ÃÛÌÒÊÓƵ

Doctoral Dissertation Defense
of
Joseph Renard Dismond

For the degree of

Doctor of Education
Interprofessional Leadership

How Students of Color Frame the Importance of Social Emotional Learning in One Urban Afterschool Program

July 31, 2025

How Students of Color Frame the Importance of Social Emotional Learning in One Urban Afterschool Program

The purpose of this study was to investigate how urban, Black students perceived and benefitted from participating in a social emotional learning-based, afterschool program located at Woodhill Homes, a public housing community, in Cleveland, Ohio. Two of the five key components of SEL examined were controlling one’s emotions and building relationships with teachers. Included in the study were semi-structured interviews with student-participants to analyze their thoughts about where they lived and attended school, to gain a better understanding of what they valued in terms of their education and their lives. Parents were also interviewed to gain insight into their own education while exploring how parents felt their children should express themselves and control emotions. Findings from the interviews with student-participants revealed that youth who found satisfaction where they lived developed friendships and a sense of community, enjoyed attending school, and built close relationships with their teachers. Student-participants who did not enjoy living in their neighborhood described it as an impoverished community, they did not enjoy attending school, their relationships with teachers were viewed as negative, and youth described the lack of school resources and strict, punitive disciplinary measures for minor student infractions. This research is important because it allows teachers, administrators, social workers, researchers, policy makers, and all educational practitioners to better understand how SEL and afterschool programming can be utilized for underserved students socially and academically, specifically urban youth who live in impoverished neighborhoods and attend under resourced schools.