Teachers' Ideas of a Program for Developing Childrens' Socio-Emotional Skills

Author(s):

Mine Gol-Guven(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2013

Network:

01. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations

Format:

Paper

Session Information

01 SES 02 C, Accountability and Professionalism

Paper Session

Time:

2013-09-10

15:15-16:45

Room:

B-204

Chair:

Lene Ramberg

Contribution

The purpose of this study is to better understand teachers’ perspectives of Lions Quest Program implemented in schools in Turkey and evaluate the programs’ perceived effectiveness by teachers. The program aim is to develop children' socio-emotional skills and create a positive school atmosphere. In order to pass the content of the program and model the classroom practices, teachers attend to a 2 day interactive workshop. Afterwards, the teachers attended to the seminars do not obtain any further support from the program developers. Although the benefits of in-service training for teachers have been generally accepted, the current discussion in the Turkish educational system that it is getting more difficult to convince teachers to participate in the post graduation process for professional development. The study aims to understand the inside and outside factors that affect teachers' perceptions of such programs. Among inside factors, training method, program content, follow-up trainings and further experts' help were asked to the teachers. As outside factors,not related to the training and the program content, parents' SES, parents' role in education, schools' infrastructure and school management were also investigated. By doing so, it was hoped to find out the factors that affect teachers' willingness to participate in such trainings.

Method

Case study methodology was used to investigate the topic. Two schools were chosen based on the information collected by the program coordinators in Turkey. The selection criteria was to implementing the program as a whole school. Observing classrooms and conducting interviews with teachers at the two schools were used to collect data. In the interviews, teachers’ ideas and opinions of the program, its effectiveness, and their practices in the classrooms have been asked. In the classroom observations that have been made by experts, the general atmosphere and the specific program implementations have been attempted to be identified. In general, how teachers perceive the trainings, the program book, and the implementations of the program have been investigated. Indicators of the Orderly Classroom (Golly ve Snead, 2004) to evaluate the classrooms' structural, organizational, and relational qualities was used for classroom observations. The interview questions were developed specifically for this study. The range of questions related to the program content and implemantation, teachers’ ideas about pros and cons of the program, and their opinions on how to improve the program were asked. 18 classrooms were observed for a full day. 13 teachers of those classes, an hour long interviews were conducted.

Expected Outcomes

It has been found that the teachers perceive the training and the program book very helpful and informative. For example, the teachers said that the content and the order of ideas and procedures in the program book were appropriate to the age and developmental level of children. In order to improve the program, the teachers suggested that instead of one shot training approach, continuous support by the program experts might be more helpful and beneficial. Based on the suggestions of the teachers, it can be said that external support from the program developers might increase the positive outcomes of the program. The teachers in both schools seemed to explain positive or problem students’ behaviors on the basis of family background (i.e., SES) and profile. They also stated that if a positive change occurs in behaviors at the end of the semester it is because of children’s becoming more mature. Another reason expressed by the teachers is that children get used to the procedures, routines, and rules in the school so it is adjustment rather than any attempts to develop social and emotional skills by teachers or the program itself.

References

Berkowitz, M. W. (1999). Obstacles to teacher training in character education. Action in Teacher Education, 20 (4), 1-10. Berkowitz, M. W., & Bier, M. C. (2005). What works in character education: A report for policy makers and opinion leaders. (Character Education Partnership). ˂http://www.rucharacter.org/file/practitioners_518.pdf˃ (2012 July 30). Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., & Pachan, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of after-school programs that seek to promote personal and social skills in children and adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45, 294–309. Durlak, J. A., Weissberg R.P., Dymnicki A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of eanhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal intervantions. Child Develeopment, 82 (1), 405-432. Elias, M. J., & Moceri, D. C. (2012). Developing social and emotional aspects of learning: the American experience. Research Papers in Education, DOI: 10.1080/02671522.2012.690243 Golly, A., & Snead, 2004. Indicators of Orderly Classroom (Çev.Sınıf Ortamı Gözlem Ölçeği). Unpublished document. Payton, J., Weissberg, R. P., Durlak, J. A., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., Schellinger,K. B., & Pachan, M. (2008). The positive impact of social and emotional learning for kindergarten to eighth-grade students: Findings from three scientific reviews. Chicago, IL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. Powers, J. D., Bowen, N. K., & Bowen, G. L. (2010). Evidence-based programs in school settings: Barriers and recent advances. Journal of Evidence-based Social Work, 7 (4), 313-331. Quest International. (1995). Report for U.S. Department of Education expert panel on safe, disciplines, and drug-free schools: Lions-quest skills for growing. Newark, OH: Quest. Observational Checklists for Prosocial Behaviors of Elementary School Childen. ˂www.lionsquest.org˃ (2012 February 01). Zins, J. E., & Elias, M. J. (2007). Social and emotional learning: Promoting the development of all students. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 17 (2-3), 233-255.

Author Information

Mine Gol-Guven (presenting / submitting)

Bogazici University

Istanbul

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