There has been a change in student behavior and social-emotional competence following the isolation, independence, and disjointed nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of our efforts to engage students in learning, many are not emotionally available to participate in or avail themselves of the learning process. Through this study, I connected the potential development of collective teacher efficacy through utilizing a professional learning community (PLC) model, which focused on addressing students' lagging social-emotional skills in the middle school setting. This research aimed to determine if collective efficay and PLCs with a central focus on social-emotional learning could yield growth in such student skills as perseverance and grit, collaboration, and communication. These findings, while inconclusive, provide a glimpse into the potential of this practice and may inform future decisions concerning planning for and prioritizing collaboration and commitment to explicitly instructing social-emotional skill development in adolescent learners. Immediate action must be taken to address our students’ social-emotional needs. This research illuminated the potential of intentional, collaborative practices designed to foster students’ development of social-emotional competency skills. Explicit instruction on the targeted student skills may yield gains in students’ ability to navigate social-emotional challenges, and the impact on collective teacher efficacy is also promising.
","abstract_html":"<p>There has been a change in student behavior and social-emotional competence following the isolation, independence, and disjointed nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of our efforts to engage students in learning, many are not emotionally available to participate in or avail themselves of the learning process. Through this study, I connected the potential development of collective teacher efficacy through utilizing a professional learning community (PLC) model, which focused on addressing students' lagging social-emotional skills in the middle school setting. This research aimed to determine if collective efficay and PLCs with a central focus on social-emotional learning could yield growth in such student skills as perseverance and grit, collaboration, and communication. These findings, while inconclusive, provide a glimpse into the potential of this practice and may inform future decisions concerning planning for and prioritizing collaboration and commitment to explicitly instructing social-emotional skill development in adolescent learners. Immediate action must be taken to address our students’ social-emotional needs. This research illuminated the potential of intentional, collaborative practices designed to foster students’ development of social-emotional competency skills. Explicit instruction on the targeted student skills may yield gains in students’ ability to navigate social-emotional challenges, and the impact on collective teacher efficacy is also promising.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kurtz, Sam"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Geri Chesner"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-04-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-04-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:20Z","subjects":["Collective Efficacy","Professional Learning Communities","PLC","CTE","SEL","Social-Emotional Learning","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/841","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Geri Chesner"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kurtz, Sam"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-07-11T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Collective Efficacy","Professional Learning Communities","PLC","CTE","SEL","Social-Emotional Learning","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/841"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["There has been a change in student behavior and social-emotional competence following the isolation, independence, and disjointed nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of our efforts to engage students in learning, many are not emotionally available to participate in or avail themselves of the learning process. Through this study, I connected the potential development of collective teacher efficacy through utilizing a professional learning community (PLC) model, which focused on addressing students' lagging social-emotional skills in the middle school setting. This research aimed to determine if collective efficay and PLCs with a central focus on social-emotional learning could yield growth in such student skills as perseverance and grit, collaboration, and communication. These findings, while inconclusive, provide a glimpse into the potential of this practice and may inform future decisions concerning planning for and prioritizing collaboration and commitment to explicitly instructing social-emotional skill development in adolescent learners. Immediate action must be taken to address our students’ social-emotional needs. This research illuminated the potential of intentional, collaborative practices designed to foster students’ development of social-emotional competency skills. Explicit instruction on the targeted student skills may yield gains in students’ ability to navigate social-emotional challenges, and the impact on collective teacher efficacy is also promising.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Examining The Influence Of Professional Learning Communities On Grit And Social-Emotional Skill Development In Students And Collective Teacher Efficacy Within A Middle School"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Geri Chesner"],"dc:creator":["Kurtz, Sam"],"dc:date.available":["2024-07-11T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["There has been a change in student behavior and social-emotional competence following the isolation, independence, and disjointed nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of our efforts to engage students in learning, many are not emotionally available to participate in or avail themselves of the learning process. Through this study, I connected the potential development of collective teacher efficacy through utilizing a professional learning community (PLC) model, which focused on addressing students' lagging social-emotional skills in the middle school setting. This research aimed to determine if collective efficay and PLCs with a central focus on social-emotional learning could yield growth in such student skills as perseverance and grit, collaboration, and communication. These findings, while inconclusive, provide a glimpse into the potential of this practice and may inform future decisions concerning planning for and prioritizing collaboration and commitment to explicitly instructing social-emotional skill development in adolescent learners. Immediate action must be taken to address our students’ social-emotional needs. This research illuminated the potential of intentional, collaborative practices designed to foster students’ development of social-emotional competency skills. Explicit instruction on the targeted student skills may yield gains in students’ ability to navigate social-emotional challenges, and the impact on collective teacher efficacy is also promising.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/841"],"dc:subject":["Collective Efficacy","Professional Learning Communities","PLC","CTE","SEL","Social-Emotional Learning","Education"],"dc:title":["Examining The Influence Of Professional Learning Communities On Grit And Social-Emotional Skill Development In Students And Collective Teacher Efficacy Within A Middle School"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:20Z"}