Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Fall 2022
Abstract
This action research was inspired by the researcher’s own district and classroom. The district has core values and competencies under their mission and vision that include excellence in SEL instruction district wide. The district focuses on teaching the SEL competences and SEL standards to help students graduate and show success in life. Based on classroom observations, the researcher hypothesized that children taught socio-economic skills would display more positive behaviors and greater motivation to complete classroom tasks. The participants in this six-week study included 20 kindergarten students, ages four through six. During the week prior to the intervention, data was tracked over blurting, physical aggression, following directions, and work completion. The next four weeks consisted of instruction around SEL skills using the Second Step curriculum and resources created by teachers in the district. The intervention was intentional on covering the four areas: blurting, physical aggression, following directions, and work completion. To finish the study, data was tracked for one-week post intervention. The study found that adding an SEL intervention into a kindergarten classroom improves the performance of academics and behavior inside the classroom.