Exploring the Lived Experiences of Public-School Elementary Principals and Social Emotional Learning: A Phenomenological Study

Principals lack training and understanding of social-emotional learning (SEL) to feel confident in leading SEL initiatives on their school campuses. This study's purpose was to explore elementary school principals' lived experiences in California's Central Valley. A qualitative phenomenological methodology was implemented to achieve this goal. The study included 11 participants from a purposeful, criterion sample in semi-structured individual interviews and one focus group that included six participants. Upon approval from the Northcentral University Institutional Review Board (IRB), I began to conduct interviews and a focus group. Both data collections were gathered, transcribed, sent to each participant for review of the accuracy, and then manually coded to determine the results. The study produced multiple findings derived from one central question and two sub-questions. To explain the results of the findings, the constructivism theory was used. The results showed that there is a broad understanding of what principals' understandings are and none of the participants referenced adult SEL in their understanding. Their understanding was focused on student social-emotional learning. Furthermore, the results showed that relationship skills were identified as the most important social-emotional competency for a school site leader among the participants. Lastly, principals identified more training and support are needed to better understand SEL and support for adults and students on their campus. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]