Parent and Guardian Involvement in a Students Social Emotional Learning Experience
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify whether or not parents and guardians have a substantial amount of access to materials in order to support their child’s at home Social Emotional Learning experience. Compared to studies conducted in past years, more recently professionals have found students in the classroom today have higher emotional needs that are affecting their abilities to learn and socialize with teachers and peers (Jones, 2017). After reviewing the literature, the researcher found there to be a lacking about of information on how to implement a SEL curriculum into the home setting. It should be noted that although the researcher discovered within the literature that the majority of SEL programs offer some form of consistent at home work that can be completed with a parent or guardian, there was an evident amount of lacking information on how classroom teachers should transfer the information into the home setting. After this gap in the literature was discovered, the researcher then found the purpose to their study.
The overarching question for this research project was: What information and training do parents receive to support and extend social-emotional learning at home?. Through the use of online surveying parents and guardians and interviewing classroom teachers, the researcher was able to come to some conclusions to why there was a lack in the literature. The researcher concluded that although both classroom teachers and parents and guardians were able to identify there was a lack of SEL material being sent to the home setting, neither party of participants could further expand on how to close this gap at a personal level. Once the researcher was able to develop this conclusion, they then spent time analyzing the data to look for limitations, implications, and make recommendations for future studies.
"Social Emotional Learning is how we develop our identities as learners and as individuals"
- Dr. Lauren J. Bierbaum
"Their (teachers) beliefs about SEL likely influence program delivery, evaluation, and outcomes "
- Brackett (2012)
Key Quotes From The Research
“As children move through the elementary grades, there is an increased need for a focus on planning, organizing, and goal-setting, as well as attention to empathy, social awareness, and perspective-taking as children develop an increased capacity for understanding the needs and feelings of others”
- Jones 2017
“... school leaders set the tone for a positive school climate. This involves how staff collaborate and develop professionally while cultivating and modeling their own social and emotional competence.”