Abstract:

Social and emotional learning (SEL) refers to the constituents of both social and emotional competence which correspond to the elements of emotional expressiveness; understanding of emotion; regulation of emotion and behavior; social problem solving; and social and relationship skills. For almost 60 years, educators, researchers, policymakers and organizations, had put a spotlight on SEL. Today, an extensive array of comprehensive and coordinated SEL curricula is offered to educators to support their practices and teaching skills for nurturing K-12 learner’s social and emotional competencies. However, as warm and supportive teacher–child relationships are mainly derived from teachers’ own social-emotional competence and well-being, a question exists concerning how these curricula effect the teachers personally in these aspects.

In early childhood the development of social and emotional domains is crucial as it is central to both concurrent and later children’s ability to obtain school readiness, adjustment and success, interact and form relationships with others, and cultivate mental health. In general, SEL can be promoted by parents, educators, and preventionists, but as young children spend a large amount of time in preschool settings, preschool teachers serve as prominent caregivers to them and play an essential part in creating a positive climate in the classroom in which SEL can prosper. In Israel, several SEL curricula is offered to preschool teachers to support their practices and teaching skills however, their evidence-based practices are scarce. This study investigates the contribution of a specific SEL preschool continuing education program (‘Hacoach Lifroach’ – ‘The power to bloom’, in Hebrew) to teachers’ personal social-emotional competence and well-being, and their perceptions regarding practicable professional development in these domains.

Qualitative research tools (semi-structured interviews and final reflective writing) were used with 18 preschool teachers who enrolled in the preschool continuing education program of ‘Hacoach Lifroach’ during the years 2017-2018. All interviews and final reflective writing were analyzed by using thematic analysis yielding three categories indicating a significant change in teachers’ personal and professional social-emotional competence and well-being following their experience in the program.

This study shows that specific preschool continuing education program (‘Hacoach Lifroach’) can lead to changes in teachers’ personal social-emotional competence and well-being, and their perceptions regarding practicable professional development in these domains.

More significantly, while most SEL curricula highlight teachers’ teaching practices that instill social-emotional skills in students, findings of this study indicate that curricula should highlight teachers’ espousal of value-based approach that bootstrap learners’ experience of self-growth and self-perception and foster positive education climate in preschool class. While the findings are promising, they reflect a specific SEL curriculum (the preschool continuing education program of ‘Hacoach Lifroach’), hence may be specific to the ideas, concepts and principles of this program.

Keywords:

Social and emotional learning (SEL), preschool, continuing education program.