Educators' implementation and use of social and emotional learning early in the COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has had multifaceted effects on students, their families, and the educators who support their learning. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most notable changes for schools was the sudden move to distance learning-an unprecedented disruption to academic, social, and emotional instruction. Social and emotional learning (SEL) skills play an important role in human development by supporting academic success and overall well-being, including skills for effectively coping with stressors such as those imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on previous work, we created the Crisis Response Educator SEL Survey (CRESS) to examine predictors of SEL implementation during the pandemic. Structural equation models (SEMs) were used to predict: (a) educators' reported challenges implementing SEL during distance learning; (b) educator SEL implementation with students and use of social and emotional (SE) strategies for themselves; and (c) educator self-judgment and emotional exhaustion. Predictors included school/district guidance to support SEL, school/district support of educator SE needs, and the priority on SEL for the school and the educator. Our sample consisted of 219 educators committed to SEL who reported on their experience with SEL during distance learning toward the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Findings suggest that school/district support of educator SE needs predicts lower levels of challenge implementing SEL during distance learning and lower levels of educator burnout and self-judgment, whereas greater school/district guidance to support SEL was associated with more SEL implementation with students and more educator use of SE strategies for themselves. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).