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Social emotional competence is an essential developmental skill recognized as the most critical for school and later success. Rising rates in behavioral referrals and preschool expulsion have brought increased attention to the importance of helping children develop social-emotional skills in the early years. In early childhood education a central factor of social-emotional/behavioral intervention is the competence of teachers to address children's needs. In order for the social-emotional needs of children to be addressed in early childhood classrooms, adequate preservice teacher training and support are needed. The current studies focused on preservice teacher training and support regarding social emotional assessment and behavior intervention. Two studies were included in this research: (1) an early childhood preservice teacher survey and (2) Social Emotional Assessment Measure (SEAM) Preschool Teaching Guide development and behavior support plan pilot study. The first study focused on early childhood preservice teachers' current knowledge and practices regarding social-emotional development and behavior support. Participants included 228 preservice teachers from early childhood education (ECE) and early childhood special education (ECSE) teacher training programs in 15 different states. ANOVA results and answer percentages and means revealed trends in training, implementation, and preparedness by program type and degree level. The second study addressed how to support early childhood teachers in the creation of behavior support plans linked to assessment results. It took place in two phases: (1) development of a preschool teaching guide for the SEAM, and (2) a behavior support plan pilot study using the SEAM Preschool Teaching Guide. Participants included 25 preservice early childhood teachers from ECE and ECSE programs. Results from a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA indicated that the teaching guide intervention significantly improved the behavior support plan quality scores of preservice teachers. Results were further analyzed by program type and degree level.

xvi, 200 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Early social emotional competence has been linked to school readiness, decreased challenging behaviors, and positive relationships with family and peers. Despite this compelling research, more young children are displaying increasingly challenging behaviors and poor social emotional outcomes, often linked to factors associated with poverty. An important component in addressing this issue is programmatic implementation of high quality, practitioner- and family-friendly assessment measures. It is critical that young children who may be at risk for early mental health concerns be identified early and the necessary interventions and goals be established to ensure that healthy relationships and positive behaviors result. The Social Emotional Assessment IV Measure (SEAM) is a new parent/caregiver-completed assessment measure that identifies key components necessary in assessing social emotional competence. This descriptive study closely examines the utility of the Toddler SEAM within a low income, diverse sample. The Toddler SEAM was tested with 50 diverse low-income parents/caregivers in order to establish baseline data and provide researchers with important feedback regarding the psychometric properties of SEAM. One hundred percent of study participants indicated that the SEAM is a beneficial measure and would be an important tool for themselves and other parents who want to learn more about children's social emotional development. Forty-eight participants (96%) felt that SEAM items were useful in teaching them more about their child's social emotional development. Forty-four participants (88%) felt that SEAM items were clear and easy to understand. Qualitative feedback was gathered regarding methods by which to improve SEAM items (i.e., wording, content) in order to make it more parent-friendly and comprehensive. The Toddler SEAM was also compared with the ASQ:SE, a social emotional screening tool with established reliability and validity within risk and non-risk populations. Correlations between the ASQ:SE 18-, 24-, 30- and 36-month intervals and the Toddler SEAM were all significant (p < .05). Internal consistency was high with a Cronbach's alpha level of .92, indicating that the SEAM is likely measuring the unitary construct of social emotional development. / Adviser: Jane Squires

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