"Adults Are Emotional Beings Too": A Caring Approach to Implementing Social Emotional Learning

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Principals' and Teachers' Perceptions of Social and Emotional Learning Practices and Classroom Evaluations

Abstract

Grounded in the assumption that principals play a critical role in the implementation of state and federal policies, this paper explores one Washington state principal’s implementation of an SEL initiative in her school. This paper adopts a cognitive lens coupled with Smylie, Murphy, and Louis’ (2016) caring school leadership model to examine the ways in which one principal understood and implemented SEL in her school. The analysis elucidates the ideas the principal has and how she adapts SEL to fit within her context. Implications include how policymakers and school districts message policies to local implementers and potential frameworks to assist in the implementation of social emotional learning initiatives.

Author

• James Lamar Foster, University of Washington - Seattle