Equitable Learning Environments for High School Students of Color: Perceptions of School-Based Educators on using Transformative Social-Emotional Learning

Background: The academic achievement gap between students of color and White students continues to exist and persist despite over fifty years of interventions at the national, state, and local levels. However, researchers are now beginning to frame the academic achievement gap as a gap in opportunity, citing non-academic factors such as race, socioeconomic status, language, and family background as factors that greatly influence student performance. This shift in thinking has schools asking what they can do differently to improve the academic performance of their most vulnerable student populations. Transformative social-emotional learning (TSEL) is a concept within education that seeks to address non-academic disparities such as those experienced by low-income students of color. Rather than isolate the problem by looking solely at achievement levels, TSEL demands that educators look at the systems that create and perpetuate opportunity gaps. Purpose: This study aimed to assess educator perceptions about transformative SEL in Region 4 schools. The study sought to answer five questions: 1) What are the current perceptions of school-based educators on transformative social-emotional learning? Specifically, how do school-based educators a) characterize their sense of belonging on the campuses where they are employed? and b) assess their level of cultural competence? 2) How do school-based educator self-assessments on sense of belonging and cultural competence compare based on variables including gender, race, level of education, job type, years of experience, and school type? 3) What are the current perceptions and practices of classroom-based educators as related to the following concepts of transformative social-emotional learning: 1) Awareness of Diverse Ethnic/Racial Identities and Experiences, 2) Acknowledging and Addressing Racial Injustice, and 3) Supporting Students' Agency, Voice, and Power? 4) How do the perceptions of classroom-based educators on 1) Awareness of Diverse Ethnic/Racial Identities and Experiences, 2) Acknowledging and Addressing Racial Injustice, and 3) Supporting Students' Agency, Voice, and Power compare based on variables including gender, race, level of education, years of experience, and school type? and 5) What are the perceptions of school-based educators on the implementation of social-emotional learning on their respective campuses? Method: This mixed-methods study surveyed school-based educators who work in schools serving any combination of grade levels 9-12 within Region 4. A researcher-developed survey collected responses from 90 educators using multiple choice, Likert-scale, and open-ended questions. The analysis used descriptive statistics to summarize the multiple-choice and Likert-scale survey responses for research questions one and three. For research questions two and four, the researcher used an independent samples t-test, as well as an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to see the variance of survey responses between school-based educator gender, race, level of education, job type, years of experience, and school type. For research question five, the researcher analyzed the open-ended question responses using content analysis to determine the presence of certain words, themes, or concepts within the responses to question stimuli. Results: For the quantitative analyses, the study revealed significant differences between the school-based educator's sense of belonging survey domain mean scores and school-based educator's level of education, years of experience, and job type. However, for the remaining four survey domains significant, no findings were found. For the qualitative analysis, themes that repeatedly arose in participant responses included the implementation, structure, and support of SEL (Social-emotional Learning), quality training for adults, and training on the topics of transformative social-emotional learning, student and adult self-awareness, and relationship skills. Conclusion: Transformative social-emotional learning acknowledges the non-academic, sociocultural challenges often faced by students of color in academic settings. While there are limited options for evidence based TSEL programs that schools can utilize for students, this is only half the problem. Prior to implementing any such initiative, schools must secure staff support, and orient staff around the initiative. For TSEL, this study represents an accessible and replicable method schools can use to begin the work.