Social and emotional learning: An investigation of understandings and practices of teachers at a New Jersey high schoo

The purpose of this mixed-method investigation was to study what teachers at Park Hills High School know and understand about social and emotional learning, determine whether they are currently integrating social and emotional strategies in their teaching, and investigate what needs to happen for social and emotional learning to become school-wide practice. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from teacher surveys, interviews, and focus groups. The focus of the study was on assessing teachers' awareness of social and emotional learning, determining the extent to which they are teaching and utilizing social and emotional learning concepts in their classrooms, and identifying the fundamental factors that encourage or discourage them from changing their instructional practices to inculcate social and emotional learning.;To understand and assess the teachers' awareness and application of social and emotional learning concepts and to identify what needs to happen in the school for social and emotional learning to be a school-wide focus, the following research questions were developed as a guide: 1. To what degree do teachers at Park Hills High School understand the social and emotional competencies that prepare students for enhanced achievement? 2. To what degree are Park Hills High School teachers integrating effective strategies and practices that support SEL in their classrooms? 3. What conditions need to be present to improve teachers' ability to integrate SEL into instruction?;The findings disclosed that teachers are becoming more familiar with social and emotional learning, although not all teachers feel equally prepared to teach these skills to students. Despite this, social and emotional learning is occurring organically, and teachers are increasingly using social and emotional learning strategies in their classrooms. The study found that teachers have little training in social and emotional learning, and a large majority would welcome additional, ongoing professional development in order to increase their ability to integrate social and emotional concepts in their practices.