Conversations, progressions, and perceptions: Examining the student experience of a blended sel program in high schools

ABSTRACT

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), the process of developing and utilizing interpersonal skills for everyday life, has become a primary vehicle for structuring students' social and emotional health in the United States and across the world. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of understanding SEL practices, is increasingly at the forefront of many discussions in education today. Since "non-academic factors" like SEL were added to U.S. education law (ESSA, 2015), the state of Florida has also added two mandates concerning SEL (Florida Senate Bill 7026 The Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Act and FS 1003.42;Rule 6A-1.094121 Curriculum mandate for four hours of SEL as part of mental health education). This has led to the adoption of SEL programming in schools. In 2018, Martin County Public Schools adopted the BASE Education learning program, an SEL approach that aimed to help high school students, identified as at-risk after a discipline infraction, to "learn about and apply psycho-social concepts through supportive, therapeutic dialogue" (MCSD Code of Conduct, Chapter V, 2022, p.18). BASE Education is an online program currently being implemented in all high schools within the Martin County School District. In purchasing BASE for implementation into the disciplinary process and SEL supports, the district projected that BASE Education would increase self-awareness and increase responsible decision making, thus decreasing discipline referrals. This study examines two components of the disciplinary experience of MCSD students (1) The SEL experience of high school students referred to BASE Education intervention programming in the Martin County School District, and (2) How students who have participated in [personalized] BASE Education modules describe the nature of their pathway within the online experience. This study represents the first time that an analysis of the student referral experience data and online SEL intervention experiential pathway program data has been undertaken in Martin County Public Schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)