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theses

Research demonstrates students experience higher levels of engagement and less behavioral disruptions resulting in higher academic achievement when teachers incorporate social-emotional learning competencies into their classrooms (Brackett, Reyes, Rivers, Elbertson, & Salovey, 2012; Bridgeland, Bruce, & Hariharan, 2016; Yoder, 2014). As such, the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District has employed norms and values related to the incorporation of social-emotional learning competencies. This dissertation sought to describe elementary and middle school teachers’ self-reported beliefs and practices about social emotional learning in this suburban school district using quantitative research methods. This study used a self-report questionnaire to collect baseline data. Aligned with the norm for descriptive studies, central tendency statistics and standard deviation statistics were calculated for each research question. Additionally, a logistic regression and a chi square analysis were completed to determine a relationship between respondents’ beliefs and practices. This quantitative descriptive study also sought to examine if teachers’ self-reported beliefs and practices varied based on grade level, content area, level of education, or years of professional experience. This further analysis allowed for personalized professional development sessions based on patterns identified by background data. This analysis will inform the development of a professional development program targeting the integration of social-emotional learning competencies.

ETD_10195

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

doi:10.7282/t3-4r12-9690

ETD doctoral

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