The Role of Leadership in Social-Emotional Learning Implementation

Abstract

One mechanism for supporting teachers during the implementation of school and district reform is the provision of professional development. By offering meaningful professional development opportunities, leaders can influence teacher efficacy, thus potentially improving teacher practices. As social-emotional learning (SEL) becomes more prevalent in public schools, it is incumbent upon district and school leaders to understand how professional development opportunities can support teachers during SEL implementation. This qualitative study explores one district’s approach for professional development in the area of SEL, with the goal of understanding how professional development may influence teacher efficacy. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews, and a document review. Findings revealed a variety of professional development activities occurred during SEL implementation. However, district and school leaders, as well as teachers reported their dissatisfaction with these professional development offerings. Without the presence of satisfactory SEL-related professional development, teachers could not relate the influence of the professional development to their efficacy. Teachers described their most meaningful professional development experiences as those including the opportunity to collaborate with each other. Therefore, one recommendation of this study is to increase the amount of collaborative opportunities provided to teachers. In addition, leaders can promote the use of SEL practices through professional development experiences that introduce techniques directly related to teachers’ classrooms and context. This type of professional development also has the potential to increase teacher efficacy.