An Examination of a Social and Emotional Learning Program and Implications for Diversity Development Chimille E
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National Louis University Digital Commons@NLU Dissertations 7-2018 An Examination Of A Social And Emotional Learning Program And Implications For Diversity Development Chimille E. Dillard National Louis University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Curriculum and Social Inquiry Commons Recommended Citation Dillard, Chimille E., "An Examination Of A Social And Emotional Learning Program And Implications For Diversity Development" (2018). Dissertations. 323. https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/323 This Dissertation - Public Access is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons@NLU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@NLU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN EXAMINATION OF A SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING PROGRAM AND IMPLICATIONS FOR DIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT Chimille E. Dillard Educational Leadership Doctoral Program Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Doctor of Education In the Foster G. McGaw Graduate School National College of Education National Louis University July, 2018 Document Origination Statement for Digital Commons @ NLU This document was created as one part of the three-part dissertation requirement of the National Louis University (NLU) Educational Leadership (EDL) Doctoral Program. The National Louis Educational Leadership EdD is a professional practice degree program (Shulman et al., 2006). For the dissertation requirement, doctoral candidates are required to plan, research, and implement three major projects, one each year, within their school or district with a focus on professional practice. The three projects are: Program Evaluation Change Leadership Plan Policy Advocacy Document For the Program Evaluation candidates are required to identify and evaluate a program or practice within their school or district. The “program” can be a current initiative; a grant project; a common practice; or a movement. Focused on utilization, the evaluation can be formative, summative, or developmental (Patton, 2008). The candidate must demonstrate how the evaluation directly relates to student learning. In the Change Leadership Plan candidates develop a plan that considers organizational possibilities for renewal. The plan for organizational change may be at the building or district level. It must be related to an area in need of improvement, and have a clear target in mind. The candidate must be able to identify noticeable and feasible differences that should exist as a result of the change plan (Wagner et al., 2006). In the Policy Advocacy Document candidates develop and advocate for a policy at the local, state or national level using reflective practice and research as a means for supporting and promoting reforms in education. Policy advocacy dissertations use critical theory to address moral and ethical issues of policy formation and administrative decision making (i.e., what ought to be). The purpose is to develop reflective, humane and social critics, moral leaders, and competent professionals, guided by a critical practical rational model (Browder, 1995). Works Cited Browder, L.H. (1995). An alternative to the doctoral dissertation: The policy advocacy concept and the policy document. Journal of School Leadership, 5, 40-69. Patton, M. Q. (2008). Utilization-focused evaluation (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Shulman, L.S., Golde, C.M., Bueschel, A.C., & Garabedian, K.J. (2006). Reclaiming education’s doctorates: A critique and a proposal. Educational Researcher, 35(3), 25-32. Wagner, T., et al. (2006). Change leadership: A practical guide to transforming our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 6.20.16 Copyright by Chimille E. Dillard, 2018 All rights reserved Acknowledgements I thank my daughters, Kamille and Kennedy, for their continued and undying support when I was in class on weekends and working long nights. They were my rocks throughout this entire process. Both of you gave me what I needed to make it through this doctoral process. I love you unconditionally. Thank you to Kevin for his support during my final months of this process. Thank you to my dissertation chair, Dr. Sandra Stringer, for all the meetings, virtual conferences, updates, revisions, suggestions, advice, and support. I also want to thank Dr. Harrington Gibson for his time, energy, and professional and educational perspectives and insights. Finally, I would like to thank my cohort colleagues for the support, discussions, perspectives, and laughter. A special thank you goes out to my “brother”, Dr. Lawrence T. Cook, for talking me into earning my doctorate. This work is dedicated with love to my heartbeats, Kamille Briana and Kennedy Marina. I love you both to the moon and back! ABSTRACT This paper evaluated the Second Step program used by the Galaxy school district and many of the surrounding school districts in the area as the sole social and emotional learning program for elementary and middle/junior high school students. Research was conducted to discover whether or not the Second Step program addressed the social and emotional skills students need when encountering racial and gender-diverse issues in their everyday lives. Both quantitative and qualitative methods (such as surveys; interviews with teachers, social workers, and administrators; and classroom observations) were used when collecting data throughout the research. It was concluded that the Second Step program does not explore the social and emotional skills needed to address White privilege and how it impacts student’s ability to interact in racial and gender-diverse settings. Additionally, the program stakeholders do not believe the objectives of the program explicitly address diversity issues. Since the Second Step program does not have lessons that explicitly focus on gender diversity and/or racial issues, it is impossible for the delivery of the Second Step program to meet the social and emotional skills students need to implement when in racially and/or gender-diverse settings. iv PREFACE Key lessons learned in year one of my coursework were a) the lack of equitable education for all students, b) evaluating the effectiveness of a program, and c) the importance of taking a professional risk to help students. Throughout the year, an emphasis was placed on the importance of talking about race in order to understand the cultural differences of minority students when analyzing the achievement gap. To learn at high levels, access and supports need to be in place for all students. Additionally, professional development and proper training should be provided for teachers. Patton’s (2008) research about primary uses of program evaluation findings explained that judgment of a program can inform and support major decision-making in a school district and “determine the value and future of the program” (p. 140). As the instructional leaders, administrators are compelled to use and analyze data (qualitative and/or quantitative), when evaluating a program and suggesting programmatic changes. Communicating with and engaging all stakeholders during the evaluation of a program garners buy-in and cultivates support when decisions or changes are recommended. The most valuable lesson learned during year one of this coursework was the importance of taking a professional risk supported by data to help students, even if the risk is not popular. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………..iv PREFACE……………………………………………………………………………...v LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………....vi SECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION.………………………………………………....1 Purpose…………………………………………………………..………….....1 Rationale………………………………………………………..…….……….4 Goals………………………………………………………………..…………8 Research Questions …………………………………………………………...9 SECTION TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE…………………………………….10 Illinois State Board of Education Social and Emotional Learning Standards…………………………..………………………………………….10 Elements of a Social and Emotional Learning Program/Curriculum ………...12 Racial and Gender Diversity Issues in the Curriculum…..…………………...14 White Privilege…………..…………………………………………………...17 Proximity…………….……………………………………….……………....21 vi SECTION THREE: METHODOLOGY.……………………………………………..23 Research Design Overview.…………….…………………………………….23 Participants………………………...…………………………………..……...24 Data Gathering Techniques...…………………………………………………25 Interviews…………………………………………………………......26 Surveys……………………………………………………………......26 Classroom Observations..…………………………………………......27 Data Analysis Techniques...……...…………………………………………...28 SECTION FOUR: FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS………………………...30 Findings...……...…………………………….………………………………..30 Online Survey Data...……...……………………………………….....31 Open-ended Survey Data...……...…………………………………....35 Administrator Interviews...……...…………………………………....40 Social Worker Interviews...……...…………………………………...42 Classroom Teacher Interviews...……...……………………………...44 Classroom Observations...……...…………………..………………...46 Interpretations...……...……………………………………………………….46 SECTION FIVE: JUDGMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………51 Judgments(s) ...……........................………………………………………….51 Recommendation(s) ...……...……………….………………………………..52 REFERENCES................................……...…………………………………………..55 vii APPENDICES APPENDIX A: Interview Questions...……...…………………………………60 APPENDIX B: Administrator Interviews...……...……………………………62 APPENDIX C: Social Worker Interviews...……...……………………………66 APPENDIX D: Classroom Teacher Interviews...……...………………………69 APPENDIX E: