Julia Leider defends dissertation in education at College of Saint Elizabeth

Julia Leider, of Florham Park, N.J., successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in education (Ed.D.) from the College of Saint Elizabeth on October 27, 2016.

“I enjoyed studying at CSE,” says Leider. “I think the professors I had were excellent. I especially loved their servant leadership focus, which is why I continued at CSE after I earned my master’s there.”

The title of her dissertation is Social and Emotional Learning: an Investigation of Understandings and Practices at a New Jersey High School. The focus of her study was to assess teachers’ awareness of social and emotional learning and determine the extent to which they are teaching and utilizing these concepts in their classrooms. She identified the fundamental factors that encourage or discourage them from changing their instructional practices to incorporate social and emotional learning.

Leider received a Bachelor of Arts from Montclair State University, where she majored in English and minored in psychology. She began her educational career teaching English at Watchung Hills Regional High School in Warren, N.J. Leider earned a Master of Arts in Education from the College of Saint Elizabeth in 2008 and earned a certificate as a social and emotional learning specialist from the Academy for Social and Emotional Learning at CSE. She also earned Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards as an exceptional needs specialist, birth-21. Leider teaches at Columbia High School in Maplewood-South Orange, N.J., school district.