WILL MINDFULNESS EDUCATION SUPPORT SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) STANDARDS IN THE CLASSROOM?

The state of Illinois Public Act 93-0495 calls upon the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to develop and implement a plan to incorporate social and emotional development standards as part of the Illinois Learning Standards. As such, ISBE has developed and articulated Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies and standards for Pre-K through grade 12. Children in Illinois are expected to be working toward three SEL goals, which align across all grade levels. Despite having universal competencies and standards for SEL education, it is still the responsibility of school administration to decide how SEL education will be incorporated into the classroom. This agency allows different schools and districts to evaluate which SEL curriculum\u27s work best for their demographic, size, and budget. Conversely this freedom limits some schools and districts due to lack of access to curriculum options, funding, and ability to train educators in curriculum implementation. This project focuses on answering the question of will mindfulness education support Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Standards in the classroom? through the implementation and evaluation of mindfulness education in a 3rd grade classroom at Lexington Elementary School. Mindfulness education was selected as an option for meeting SEL standards due to the evidence suggesting effectiveness in many schools nationwide, as well as being a low-cost option. The curriculum will be delivered in 20 sessions over the course of 10 weeks, with sessions being conducted 2x weekly for 15 minutes each. Student participants will complete the Self-Description Questionnaire pre and post assessment, as well as a curriculum evaluation post assessment. The classroom teacher will complete the Classroom Educator Questionnaire which measures how effective the classroom teacher feels the mindfulness education Curriculum was at meeting the various facets within the three SEL goals. The Self-Description Questionnaire will measure improvements in student\u27s perception of their ability to self-regulate, express themselves, and learn in the classroom. The results from all measures will be analyzed for common themes and improvement in order to determine if mindfulness education is an option for meeting SEL standards in the classroom