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School leaders are increasingly being required to support students beyond academic metrics. The Covid-19 pandemic caused unanticipated closures in schools throughout the country forcing many students to an unfamiliar online environment. In the months that followed, anxiety and loneliness rose dramatically, requiring staff to re-think how to best support the social emotional needs of students. The purpose of this study was to identify how principals perceive their role in providing social emotional learning (SEL) support for all students in high-achieving schools (HAS) in both in-person and virtual learning environments. Using a phenomenological research design, principals from high achieving schools were interviewed to identify their perceived role in providing SEL for all students. This research suggests that relationships are essential in providing SEL in a meaningful way and principals rely on a variety of staff to ensure students are receiving SEL in traditional (in-person) and virtual environments. Principals expressed a deepened urgency for SEL needs due to the global pandemic of Covid-19. The role of the principals is uniquely positioned to support both the structural and interpersonal supports needed to develop SEL for all students. As the growing evidence supports the inclusion of SEL-related activities, principal and teacher preparation programs should include SEL training as part of the curriculum as part of pre-service training. Additionally, school divisions should provide in-service opportunities for those already in the field. The findings from this research underscore the important role that principals have in promoting a SEL-supportive culture. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are also shared. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify how principals perceive their role in providing SEL support for all students in high-achieving schools (HAS) in both in-person and virtual learning environments. Due to the widespread closure of in-person schooling across the country in the fall of 2020, school leaders have been forced to think differently on implementing support for the whole child. Using a phenomenological research design, principals from high achieving schools were interviewed to identify their perceived role in providing SEL for all students. A review of the literature shows SEL can be delivered at both the classroom and whole-school level and has academic, behavioral, and societal benefits. Findings showed that principals are uniquely positioned to develop SEL-supportive cultures by providing a common vision, structural supports, and opportunities to increase long-term relationships. Principals utilized a variety of people and places to provide SEL for all students, with a strong emphasis on building relationships. The capacity of both school leaders and teachers plays an important role in providing SEL with fidelity. Principal's expressed a deepened understanding of the urgency of SEL. In light of limited pre-service training at both the teacher and administrative level, additional professional development is needed in this area as schools seek to address the whole child.

Social emotional learning (SEL), prevalent since the 1960's, is intended to meet the needs of the whole child (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning [CASEL], n.d.). Over the last three years, the effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic infiltrated society, and stressors during the pandemic created challenges for families and educators. At the beginning of the pandemic, students were disconnected physically from schools, and depending on the resources of schools and families, students had various modalities to connect with school. Extracurricular activities ceased at the beginning of the pandemic, and students lost access to mental health support, all impacting the SEL needs of students. As students returned to school in person, the SEL needs of students increased, and principals were faced with finding resources and strategies to meet those needs. Several research studies exist on the impacts of various models of SEL and trauma-informed practices, but there is little research on administrator perceptions of SEL. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify elementary school principal perceptions on the SEL needs of students, aligned to the CASEL framework, during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the resources and strategies needed and used to meet the SEL needs of students. Eight elementary school principals from one suburban school division in Virginia were interviewed. Elementary school principals reported environmental factors that may have increased self-management and relationship skill deficits for students. Using a variety of resources and strategies, elementary school principals have seen improvement in SEL needs of students when staff explicitly teach SEL. Elementary school principals desire more resources to meet the SEL needs of students but are faced with funding challenges and a lack of qualified candidates. To meet the SEL needs of students, it is recommended that school divisions work with local, state, and federal funding sources, as well as universities and colleges to provide additional support and resources. It is a moral imperative of elementary school principals to demand more support to meet the SEL needs of elementary students. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify elementary school principal perceptions on the social emotional learning (SEL) needs of students, aligned to the CASEL framework, during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the resources and strategies needed and used to meet the SEL needs of students. The COVID-19 pandemic brought on sickness, death, anxiety, and depression while educational and family structures changed. Schools closed physically in the beginning of the pandemic, impacting the connectivity of students with one another and with teachers. Additionally, extracurricular activities ceased for some time, and students did not have the same consistent access to medical or mental health providers, all impacting the mental well-being of children. Families were also impacted economically and socially by the pandemic. As students returned to school in person, educators were challenged to meet the SEL needs of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research study investigated elementary principal perceptions on the SEL needs of students and examined the resources and strategies needed and used to support the SEL needs of students. Eight elementary school principals were interviewed from one suburban school division in Virginia. The elementary school principals reported an increase in the SEL needs of students and described a variety of resources and strategies used to support the SEL needs. While SEL needs are improving when elementary school principals and school staff focus resources and strategies to improve SEL deficits, the elementary school principals reported needing more resources to meet the SEL needs of students. Elementary school principals described challenges in funding and a lack of qualified candidates. To lessen those challenges, elementary school principals should demand more resources through local, state, and federal agencies to support the SEL needs of students.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) (2018) specified that "integrating SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) with instructional practices and academic content has become a growing priority" (p. 1). This priority originates from research that suggests SEL promotes positive student and long-term community outcomes, particularly in secondary schools. This canon of research, however, only reviews the outcomes of implementing purchasable curricula, not content-embedded SEL. The effectiveness of content-embedded SEL instruction, which comprises a large portion of how SEL is implemented at the secondary level (CASEL, 2018; Hart et al., 2013), cannot be effectively measured or predicted because there is little to no identified research regarding three essential factors: how teachers embed SEL, how teachers assess content-embedded SEL, and teachers' perceived readiness to embed SEL. The purpose of this research was to identify the methods secondary teachers indicate they use to implement and assess content-embedded SEL instruction and their perceived preparedness to do so. Educational leaders may be better able to evaluate the effectiveness of content-embedded SEL instruction and improve its implementation with this knowledge. Using a qualitative design, secondary teachers were interviewed to identify how they embed SEL into their instruction, how they assess SEL, and how prepared they perceive they are to deliver content-embedded SEL instruction. This research suggests that expectations for embedding and documenting SEL vary, but teachers appear to be implementing content-embedded SEL nevertheless. Furthermore, teachers recognize that pre-curated resources or lessons are provided to assist them in embedding SEL but appear to rely heavily upon their own teacher-created resources. Among these activities, teachers rely upon opportunities for reflection and choice and voice activities, but no one instructional strategy or manipulative was preferred overall. Teachers perceive student progress in SEL via observation of student behaviors, interactions, and responses both formally and informally. Regarding their preparedness to teach SEL, teachers perceive that their personal SEL proficiencies directly affect their abilities to teach them. Finally, teachers prefer experiential professional learning situations for SEL, and perceive that time to revisit and reflect in smaller, collaborative settings is an effective process for learning to implement SEL, including the use of specialists. / Doctor of Education / Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is an improvement strategy that has gained popularity in the past decade. Results from research that suggest SEL develops beneficial student and long-term community effects have led to substantial efforts to spread SEL instruction, especially in middle and high schools. However, the research upon which these efforts are based only reviews the benefits of using purchasable programming, not SEL that teachers embed into their content. The success of content-embedded SEL, which makes up a large percentage of how SEL is employed in middle and high schools (CASEL, 2018; Hart et al., 2013), cannot be accurately measured or predicted because there is little to no identified information about three important factors: how teachers embed SEL, how teachers measure content-embedded SEL, and teachers' perceived readiness to embed SEL. The purpose of this research was to identify the methods middle and high school teachers indicate they use to embed and measure SEL and their perceived preparedness to do so. Educational leaders may be better able to measure the success of content-embedded SEL and improve its use with this knowledge. Middle and high school teachers were interviewed to identify how they embed SEL, how they measure SEL, and how prepared they perceive they are to embed SEL. This research suggests that expectations for embedding and recording SEL vary, but teachers still appear to be embedding SEL. Additionally, teachers understand that pre-curated resources or lessons are provided to assist them in embedding SEL but appear to rely more heavily upon their own resources. Among these activities, teachers rely upon opportunities for reflection and choice and voice activities, but no one teaching strategy was preferred overall. Teachers recognize student development in SEL via observation of their behaviors, interactions, and responses; they grade this development about half of the time. Teachers believe their personal SEL proficiencies directly affect their abilities to teach them. Finally, teachers prefer hands-on situations for learning how to embed SEL, and perceive that time to revisit and reflect in smaller, collaborative settings to be an effective process for learning to implement SEL, including the use of specialists.

In the United States, approximately 400,000 children reside in foster care, and most have been exposed to caregiver abuse, neglect, or abandonment. A majority of foster children suffer the effects of damaging circumstances including poverty, violence, inferior health care, and substandard housing. Consequently, young foster youth frequently struggle to accomplish developmental tasks such as establishing secure attachment relationships, cultivating preacademic skills, and acquiring social-emotional competence. The purpose of this research was to determine the impact of Peace4Kids, a nonprofit community-based organization, on young foster youths’ social-emotional development and pre-academic skills. Data collected from parents, teachers, and administrators during semi-structured interviews documented children’s experiences as they attended the organization’s Saturday Core Program. Participants noted that as foster children participated in a variety of curricular and co-curricular experiences at Peace4Kids, their social, emotional, and academic development were positively impacted. Parents, teachers, and administrators reported that the organization’s culture of consistency, trust, and accountability promoted secure attachment relationships among foster youth, staff members, and peers at the Saturday Core Program. Participants iterated that secure relationships provided a foundation for foster children to subsequently acquire social and emotional capacities, including persistence, conflict resolution, self-regulation, and autonomy. As youth in foster care developed social-emotional competencies, pre-academic skills such as literacy and numeracy emerged. This study’s findings indicate that a comprehensive approach is necessary to address the unique needs of foster children who have experienced prior trauma. Additionally, this research study contributes to a growing body of work that explores the role of attachment relationships in group and organizational settings.