Date of Award

Spring 5-12-2024

Degree Type

Restricted Access Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

School of Education

First Advisor

Ashley Mayworm

Second Advisor

Don Sibley

Third Advisor

Pamela Fenning

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Supporting the social and emotional needs of students though a “whole child” approach has been understood by educators for more than a century. This knowledge has influenced the concept of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in school settings, which is “the process that builds knowledge and skills and attitudes to support young people manage their emotions to achieve personal goals” (casel.org). The need for school districts to develop multi-tiered SEL programs has become more essential as student mental health diagnoses have increased and available services providers have not. The abundance of research outlines that SEL produces positive student outcomes and reduces teacher stress and burnout. As part of a comprehensive, multi-tiered system of SEL interventions, creating meaningful Tier II interventions takes time and available providers to produce programs to support students with greater social-emotional needs. Developing creative, cost-effective solutions to the overworked support staff who provide Tier II SEL interventions will need to be explored by school districts. The proposed project will help to develop additional Tier II SEL support through a school-university mentoring program. The mentoring program is designed to have teacher candidates as Tier II service providers who will engage in meaningful social and emotional interventions with students in need. The field-based experience will give teacher candidates practical insight and additional preparedness about their role in SEL. This project will create a two-way partnership that will create additional Tier II SEL service providers and support the lag in teacher candidate preparedness for SEL in their future classrooms.

Comments

Purpose of Project

This project will contribute to the implementation of a multi-tiered approach to SEL at the elementary school level by focusing on increasing Tier II SEL interventions. Additionally, a second purpose of this project is to increase teacher candidates’ SEL understanding and skills, so they enter the workforce with a deeper understanding of how to support the whole child in the classroom. To address these two needs in tandem, a school-university partnership will be created in which teacher candidates provide mentorship as an SEL support to elementary students (Tier II intervention) through a field-based experience tied to their coursework. The addition of teacher candidates as service providers in Tier II SEL interventions will help reach more elementary students in need while adhering to budgetary constraints. The school-university mentorship will be a two-way collaboration between the school and local teacher candidates who will facilitate activities, build relationships, develop social-emotional goals, and progress monitor these goals to gain an understanding of SEL through mentoring students. The mentorship project will allow teacher candidates to develop relationships with students while guiding them through experiences that will build interpersonal skills and hopefully reduce academic and social stressors.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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Available for download on Friday, May 11, 2029

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