in cognitive evaluations measuring performance in the following domains: intelligence, language, visual-spatial/visual-motor skills, attention and working memory, processing speed, psychomotor speed and coordination, executive function, academic achievement, and social-emotional/behavioral functioning. Results: A main effect for methotrexate dose level was significant for a measure of adaptive skills. A main effect for age at diagnosis was noted on measures of visual-spatial attention and working memory, and spelling and written expression. No main effect for time was noted on any dependent measure. Additionally, no main effect for ALL versus non-ALL status was noted on any dependent measure. Conclusion: Overall the findings suggest that the treatment of ALL with 1g/m² or 2g/m² IVMTX does not significantly impact the incidence of late effects with regard to cognitive, academic, and social-emotional/behavioral functioning within the first 3 years post-diagnosis. Younger age at diagnosis may, however, contribute to differences in performance on measures of cognitive and academic functioning.

Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / The purpose of this study was to understand the role of school leaders in supporting teachers as they build relationships with and between students in the classroom. These two important aspects of creating a positive classroom learning environment are necessary for Social Emotional Learning to be successful. This qualitative case study drew upon data from interviews with school leaders, teacher focus group interviews, and redacted teacher evaluations in one school district in Massachusetts. While the role of school leaders in the academic success of students has been explored in the literature, there is less research on the specific actions school leaders take to support teachers struggling with classroom environment issues. This study will explore the actions of school leaders through the lens of three leadership practices: setting direction, developing people, and redesigning the organization (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). The findings highlighted the difference in school leaders’ perception of the capacity of adults versus students to learn relationship building skills. In some cases school leaders were not confident that building these skills was possible and consequently they struggled to provide clear and specific strategies to teachers. The findings also reflect the reactive versus proactive nature of the support teachers received for building relationships with and between students. Recommendations include re-organizing resources to allow for more teacher collaboration, targeted professional development in relationship building and exploration regarding the difference in how student peer relationships were viewed compared to teacher student relationships. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

acase@tulane.edu / Agencies declare the development of social and emotional skills critical to child development, and research on outcomes of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programming supports this claim. Despite the growing number of resources for educators, the day-to-day realities of individual school environments provide countless obstacles to implementation of SEL programs and initiatives. Without proper implementation, programs may not produce the desired student outcomes. Administrative support has been identified as a key factor underlying effective implementation, and while this seems to be a concrete way to increase SEL outcomes, the construct lacks a clear definition. This makes it difficult to identify which aspects of administrative support for SEL are the most important, and what mechanisms underlie the provision of support for SEL. Because there is no academic definition to guide school administrators in what supports to provide for effective implementation, it is necessary to research this construct. The current study seeks to do so by listening to the voices of those closest to the work of implementation, administrators and teachers themselves. By determining what supports stakeholders perceive necessary to successfully implement SEL in the context of a specific school site, the study aims to identify salient components of administrator support and create an emic definition to guide implementation. / 1 / Laura C. Cornell

The current study examined the link between early language ability and literacy and behavioral outcomes in children prenatally exposed to cocaine. Prenatal exposure to cocaine places children at risk for language delays and early language problems are linked to both literacy and behavior problems in elementary school (Bandstra, 2002; Beitchman et al., 2001; Cantwell & Baker, 1977). Participants included 141 primarily African-American children from low SES backgrounds who were enrolled in a birth through three intervention program. Children were followed through first and second grade to evaluate the impact early language ability had on literacy and behavior in elementary school. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that after controlling for gender, treatment group, cognitive ability, and behavior at age three, receptive language at age three was a significant predictor of picture vocabulary in elementary school (F(4, 125)=6.76, p<.01, beta= .42, p<.01). Receptive language was also a significant predictor of Parent-reported prosocial behavior (F(7, 72) beta= 2.24, p<.05, beta =-.03 , p<.05). Contrary to previous findings, early language did not significantly predict parent reported problem behavior in elementary school in this high risk sample. Future studies should explore risk and resiliency in this sample, along with increasing sample size to allow for more advanced statistical analyses. Findings support the importance of early language experiences on both later literacy and behavioral outcomes for children.

This study examined the influence of contextual risk factors and parental depression on the social-emotional functioning of very young children. Ninety-four young children were recruited as part of a larger ongoing research project recruiting caregivers and children from Early Head Start programs in South Florida. Children ranged in age from 12 to 36 months and included 65 girls and 29 boys. There were 94 caregivers in the current study: 91 mothers, 2 fathers, and 1 foster mother. Caregivers were diverse in terms of age, ranging from 19 to 42 years of age (M = 27.31, SD = 5.75), ethnicity (84% African- or Caribbean-American, 14.9% Hispanic/Latino, and 1.1% Mixed/Other), and in number of years of school completed, ranging from 1 to 16 years (M = 12.02, SD = 1.91). The current study employed a cumulative risk factor perspective in examining the social-emotional functioning of infants and toddlers. Specifically, the current study tested both a threshold model and a linear model of cumulative risk. Study measures included a background questionnaire, a measure of parental depression, a measure of parenting stress, a measure of child exposure to violence, and a measure of traumatic life events in a child?s life. Further analyses examined ethnicity as a moderator of the relationship between cumulative risk and difficulties with social-emotional functioning. Results showed a significant linear relationship between cumulative risk and social-emotional functioning. However, ethnicity did not moderate this relationship. When individual risk factors were examined post hoc, parental depression, stressful parent-child interactions, having a child with special needs, and community violence were shown to significantly predict difficulties with social-emotional functioning among very young children. These data have important implications for prevention and intervention efforts.