Gallery Presentation International Positive Psychology Association 7th IPPA World Congress 2021

Teachers First: The Role of Teacher Wellbeing in a Social Emotional Learning Program (#366)

Allison L Williams 1 , Diana Betz 1 , Jaimi Cabrera 1 , Anne Wallace 1
  1. Beech Acres Parenting Center, CIncinnati, OH, United States

The Character EffectTM (TCE) is a universal social-emotional learning program for grades K-6, developing students’ character strengths and mindfulness to support building social-emotional learning (SEL) skills that translate into long-term success. Students in school-based SEL interventions demonstrate significant benefits, including increased academic performance, graduation rates, and positive/prosocial behaviors (Taylor et al., 2017). TCE program outcomes show around 75% of students with at-risk SEL scores demonstrate improvements.

Social-emotional wellbeing starts with teachers. Research demonstrates that teacher efficacy and wellbeing have positive associations with improved classroom quality and student academics (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Zee & Koomen, 2016).  Consequently, core components of TCE are teacher professional development and coaching (PD+C) focused on teacher efficacy and wellbeing.

The purpose of these analyses was to determine what combination of student and teacher characteristics best predict whether students SEL scores increased during the school year. Student characteristics were standardized testing, behavioral indicators, and demographics. Teacher characteristics were total time at PD+C events, number of PD+C events, teacher efficacy, teacher stress, and number of years taught.

We ran a series of mixed effect logistic regression models, varying in their inclusion of different student and teacher characteristics, that predicted whether or not students showed improved SEL scores at the end of the school year. The model best predicting SEL score improvement included only teacher characteristics. Significant predictors of student SEL improvement were total PD+C time (OR=.98), number of PD+C events (OR=1.66), teacher baseline efficacy (OR=11.70), teacher baseline stress (OR=.41), and change in teacher efficacy (OR=116.38).

Students with teachers who felt increased efficacy over the school year were 116 times more likely to show improved SEL scores than students with teachers who did not. These results highlight the importance of teacher PD+C in supporting their own wellbeing and development, as well as that of their students. 

  1. Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to student and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491-525.
  2. Taylor, R. D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Promoting positive youth development through school‐based social and emotional learning interventions: A meta‐analysis of follow‐up effects. Child Development, 88(4), 1156-1171.
  3. Zee, M., & Koomen, H. M. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 981-1015.
  • Keywords: Coping and Emotion Regulation, Education, Positive emotions