Social-Emotional Classroom Composition and the Quality of Classroom Interactions in Urban Elementary Schools

Introduction: Classrooms are dynamic systems, wherein both teachers and students are affected by each other and by the classroom setting. Students’ social-emotional skills may affect teachers’ abilities to maintain an organized classroom and engage students in high-quality emotionally and instructionally supportive interactions (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Jones et al., 2008). Preliminary research has shown that aggregate classroom levels of student aggression are negatively associated with classroom quality (Hoglund et al., 2015; Thomas et al. 2011). The current study builds on these findings by examining the associations between average classroom levels of students’ social-emotional competencies and the quality of classroom interactions in diverse urban elementary schools.

Methods: Data were collected during the winter and late spring of 2016 as part of a randomized controlled trial examining the effects of a social-emotional learning (SEL) program in New York City public elementary schools. Participants included 142 teachers and their 3^rd and 4^th grade students (average classroom consent rate = 70%). Teachers completed online reports on their students’ social competencies (Social Competence Scale; CPPRG, 1999) and aggression (BASC Aggression Subscale; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1998) and students completed self-report surveys on their depression symptoms (BASC Depression Subscale; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1998). The quality of classroom interactions in the domains of Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support were rated by trained observers over an 80-minute period at each time point using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System-Upper Elementary (Pianta et al., 2012).

Results: Hierarchical regression analyses were used to examine the effects of average classroom levels of students’ social competencies, aggression, and depression at time 1 on each CLASS domain at time 2, while controlling for all domains at time 1 and treatment status. Average levels of classroom social competence positively predicted Emotional Support (B = .56, p < .01) and Classroom Organization (B = .47, p < .01). Average levels of classroom aggression negatively predicted Emotional Support (B = -.72, p < .01) and Classroom Organization, (B = -.55, p < .05). Average levels of classroom depression negatively predicted Emotional Support, (B = -1.86, p < .05) and Classroom Organization (B = -1.35, p < .05). None of the composition measures were associated with Instructional Support.

Conclusions: Implications for teacher training and professional development interventions, as well as school policies and practices related to ability tracking, will be discussed.