Degree Date

7-2018

Document Type

Dissertation - Public Access

Degree Name

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

Academic Discipline

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Sandra Stringer

Second Advisor

Dr. Harrington Gibson

Abstract

This paper evaluated the Second Step program used by the Galaxy school district and many of the surrounding school districts in the area as the sole social and emotional learning program for elementary and middle/junior high school students. Research was conducted to discover whether or not the Second Step program addressed the social and emotional skills students need when encountering racial and gender-diverse issues in their everyday lives. Both quantitative and qualitative methods (such as surveys; interviews with teachers, social workers, and administrators; and classroom observations) were used when collecting data throughout the research. It was concluded that the Second Step program does not explore the social and emotional skills needed to address White privilege and how it impacts student’s ability to interact in racial and gender-diverse settings. Additionally, the program stakeholders do not believe the objectives of the program explicitly address diversity issues. Since the Second Step program does not have lessons that explicitly focus on gender diversity and/or racial issues, it is impossible for the delivery of the Second Step program to meet the social and emotional skills students need to implement when in racially and/or gender-diverse settings.

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