Abstract
Investing in and promoting educators’ own SEL can improve student outcomes. However, few teacher preparation programs include opportunities for building Adult SEL capacity in their curricula (Schonert-Reichl, 2017), leaving gaps in educators’ knowledge and skills related to SEL implementation. Therefore, in-service education is needed. In this paper, we explore changes in perceptions of support and Adult SEL capacities among PK-12 educators who completed a credit-bearing university extension course focused on SEL. We used mixed effects models to assess changes in scale means between pre-course and post-course survey responses. There was strong improvement from pre- to post-course (p<.001) in support received and SEL capacities, posited requisites for successful SEL implementation. Exploratory analyses illustrate the possibility that university extension courses could have a role in improving teacher well-being. Overall, results point to the potential of universities as partners in advancing social and emotional learning to improve adult– and student– well-being, engagement, and performance.