Program

Teaching M.A.

Year Approved

2022

First Advisor

Strand, Chuck

Second Reader

Jan Mrozinski;

Abstract

ABSTRACT Schools today see a high number of students who are at-risk and have special needs, and the number is at a steady increase. This creates a unique challenge for regular education teachers, special education teachers, support staff, administrators, and policymakers. A significant amount of time, energy, and resources are spent on managing behavior concerns that arise from students' lack of social training. Lack of social skills interferes with students' abilities to benefit maximally from their education. From this researcher's experience, these skills are not usually modeled in the students’ homes. There is a great need to develop productive programs which increase positive social interactions to help reduce some of the negative issues that youth, whether they have special needs or not, are automatically predisposed to in everyday life due to a lack of social skills and knowledge. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in the classroom allows youth to learn and fine-tune their social skills in a real-life setting. Thus, this thesis focuses on SEL programs and their effectiveness.

Degree Name

Teaching M.A.

Document Type

Masterʼs thesis

Share

COinS