Young children face unique social challenges, and they need social and emotional resilience skills in order to navigate their way through school. Many of the children who need the most help are in family situations where parents are not able to teach these skills. Students can become more resilient through social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. SEL teaches children to identify the emotions of themselves and others, to communicate their emotions in a nonviolent way, and to be good friends. By teaching SEL at a young age, teachers can help children become more adept as they make friends and learn how to interact in social situations, thus bolstering their relationships with friends and adults. Improved social and emotional skills help students succeed in academics and with their peers as they form social connections. Strong Start Pre-K, a social and emotional learning curriculum, was evaluated in a local preschool program. Using a nonequivalent control group design, two preschool teachers taught the curriculum in their classrooms, and a third classroom was the control. Both before and after the implementation of the curriculum, data were gathered from classroom teachers on their students' emotional regulation, internalizing behaviors, and the teachers' perceived relationships with their students. Results indicated a slight increase in emotional regulation and a significant decrease in internalizing behaviors in the treatment groups. Student-teacher relationships improved, specifically with a decrease on the subscale of Conflict. Treatment fidelity indicated that teachers were able to implement most or all of the components of each lesson 90% of the time. Social validity measurements indicated that the teachers would recommend the curriculum to other educators.

This research project qualitatively explores how teachers address social-emotional learning and how educators understand and implement SEL and art therapy in early education. This research aimed to explore how art therapy theories can support teachers in their efforts to create socially and emotionally competent early education classrooms. Data collected included anonymous surveys from current kindergarten through third-grade teachers. Through data analysis, several findings suggest that art therapists, mental health practitioners, and teachers can benefit from collaboration in increasing access and training with SEL practices. These findings open new doors for further inquiry into art therapy and SEL.

Jessica Rode och Josefin Rode, Malmö Högskola, Lärarutbildningen. Resan i förskolans livskunskap-en studie baserad på sex pedagogers tankar och erfarenheter av att arbeta med livskunskap i förskolan.Vårt syfte och våra frågeställningar inriktar sig på vilken syn pedagoger ute i verksamheten har och hur de arbetar med livskunskap i förskolans vardag. Sammanfattningen av studiens analys vill vi ska inspirera till diskussioner kring ämnet. Vi ger en teoretisk översikt där teoretiker och forskare som fokuseras bl.a. är Piaget, Kholberg, Lögstrup, D. Mayer & Salovey, Gardner, Vygotskij, Antonovsky, Steinberg samt Dewey. Undersökningen har gjorts med hjälp av sex kvalitativa intervjuer. Vi har intervjuat två stycken pedagoger per förskola, på två olika förskolor, samt en pedagog på en tredje förskola. En intervju gjordes även med Eva Mathiasson Thorbert som har skrivit boken Hjärtestunder - livskunskap i förskolan (2006).Med utgångspunkt från pedagogers uppfattningar om livskunskap i förskolan samt metodboken Hjärtestunder, så har vi konkretiserat och problematiserat begreppet livskunskap. Sammanfattningsvis pekar det som framkommit ur intervjuerna och litteraturen på att begreppet livskunskap inte är helt lätt att definiera. Hur man definierar begreppet beror på vem som tolkar det och vilken situation man befinner sig. Pedagogerna arbetar olika med livskunskap beroende på barngruppens behov och förutsättningar. / Jessica Rode and Josefin Rode, University of Malmö, teatchers education. A journey about lifeknowledge in infant school- a study based on six pedagogues thoughts and experiences about working with lifeknowledge in infant school.Our purpose and our questions is about which experiences and opinions pedagogues have about the work with lifeknowledge in infant school, and which work method the prefer and are using. We want the summary of the studys analysis to inspire to discussions about the subject.We give an theoretical overview which includes theorists och researchers such as Piaget, Kholberg, Lögstrup, D. Mayer & Salovey, Gardner, Vygotskij, Antonovsky, Steinberg and Dewey.The research is based on six qualitative interviews. The interviews has been done with two pedagogues on each infant school, at two infant schools, and one pedagogue at a third infant school. An interview was also made with Eva Mathiasson Thorbert, the author of the book - Hjärtestunder - livskunskap i förskolan (2006).We have concretisiced and reviewed the conception of lifeknowledge, with a starting point from pedagogues understandings about lifeknowledge in infant school and the method book Hjärtestunder.The summary of what has been obvious from the interviews and the literature is that the conception of lifeknowledge is not easy to define. Definitions of the concept are done in different ways depending on which person who makes the interpretation and are related to personal experiences. Pedagogues works diffrent depending on their childrens conditions and needs.

The demands on teachers have been further amplified both personal and professional in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of stress teachers face is unsustainable. Stress can have negative outcomes for the teacher student relationship. Increasing teachers' social-emotional competence can lead to a more supportive classroom environment and improved teacher and student outcomes. Researchers have determined mindfulness-based interventions are conducive to increasing teachers' social-emotional competence. School counselors can assist and equip teachers with these vital skills through consultation services. To date, there are no studies that investigate the effects of a combined mindfulness and social-emotional learning-based school counselor consultation approach. In this study, I sought to explore the results of that approach. Teacher participants reported their racial identity as 22% Black (n = 7), 46% Caucasian (n = 15), 25% Hispanic (n = 8), 3% multi-racial (n = 1), and 3% Asian (n = 1) and self-reported gender as follows 38% male (n = 12) and 62% female (n = 20). Participants received 5 weeks of a combined mindfulness and social-emotional learning school counselor consultation. Results of hierarchical linear regressions revealed statistically significant improvement in the mindfulness disposition of acting with awareness, and practical significance of decreased perceived stress and conflict in the teacher student relationship. Results of this study illustrate the possible benefits of utilizing school counselor consultation to increase the socio-emotional competence of teachers through mindfulness.

Strong Teens is a curriculum designed to help students develop the social-emotional skills needed to manage challenges and become successful socially and academically (Carrizales- Engelmann et al., 2016). Strong Teens has shown promise among adolescents, but this was the first study to evaluate the newly updated version of the intervention in a high school setting. The curriculum was implemented by a special education teacher with students at-risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. A mixed method design was used to evaluate outcomes with 16 ninth grade students. Overall findings suggest that Strong Teens was effective at improving students' social emotional knowledge over a 3-month period. However, there was a worsening of students' internalizing symptoms and teacher-student relationships. The teacher implemented the curriculum with low to moderate fidelity. Students were mostly neutral in their view of Strong Teens, while the teacher held a more favorable view. Future studies should include a larger sample size, offer training to educators on the implementation of Strong Teens, and consider using a more effective collection method to ensure students' anonymity.

Successful social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have established methods with teacher and peer support that improve prosocial behavior. Research has shown intervention programs that incorporate these skills reduce antisocial behaviors, but implementation in schools may vary and therefore affect outcomes. The purpose of this non-experimental program evaluation study was to understand the perceptions of implementation, impact, acceptability, and effects of Second Step within a suburban elementary classroom in the northeastern United States. The participants were teachers in a suburban elementary school near a large northeastern US city. A questionnaire, observations, interviews, a focus group, and school collected data (e.g., Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) testing) were used to answer the research questions. Participants reported perceptions that Second Step had positive effects on academic performance. PSSA data showed that student academic performance appeared to be minimally affected or unaffected by Second Step. Results from the questionnaire, interviews, and focus group suggest teachers believed Second Step improved student behavior. However, the school did not collect behavioral data (e.g., suspensions, referrals, detentions, etc.) prior to or after Second Step adoption. Limited training and other factors may explain why reported fidelity to the curriculum appeared inconsistent with observational measures. Participant bias may have also influenced interview and focus group data. Despite limitations, schools that adopt Second Step should rely on evaluations to determine whether intended impacts are realized. Also, Second Step and other SEL curriculum researchers should consider providing guidance about implementation, assessment, and cost-benefit analysis. Researchers could investigate systematic changes to lesson content and delivery in ways that allow teachers to adapt or modify instruction without compromising curricular effects. / Special Education

This descriptive study provides insight on the prevalence of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) screening and school psychologists' roles in that screening process in Utah schools. EBD screening plays an important role in implementing Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). An electronic questionnaire was sent to 260 practicing Utah school psychologists. A total of 89 of those school psychologists completed the survey resulting in a 34% participation rate. Twelve percent (n=11) of participants reported that EBD screening was happening in their schools. Participants reported that the lack of resources to address student needs, the lack of administrative support, and the school having too many other concerns were barriers to EBD screening implementation. Survey results also reported that successful EBD screening consisted of a combined effort consisting of teams, administration, and school districts. Additionally, school psychologists reported that their role in EBD screening should mainly be focused on data interpretation and intervention implementation. The goal of this thesis project was to increase awareness of how universal EBD screening was occurring in Utah schools.

No description available.

This study investigates and describes the various opportunities and challenges the University of Central Florida( UCF) teacher education program (TEP) has in its attempt to infuse social and emotional wellbeing practices (Stress management ) for pre-service teachers (PST) as a part of the learning curriculum. The study examines the implementation of social and emotional well-being practices within the core educational cores. There is little information on the subject— the interest in the topic arises for the need for a more holistic approach to education in today's 21st-century classroom. The researcher believes that teaching is a very emotional labored profession that, over time, when unmanaged, can cause burnout and different symptoms of exhaustion. As such, studies have shown that new teachers leave the classroom within their first 3 to 5 years of teaching. One of the re-occurring findings that explain why new teachers leave is because of stress. A holistic approach is a comprehensive approach to education where the learner's emotional, social, and academic needs are address. This study examines how the UCF teacher preparation program facilitates their pre-service teachers to deal with this stress by looking at the extent to which social and emotional well-being competencies aligns within the curriculum.

<p>This qualitative single case study examined the social and emotional needs of teachers and what they need from principals to nurture the use of effective social and emotional competencies. Individual interviews were conducted with secondary teachers from one school district in Indiana.  Three themes emerged.  Teachers need: (1) boundaries, (2) space and time, and (3) collaboration and connectedness.  In addition, this study explored what principals could do to nurture the social and emotional needs of teachers.  Six findings were reported: Principals should (1) have a clear understanding of SEL competencies (2) nurture unique opportunities for collaboration (3) nurture a variety of topics on which to collaborate with teachers (4) provide the space and time necessary for teachers to process (5) model work-life balance (6) nurture personal connections between adults within the school.  These findings will help principals develop their leadership skills in supporting teachers in their application of social and emotional learning competencies.</p>