Welcome to the SEL-in-Action Research Project

This first post is to share some exciting news and to review the next steps in the research process.

The project will explore how Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is enacted and how it has evolved within two schools in Ontario.

Good news!

We have found a school board to work with for this research project. We are incredibly grateful to the board, as we know they receive many research requests each year.

I am really looking forward to working with the members of the board, school principals, and school staff on exploring their experiences with SEL and how they enact social emotional learning within their schools and classrooms.

I hope that through this website and communication, this project will provide a collaborative space to engage in research and reflect the voices and experiences of the school community.

Next Steps

Currently, I am reviewing school board policies and government curriculum documents to understand the broader context in which SEL is enacted. This process is not to explore what should be done, but rather to understand the more nuanced influence that policies and government may have on practice.

The next step (September 2019) will be to recruit two schools within the board. These two schools will each act as their own case study. I hope to visit each school to get a sense of the local context. From there we will move on to interviews with Superintendents, school principals, and school staff to explore their experiences with SEL in practice at the various levels of the school organization.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please feel free to email me at: hwoods@uottawa.ca.

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