Many educators believe that developing a sense of community in their schools is necessary for having a vibrant and effective learning environment. Sense of community is a complex social construct with many proponents. Socioemotional learning programs purport to help young students develop emotional skills in order to develop intellectually and academically. The PATHS curriculum (Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies) is a universal prevention program designed to help children understand emotions. The author has attempted to bring together these two bodies of research to explore whether the PATHS curriculum has an effect on emotional outcomes and "sense of community" in a sample of fifth grade students in a rural elementary school. This study indicates that while involvement with the PATHS curriculum appears to have some positive effect on socioemotional outcomes (e.g., aggressive/disruptive behavior, concentration/focus), students' "sense of community" does not appear to be positively affected. The author discusses possible explanations and research limitations, including the relationship to "external and internal motivation," academic achievement, and teacher satisfaction and implementation quality with the curriculum. [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/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]