Collaborative Process in a Race-Infused Social and Emotional Learning Training for Preservice Teachers and School Social Workers

• In Event: Interrogating Assimilationist Education and Co-Constructing the Preservice Classroom

Abstract

Teachers and school social workers are key personnel in delivering social and emotional learning (SEL) in school, however there is a lack of collaboration in both training and professional practice in terms of SEL. Although cultural diversity is discussed in the curricula of both school professions, there has not been a specific focus concerning the impact of on SEL. It seems that neither school profession has a deep understanding of how students’ race and class are critical in supporting their students’ social and emotional competence. This qualitative study will explore the collaboration process between preservice teachers and school social workers during a race infused SEL training program.
Transformative SEL reframes the five core SEL competencies (self- awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship building, and responsible decision-making) to center equity and excellence (CASEL, 2020). It critically and systematically addresses issues of power, privilege, inequality, and race/ethnicity as factors impacting the positive development of children and adults, and equitable learning environments (Humphries & McKay-Jackson, 2022). The focus on adult SEL is critical for transformative SEL to be embedded in schools (Jagers et al., 2021). Systemic, school wide SEL implementation, requires SEL practices to be incorporated in all elements of the school and cannot be siloed in the work of school social workers and counselors. Teachers and school social workers must work collaboratively for systemic transformative SEL.
This qualitative study utilized purposive sampling to recruit preservice urban elementary education and school social work students. Students had to be currently interning in a K-12 school setting to participate in this study. Nine student interns (four school social work and five elementary education) participated in this study. All but one of the interns identified as women. Participants identified as Asian (n=1), African American (n=1), Latina (n=1) and White (n=6). Interns were in the last year of their programs and were being prepared to work in a large, urban public school district serving an overwhelmingly African American and Latinx student population.
The authors developed a six-session race infused SEL training followed by a post-training focus group. The foci of the training was to raise interns’ social consciousness about: 1) pervasive racial and socioeconomic inequalities within education and its impact on learning; 2) address how SEL and a positive racial identity impact positive student outcomes; 3) how to facilitate meaningful activities and projects which support social emotional development and positive racial identity; and 4) how to work collaboratively.
Preliminary findings from the content analysis indicated that both preservice interns valued cross-professional knowledge. They understood the importance of collaborating but had no real conception of what collaboration looked like or how to achieve it. Interns had a skewed understanding of the professional work that supported SEL in their classrooms and the school. Adult SEL training rarely interrogates issues of race and equity (Humphries & McKay-Jackson, 2022) which was evident in the current training program. There will be a further examination of the collaborative process as it related to race and SEL in the training process.

Authors

• Marisha L. Humphries, University of Illinois at Chicago
  Presenting Author

• Cassandra McKay-Jackson, University of Illinois at Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author