Before the panic sets in: The impact of a social and emotional learning (SEL) course for pre-service teachers

The following dissertation describes a significant problem that impacts a small, parochial university in the Illinois: beginning teachers are not prepared to meet the social emotional learning (SEL) needs of their students. A review of literature outlining the scope of the problem—including the neurophysiological, academic, and psychological impact of cumulative environmental risk, as well as the importance and lack of training typically received by pre-service teachers (PSTs) in the provision of SEL support—comprises the first chapter. The second chapter provides a description and results of a locally administered needs assessment that evaluate the work of the researcher’s university in preparing PSTs to ameliorate the SEL needs of students from high risk environments. Chapter three provides background and details for a semester-long, four-module course that was offered to PSTs during the fall, 2016 semester, titled Classroom and Individual Emotional and Behavioral Supports (CIEBS). The fourth chapter presents a plan for evaluating the impact of the CIEBS course. After the semester-long CIEBS course, the group-wide data showed significant growth in the efficacy for classroom management and preparedness for dealing with students’ stress among the treatment group, with little observable change among control participants. Analyses of this group-wide data, including case studies for each of the CIEBS course participants are included in the fifth and final chapter