Teacher Social-Emotional Skills Mitigate Middle School Students' Adjustment Declines During the School Year

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Five
  In Roundtable Session: Social and Emotional Learning as Pedagogies to Support Care, Belonging, Agency, and Empathy (Table 17)

Abstract

Middle school students’ academic motivation and social adjustment tend to decline across the school year. This study addressed whether changes in students’ perceptions (N = 351) of their relationship with their teacher and the extent to which their teachers promoted respect could mitigate within-year declines in students’ adjustment. Students’ teachers had participated in a year-long pilot intervention intended to boost their social-emotional competencies and promote students’ prosocial behavior. Results indicated when students perceived improved relationship quality and greater promotion of respect from their teacher over the school year, they reported higher engagement, prosocial behavior, and belonging at the end of the school year. Boys experienced greater within-year declines than girls and benefited most from observing positive changes in their teacher.

Authors

• Nicole Brass, University of Missouri
  Presenting Author

• Christi Crosby Bergin, University of Missouri
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sara L Prewett, Aperture Education
  Non-Presenting Author

• Chad Allen Rose, University of Missouri
  Non-Presenting Author

• Christopher D. Slaten, University of Missouri
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tracey Kenyon Milarsky, University of Missouri
  Non-Presenting Author