Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Educational Leadership and Policy
First Advisor
Sheldon Loman
Term of Graduation
Summer 2026
Date of Publication
8-20-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership: Special and Counselor Education
Department
Special Education
Language
English
Subjects
Elementary Education, Social Emotional Learning
Physical Description
1 online resource (vii, 177 pages)
Abstract
Our current world context has witnessed us recovering from the throes of a worldwide viral pandemic of the novel coronavirus dubbed COVID-19. Previous stay at home orders have affected schooling as we know it. Schools have returned from online learning known as Comprehensive Distance Learning. This shift in schooling impacted student social emotional regulation. Teachers and parents are currently reporting student behavior challenges including work refusal, difficulty maintaining attention to task, expressed feelings of loneliness, and longing for previous routines.
Through a descriptive exploratory qualitative research design, this study aimed to investigate the following research questions: How has social emotional learning changed at a semi-rural Pacific Northwest elementary school level during the global pandemic of 2020-2022? How did kindergarten through 5th grade elementary students' social emotional needs change during this time and in this setting? How have social emotional curriculum implementation plans changed during the 2020-2022 pandemic at the elementary school level?
The study first consisted of three surveys - one for teachers, one for families, and one for students consisting of Likert scale and open-ended questions regarding their perspectives of student social emotional regulation prior to, during CDL, and upon return to in-person learning. These surveys were followed up with a voluntary invitation to interview all participants to gain a deeper understanding of student regulation during CDL and upon return to in-person learning. Lastly, the current social emotional curriculums were analyzed under a curriculum analysis model.
Rights
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Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/45127
Recommended Citation
Ridings Bourg, Maura, "Reimagining Elementary Social Emotional Learning in a Post-Pandemic World" (2026). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 7197.