Title: The Role of Leadership in Social-Emotional Learning Implementation: Principal and Counselor Practices to Support Social-Emotional Learning
Abstract:This case study of a public school district in the
Northeast United States explores the leadership practices of
elementary and middle school counseling staff and principals in
supporting SEL, using a ...This case study of a public school district in the
Northeast United States explores the leadership practices of
elementary and middle school counseling staff and principals in
supporting SEL, using a distributed leadership framework (Spillane,
2006). Data sources included 24 interviews with administrators,
guidance counselors and social workers and document review.
Findings indicate counseling staff support students and staff in a
variety of ways through both formal and informal leadership
practices. Principals support SEL by establishing SEL programs or
strategies to match the needs of their student population. Two
different models were found for how guidance counselor and social
worker responsibilities are structured. The most common model, in
six of the nine schools, is a tiered model where guidance
counselors work with the majority of students on academic
support/monitoring and delivering SEL lessons. Social workers focus
on smaller numbers of students with more intensive needs. The
second but less common model, in three of the nine schools, does
not differentiate the roles of social workers and guidance
counselors and instead assigns responsibilities by grade level.
Concerns with this second model were raised by some administrators
and several counselors. The quality of peer and administrator
relationships was reported to be supportive and collaborative in
the schools with differentiated roles. In the non-differentiated
schools, it varied, and was related to shifting staff, a
misunderstanding of the role differences, and challenges in
developing collaborative relationships. Recommendations include
assessing support structures to ensure the model adequately
supports the SEL needs of the school.Read More
Publication Year: 2018
Publication Date: 2018-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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