Teacher Education and Social and Emotional Learning and the Cycle of Violence in Colombia

• In Event: 25.051 - Applied Moral Problems in Globalized Current Societies

Abstract

We define character as the complex group of psychological characteristics that motivate and enable a person to do good in the world or, in other words, act as a moral agent. The development of these characteristics is especially urgent in societies where antisocial behaviors such as aggression are learned at early ages, and from and within hostile environments.

Despite the relevance of supporting future teachers so they are prepared to effectively foster character development and be positive role models for their students, these aspects are often disregarded in teacher education programs. A study was designed to address this gap by designing, implementing, and evaluating a course for future teachers in Colombia intended to promote their own social and emotional competencies, as well as their classroom management knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs, with the assumption that teachers without such characteristics will be less likely to model pro-social behavior and to effectively foster the development of pro-social character in their students.

The course is comprised of 12 lessons and includes three main components. The first component focuses on the development of future teachers’ social and emotional competencies. The second component covers different classroom management approaches and strategies to address challenging situations (e.g., bullying and classroom disruptions) and promote positive relationships inside the classroom. The third component is based on mindfulness practices inside and outside the classroom.

The curriculum was administered to undergraduate students who are enrolled in two types of teacher education programs in Colombia: a university in Bogotá and a “normal school” (a school specifically for training future teachers) in a rural area. Students who were interested in the course were assigned to the intervention group (n=30), which took the course during Spring of 2016, or the wait-list control group (n=34), who will take the course during Fall of 2016.

A pre-test questionnaire with open-ended and close-ended questions was conducted in early 2016, one to three weeks before the first session of the course. The same questionnaire was conducted again after the intervention. In addition, data from videotaped classroom simulations and discussions, researcher’s weekly journal entries, students’ weekly journal entries, and interviews were collected.

By the time of the AERA conference, results regarding the following research questions will be available: Does the intervention have an impact on future teachers’ self-reported social and emotional competencies, self-perceived well-being, and self-reported classroom management knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes and beliefs? What changes in additional unexpected outcomes can be identified from the open-ended qualitative data?

The assumption underlying this study is that enhancing future teachers’ motives and skills to model and promote moral and socio-emotional growth will contribute to stopping the cycle of violence in Colombia. If teachers are prepared to effectively implement character education initiatives and create trusting and caring classroom communities, children will learn peaceful ways of coexisting with others rather than perpetuating the aggressive behaviors they observe in their society. Implications of the study’s results on teacher education programs and the cycle of violence in Colombia will be discussed.

Authors

• Andrea Bustamante, University of Missouri - St. Louis

• Marvin W. Berkowitz, University of Missouri-St. Louis