obtaining a degree.

obtaining a degree.

Paragraphs Drafts to Week 6 Assignment

The importance of Social-Emotional Learning as a first year doctoral student

Introduction

As a first year doctoral student, supporting your quality of life is important and contributes to your overall success in completing the program and obtaining a degree. Often time’s self-care is overlooked and student focus goes towards academics. They find it very hard to find free-time to interact with other people. This leaves very little room for entertainment or relaxation. A lack of relaxation can lead to stress, anxiety, and even depression. Researchers have found that doctoral student attrition is linked to two main factors, stress and feelings of social isolation (Jairam, & Kahl, 2012)

Using socio-emotional skills to provide self-care in the first year of a doctoral program increases student success (Rogers-Shaw, & Carr-Chellman, 2018). Applying socio-emotional skills towards academic studies can help a student understand how to effectively manage their emotions and apply them towards setting obtainable goals. According to Rogers-Shaw and Carr-Chellman there are five fundamental socio-emotional skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Learning to use these skills during the first year of doctoral studies can assist in creating and maintaining supporting relationships that will ultimately lead to success in the program. Having social support during your entire doctoral experience is vital in completing your degree. Relationships that are developed using socio-emotional learning provide the doctoral student with the foundation to achieve success (Rogers-Shaw, & Carr-Chellman, 2018).

The research findings suggest that using socio-emotional skills during the first year of a doctoral program will increase the student’s chances of succeeding. According to the evidence, the use of SEL to develop social relationships can provide the student with the support they need to be successful in a doctoral program. The research does have a barrier as it only reflects on the data collected from first year doctoral studies. In order to provide a broader more robust study, 2nd and 3rd year students should be included in the study as well.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as a first year doctoral student, supporting your quality of life is important. Building new relationships and nurturing existing ones has the potential to boost student success. Having social support during your first year as a doctoral student is vital in completing your degree and has the potential to contribute to your overall success.

Reference

Jairam, D., & Kahl, D. (2012). Navigating the doctoral experience: The role of social support in successful degree completion. Retrieved from http://ijds.org/Volume7/IJDSv7p311-329Jairam0369.pdf

Rogers-Shaw, C., & Carr-Chellman, D. (2018). Developing care and socio-emotional learning in first year doctoral students: Building capacity for success. Retrieved from http://ijds.org/Volume13/IJDSv13p233-252Shaw4423.pdf