Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom, Second Edition: Promoting Mental Health and Academic Success

Barbara A. Gueldner, PhD, NCSP, is a psychologist in private practice in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She works with children and families; collaborates with educators, medical professionals, and community agencies; and develops programming and educational materials for professionals and parents. She has worked in schools, a university-based child and family clinic, pediatric primary care clinics, and inpatient medical and psychiatric clinics, and served as Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon. Dr. Gueldner’s research, publications, and community education endeavors focus on social and emotional learning, childhood mental health and prevention, internalizing problems and solutions, and working with adults to facilitate children’s social and emotional development. She is a coauthor of Kenneth W. Merrell’s Strong Kids and Strong Teens social and emotional learning programs.

Laura L. Feuerborn, PhD, NCSP, is Professor in the School of Education at the University of Washington Tacoma. As a core member of the faculty since 2006, she has founded master’s degree study options and graduate-level coursework in social and emotional learning (SEL) and systems change. Dr. Feuerborn’s school and community partnerships, national and international presentations, and teaching expertise are grounded in the field of social, emotional, and behavioral supports. Her research and peer-reviewed publications focus on implementation science, SEL, and supporting school staff in the implementation of schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports. She is a coauthor of Kenneth W. Merrell’s Strong Kids and Strong Teens social and emotional learning programs.

Kenneth W. Merrell, PhD, until his death in 2011, was Professor of School Psychology and Director of the Oregon Resilience Project at the University of Oregon in Eugene. For 25 years, Dr. Merrell’s influential teaching and research focused on social-emotional assessment and intervention for children and adolescents and social-emotional learning in schools. He published over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles; several books and nationally normed assessment instruments; and the Strong Kids programs, a comprehensive social and emotional learning curriculum. Dr. Merrell was a Fellow of the Division of School Psychology (Division 16) and the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Division 53) of the American Psychological Association. He received the Senior Scientist Award from Division 16, the Division’s highest honor for excellence in science.