The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the relationship between elementary school teachers' perception of emotional intelligence and their beliefs towards Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Teacher participants completed two self-report surveys: the Assessing Emotion Scale to measure perceived emotional intelligence and the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Scale for Teachers to measure beliefs related to comfort with, culture of, and school culture regarding SEL instruction. The research found a significant correlation between teacher emotional intelligence and comfort with implementation of SEL. Additionally, the experience of professional development and desire for more professional development emerged as themes in teacher responses. As a result, recommendations for educational policy and school leaders to support pre-service and in-service teachers regarding development of teacher emotional intelligence as well as teaching methods to support SEL instruction in the elementary classroom were provided. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]