Poster #26 - The Interplay between Teachers’ Beliefs on Emotions, Equity, and Stress: Implications for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

• In Event: Poster Session 12

Abstract

Over the past decades, the practice of social-emotional learning (SEL) has been steadily adopted by school systems across the nation (Hoffman, 2009). Teachers are often positioned as the primary implementers of SEL programs and are critical for the success and longevity of these programs (Durlak et al., 2011). Despite a growing body of scholarship highlighting the relevance of teachers' racial attitudes and work-related stress for students' achievement in traditional academic domains (e.g., Chin et al., 2020; Ready & Wright, 2011), relatively little attention has been paid to how preschool educators' racial ideologies and stress may relate to their SEL instruction. The current study explores the interaction between emotion, equity, and stress beliefs by applying an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach (Figure 1). Survey measures capturing teachers' beliefs about emotions, racial equity, and work-related stress were administered to a cohort of 83 Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) and Transitional-Kindergarten (T-K) teachers (49% AAPI, 13% Latinx, 9% Black, 22% White; 83% Female) participating in a larger study evaluating the effectiveness of a preschool SEL curriculum. The Teachers' Beliefs about Children's Emotions (TBACE; Halberstad et al., 2013) measure is comprised of three subscales: (1) Cost of Positivity (e.g., "when children are too happy, they can get out of control"); (2) Value of Anger (e.g., "it is useful for children to feel angry sometimes ); and (3) Manipulation (e.g., "children often cry just to get attention"). The Racism and Inequity Beliefs (RIB; Legette et al., 2021) questionnaire assesses teachers' beliefs about racial inequities across four subscales: (1) American Dream (e.g., "racial minorities can achieve anything if they work hard); (2) Post-racial (e.g., "racial discrimination is rare in America"); (3) Cultural Deficit (e.g., "racial minorities use racial discrimination as an excuse to hide laziness"); and (4) Schooling Inequity (e.g., "teachers treat students differently based on race"). The Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI) captures perceived stress across two subscales: Personal/Professional Stressors (e.g., "the pace of the school day is too fast"); and (2) Student-related Stressors (e.g., "I feel frustrated having to monitor student behavior"; Fimian, 1984). Significant correlations were found between all RIB subscales and the manipulation and cost of positivity TBACE subscales, such that greater racial inequity beliefs were linked with negative perceptions of children's emotions. Additionally, the TSI student-related stressors subscale was significantly positively correlated with the TBACE value of anger subscale (Table 1). This association suggests that teachers that report higher levels of student-related stress were more likely to diminish the value of children expressing anger. To further explore the interplay between these beliefs and their impact on SEL practice, we will conduct semi-structured qualitative interviews with a subset of teachers. Collecting and integrating these diverse forms of evidence will provide a more comprehensive view of teacher SEL beliefs, mindsets, and practices. Additionally, this work will generate relevant knowledge that school systems and policymakers can employ to better support teachers and meet the SEL needs of all students.

Authors

• Javier Omar, Stanford University
  Presenting Author

• Lily Steyer, Stanford University

• Jelena Obradovic, Stanford University