First Advisor

Bardos, Achilles N.

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

5-2018

Abstract

A teacher’s behavior management style has particular implications for those students who encounter difficulties due to social-emotional concerns. This study explored the relationship between teacher candidates’ perceived psychological wellness, behavior management skills, and mental health literacy. Four previously developed surveys were used to acquire information on these perceptions from undergraduate and graduate teacher candidates enrolled in a student teaching experience. Surveys were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, and convergent validity was examined between a newly developed wellness survey and a well-established wellness survey. The personal experiences of teacher candidates with social-emotional concerns and those of their close friends and family members were also surveyed. A statistically significant relationship was found between teacher candidates who have personally experienced and/or sought help for social-emotional concerns and their behavior management skills. Findings have implications for educator preparation programs, teacher candidates, students with socialemotional concerns, and school psychologists. The results of this study add to the body of literature that calls for an increase in wellness and social-emotional emphasis in teacher preparation programs. It also provides evidence to suggest a link between a teacher’s social-emotional history and their functioning in the classroom.

Extent

174 pages

Local Identifiers

Leeper_unco_0161D_10644

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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