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www.PNWBOCES.org/CurriculumMatters
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Teachers using the RULER approach are expected “to model the effective regulation of a range of emotions and to deliver emotion-related content through the teaching of a sophisticated feeling words vocabulary” (Brackett, et al., 2012, pp. 230-231). The RULER framework emphasizes the need to target adults’ SEL competencies in the first year of its implementation before using its resources with students. Marc Brackett, founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and developer of the RULER framework notes, “RULER starts with shifting adults’ mindsets about emotions, followed by training on explicit skills—building educators’ own emotion vocabulary and enhancing their emotion-regulation skills” (Bracket, 2018).
that are linked to positive student outcomes. The importance of nurturing such relationships is often neglected in teachereducation programs, often assuming that these skills are already developed in staff that seek to have careers in classrooms with children. Relationships can be particularly complex in diverse school districts where teachers may be working with students from significantly different cultural and social-economic backgrounds. Educators’ ability to understand their students’ cultural norms and cues, albeit complex, are essential in building a healthy rapport with students (Benn, 2018). With this reality in mind, the Anchors of Emotional Intelligence through the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence provides a framework by which schools nurture and support a healthy school climate, providing students with the tools to recognize and regulate their emotions and thus, improve student behavior in a school building. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence touts its framework as an evidence-based approach for integrating social and emotional learning into schools through its RULER model. The demonstration of pro-social skills through a RULER approach, an acronym that teaches students to recognize, understand, label, express and regulate individual emotions, is rooted in research and provides specific resources to help support students’ emotional intelligence (EI).
Thus, a positive impression of an SEL program along with a belief that the program will provide the teacher with practical skills to support their daily work with students is critical for a successful implementation. Unfortunately, research on the impact of SEL increasing staff’s EI is limited. Only one study has been conducted indicating a positive impact that prevention and SEL programs have on teachers’ EI. Domitrovich et al. (2016) conducted a study assessing the impact of two prevention programs—one with an SEL component. Findings suggested that an SEL program can have a positive impact on teachers’ beliefs and perceptions (Domitrovich, et al., 2016). Nonetheless, research has shown 22