EDUCATOR PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING SUPPORTS AND INTERVENTIONS

Abstract

Students today can enter classrooms lacking the social and emotional skills needed to achieve academic and behavioral success in school. As the need for the classroom-based social and emotional interventions and supports grow, the need to identify the perceptions of teachers involved in the identification and implementation of these interventions and supports has also grown. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to collect the perceptions of a group of educators involved in the identification and implementation of social and emotional learning supports and interventions to determine what can be learned and applied to improve this process. A group of teachers at a charter school in Texas were surveyed and interviewed to collect their perceptions surrounding the identification and implementation of social and emotional learning supports and interventions. While the educators in the study reported a strong belief in the need for and importance of social and emotional interventions and supports, they also cited a need for appropriate professional development, training, and support to successfully meet the social and emotional needs of their students. Further, the educators reported a strong desire to address student needs through a more proactive approach, rather than a reactive approach. Finally, the educators reported a desire to be more actively involved in a structured, continuous approach to identifying and implementing social and emotional learning supports and interventions. This research study has implications for both theory and practice. The process of identifying and implementing social and emotional learning supports and interventions can serve as a theoretical framework for future research. In practice, the steps associated with the identification and implementation of SEL can be executed at the institutional level to address student needs. This institutional specific research study provides an opportunity for future related research to be conducted.