<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>

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The present study investigated the processes and factors which led to increased student achievement at a rural, high poverty, elementary school in 2014-2019. Student academic achievement was measured through the pass rates of students in third, fourth, and fifth grades on the Virginia SOL assessments in English and mathematics. In English, student pass rates increased by 22 percentage points from 2015-2019, and in mathematics, they increased 16 points for the same time period. Due to this growth, the school was recognized as one of the National Distinguished Title I Schools in 2019. Utilizing a case study methodology, interviews were conducted with building level and division level school personnel for a total of 11 participants. Other data were also analyzed such as school improvement plans, student progress monitoring data, and personnel changes at the school. Participants indicated high quality leadership, the creation and cultivation of positive relationships among faculty, staff, and students, and the implementation of the Responsive Classroom program as factors contributing to increased student academic achievement. Furthermore, 50% teacher turnover and subsequent hiring of new teachers or the transferring in of teachers new to the school was identified as a change within the school during the five years being studied. / Doctor of Education / Students in third, fourth, and fifth grades in Virginia public schools take assessments in English, mathematics, science and history, depending on grade level, at the end of each school year to determine their academic success based on common grade level standards. This study focused on a school that improved student pass rates on the English assessment by 22 percentage points and 16 percentage points on the mathematics assessment from 2014-2019. This study examined the processes and factors that went into the increased student achievement through interviews of 11 school level and division level personnel. These interviews provided administrator, teacher, and school staff perceptions of why student achievement increased, and led to the examination of other data such as school improvement plans from 2014-2016, student progress monitoring data, and school staffing changes from 2014-2019. The study found the analysis of student progress monitoring data and subsequent meetings between the teachers and literacy coaches to address student academic needs as having an impact on student achievement. Additionally, the creation and cultivation of positive relationships between faculty, staff, and students, purposeful and high-quality leadership, and the implementation of the Responsive Classroom program were identified as factors increasing student achievement. The school also experienced 50% teacher turnover from 2014-2019. In 2014, the school had 14 teachers and by the end of the study in 2019, seven of those teachers had left for various reason, allowing the building principal to hire or transfer teachers in from other schools who better fit the needs of the school and its students.

Dropping out of high school is a nationally recognized problem which has significant implications for both the individual and society as a whole. Increasing the high school graduation rate will reduce the risk for multiple problem behaviors and poor mental and physical health among at-risk adolescents. GED preparation programs are continually regarded as a second chance mechanism for high school dropouts. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has a foundational basis in the rigorous research that has been conducted, which clearly indicates that our emotions and relationships affect how and what we learn. SEL attempts to enhance the development of what are perceived to be fundamental social and emotional skills and competencies. This study explores the incorporation of SEL in a GED preparation program for adolescent high school dropouts between the ages of 16 and 18. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, the Delphi Method was used to gather consensus through a panel of experts. / Master of Science

Yes / Evidence for early intervention and prevention-based approaches for im-proving social and emotional health in young children is robust. However, rates of participation in programmes are low. We explored the dynamics which affect levels of community readiness to address the issues of social and emotional health for preg-nant women, young children (0-4 years) and their mothers.Setting:A deprived inner‐city housing estate in the north of England. The estate falls within the catchment area of a project that has been awarded long-term funding to address social and emotional health during pregnancy and early childhood.Methods:We interviewed key respondents using the Community Readiness Model. This approach applies a mixed methodology, incorporating readiness scores and qualitative data. A mean community readiness score was calculated enabling the placement of the community in one of nine possible stages of readiness. Interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative framework approach to generate con-textual information to augment the numerical scores.Results:An overall score consistent with vague awareness was achieved, indicating a low level of community readiness for social and emotional health interventions. This score suggests that there will be a low likelihood of participation in programmes that address these issues.Conclusion:Gauging community readiness offers a way of predicting how willing and prepared a community is to address an issue. Modifying implementation plans so that they first address community readiness may improve participation rates. / Better Start Bradford

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Behaviour is guided by accumulated experience, valuation and comparison. While many aspects associated with these functions are mediated by the frontal lobes, the precise contribution from particular regions remains debated. This thesis will deal with how an organism comes to select an option and will specifically focus on the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in two mechanisms in this process: learning of outcome specificities and selecting between multiple options based on their expected values. Despite evidence emphasizing anatomical and connective heterogeneity within this structure, the OFC is often regarded as a uniform region. This thesis aims to resolve some of this uncertainty by assuming that the medial and lateral regions of the OFC contribute differentially to learning and decision-making. Two distinct methodologies were used in these investigations. First, the contribution of the medial OFC to social and emotional processing was examined. The findings from this study disprove previously held beliefs that the medial regions of the OFC guide social and emotional behaviours, but indicted a role for this region in value-guided decision-making. The second study examined functional differences between the lateral and medial OFC by making circumscribed lesions to either region in macaque monkeys. The animals performed a number of 3-armed bandit tasks which were designed to investigate different aspects of value assignment and comparison. The results show that while lateral OFC was required for "credit assignment" – the correct assignment of values to visual cues – medial OFC was critical for comparison of the cues' values during decision-making. In unchanging probabilistic environments, mOFC lesions induced decision-making impairments when value comparison was difficult without affecting credit assignment and associative learning. By contrast, lateral OFC lesions caused the opposite pattern of impairment. The final study used human-neuroimaging techniques to investigate the differential representation of outcome-specific contingency learning and found not only that the expectation of a unique outcome facilitated learning and memory recall but that this was supported by a neural network which included the lateral regions of the OFC and the anterior cingulate cortex. Activity in the mOFC did not correlate with outcome-specific contingency learning but instead reflected both the value associated with the receipt and expectation of a reward. Taken together, the results from this thesis suggest that specific parts of the OFC make markedly different contributions to these very different cognitive functions.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-04-27T12:39:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandra Amadio Belli.pdf: 6370782 bytes, checksum: 84f2a955d75fb0d4f81d4f0e7d1d3e6b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-27T12:39:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alexandra Amadio Belli.pdf: 6370782 bytes, checksum: 84f2a955d75fb0d4f81d4f0e7d1d3e6b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-13 / The present study aims to investigate a group of teachers in the analysis and development of a problem situation at classroom, focusing Social and Emotional Competencies and Problem Solving. To achieve this goal, we have guided this work by the question: What are the contributions of studies on the development of Social and Emotional Competencies and Problem Solving for teachers training? The subjects participating in this research are teachers of the initial years of Elementary School of São Paulo city municipal school network. Due to this investigative proposal, we carried out a bibliographical survey on the subject in question, which ended up pointing out relevant aspects about the need of continued teachers training. In this research, we conducted nine meetings with these teachers and applied a problem-situation in the classroom with first and second year students of elementary school. The main tools for data collection were semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation, and audio recording. The observations were from the Social and Emotional Competencies and Problem Solving text analysis meetings with teachers and from the classroom problem situation experience. We analyze the collected data, we weave the final considerations and we conclude that Social and Emotional Learning can contribute in the practice and in the training of the teacher and that through the Problem Solving methodology in mathematics teaching we obtain space and opportunity for development of Social and Emotional Competencies, within students. Facing the school reality presented by the teachers' perception of the school, consider declared the importance of handling emotional regulation promoting better management of stress and of conflicts in the school environment, as well as directing changes in pedagogical practice and strengthening of personal, professional and academic objectives / O presente estudo tem como objetivo investigar um grupo de professores na análise e no desenvolvimento de uma situação-problema em sala de aula, tendo como foco as Competências Socioemocionais e a Resolução de Problemas. Para alcançar esse objetivo, norteamos este trabalho pela questão: Quais são as contribuições de estudos sobre o desenvolvimento de Competências Socioemocionais e Resolução de Problemas para a formação de professores? Os sujeitos participantes dessa pesquisa são professores dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental da rede municipal da cidade de São Paulo. Frente a esta proposta de investigação, realizamos um levantamento bibliográfico sobre o tema em questão, o que acabou por apontar aspectos relevantes sobre a necessidade de formação continuada para os professores. Nessa investigação realizamos nove encontros com os professores e desenvolvemos uma situação-problema em sala de aula com alunos de primeiro e segundo anos do Ensino Fundamental. Os principais instrumentos para a coleta de dados foram entrevistas semiestruturadas, questionários, observação e gravação de áudio. As observações foram dos encontros com os professores na análise dos textos sobre Competências Socioemocionais e Resolução de Problemas e na vivência da situação-problema em sala de aula. Analisamos os dados coletados, tecemos as considerações finais e concluímos que a Educação Socioemocional pode contribuir na prática e na formação do professor e que através da metodologia de Resolução de Problemas no ensino da matemática obtém-se espaço e oportunidade para o desenvolvimento de Competências Socioemocionais junto aos alunos. Diante da realidade escolar apresentada pela percepção dos professores da escola fica declarada a importância do manejo da regulação emocional propiciando o melhor gerenciamento do estresse e de conflitos no ambiente escolar, além de direcionar mudanças na prática pedagógica e fortalecimento dos objetivos pessoais, profissionais e acadêmicos

Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have become increasingly popular during last 20 years, and have shown to reduce risky behaviors (i.e., substance use), improve communication skills, academic performance, and relationships among students of all ages when implemented in schools (Weissberg, Durlak, Domitrovich, & Gullotta, 2015; Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). Although the benefits of SEL programs are significant, the issue of implementation fidelity often arises. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of implementation fidelity in the Life Skills Training program (LST) implemented with middle school students of a large South Florida school district. A not-for-profit-organization (NFPO) facilitated the training of teachers who implemented LST within the school district and provided the materials necessary to carry out the program’s lessons. Fidelity was assessed by eight observers from the NFPO by utilizing the Botvin Life Skills Training Fidelity Checklist-Middle School Level 1. Three core elements of implementation fidelity, adherence, quality of delivery, and participant responsiveness, were assessed. The school district was tasked with modifying and conducting the LST Pretest/Posttest Measure to assess student behavior gains. Multilevel modeling was used to assess the effect of individual-level (gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status [SES]) and classroom-level characteristics (adherence, participant responsiveness, and quality of delivery) on student behavior outcomes measured at posttest. Results from this study indicated that on the individual level, students’ race/ethnicity and SES were significantly associated with predicting student behavior gains at posttest. On the classroom level, participant responsiveness was significantly associated with predicting student behavior gains at posttest. The findings from this study make a unique contribution to the literature as it examined frequently overlooked core elements of fidelity such as participant responsiveness and quality of delivery.

One hundred and fifty senior students (comprising of second and third year undergraduate students) completed a biographical questionnaire and the BarOn Emotional Quotient-Inventory questionnaire. The results indicate that there are statistically significant differences in total EQ based on gender and age, although there were no statistically significant differences based on race. Conclusions are drawn about the importance of emotional intelligence in students and recommendations for future research are provided.