COVID-19 school closures and school-based social and emotional learning programmes: impacts on social and emotional functioning for teachers and children

This thesis consists of two distinct papers; one investigating children’s social and emotional functioning in the context of the COVID-19 school closures; and the other examining the impact of social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes on teachers’ and children’s self-efficacy. The first paper of this thesis, a narrative systematic literature review, investigates the effectiveness of school-based SEL programmes on children’s and teachers’ self-efficacy. Data were insufficient to ascertain conclusive results, and findings indicate a gap in the research in this area. The second paper of this thesis, a quantitative empirical study, investigates the impact of the COVID-19 school closures on the social and emotional functioning of primary school children. Key findings were that the most impactful predictors of positive social and emotional functioning were spending quality time with parents, having siblings to play with, and playing outside with friends.