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Social Emotional Learning Intro

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a vital part of education and human development. SEL is a process through which young people and adults gain and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. Research suggests that an education that promotes social-emotional learning can have a positive impact in a variety of ways, including but not limited to academic performance, healthy relationships, and mental wellness.

source: CASEL. (n.d.). Fundamentals of SEL. Casel.org. https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/

Practical Strategies and Resources

Character Toolkit for Teachers: 100+ Classroom and Whole School Character Education Activities for 5-11 Year Olds (Roberts, Wright, and Kristjansson, 2018)
"This resource sets out advice on how to develop character and encourage wellbeing in pupils aged 5-11."
Character Lab
This resource sets out to provide actionable advice for parents and teachers on character strengths based on science.
From a Nation At Risk to a Nation At Hope: Recommendations from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (Aspen Institute, 2018)
The Aspen Institute National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development was created to engage and energize communities in re-envisioning learning to encompass its social, emotional, and cognitive dimensions so that all children can succeed in school, careers, and life. This culminating report from the nation, to the nation, draws on the input we received over the past two years from conversations, meetings, and site visits across the country, as well as from the members of all these groups.
What Is the CASEL Framework?
CASEL is the leading organization on SEL, and this is their framework (adopted or adapted by many states)
Explore SEL
This site compares and contrasts various SEL frameworks to highlight key SEL skills.
The Executive Function Guidebook: Strategies to Help All Students Achieve Success (Strosnider & Saxton Sharpe, 2019)
"Executive function skills—including self-regulation, focus, planning, and time-management—are essential to student success, but they must be taught and practiced. This unique guidebook provides a flexible seven-step model, incorporating UDL principles and the use of metacognition, for making executive-function training part of your classroom routine at any grade level."

Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Socio-Emotional Education

Researching the Links Between Social-emotional Learning and Intercultural education: strategies for Enacting a Culturally Relevant Teaching (Rodriguez-Izquierdo, 2017)
"This paper examines the links between social-emotional learning (SEL) and intercultural education. The work calls for pedagogical attention to the role of emotions in intercultural education and analyses the role of SEL within the umbrella of intercultural education. It claims that both SEL and intercultural education offer a framework for rethinking and changing curricula, school climates and relationships providing the foundation for quality of education for all."
The Role of Culturally Responsive Social and Emotional Learning in Supporting Refugee Inclusion and Belonging (Bennouna, Brumbaum, McLay, Allaf, Wessells, & Stark, 2021)
"This study seeks to understand the opportunities and challenges that schoolwide social and emotional learning (SEL) efforts may present for supporting refugee incorporation, belonging, and wellbeing... discuss the implications of these findings for systemwide efforts to deliver culturally responsive SEL, emphasize the importance of distinguishing between cultural and structural sources of inequality, and consider how these lessons extend across sectors and disciplinary traditions."
Reflecting on Social Emotional Learning: A Critical Perspective on Trends in the United States (Hoffman, 2009)
"While currently stressing links between SEL and academic achievement, program literature also places emphasis on ideals of caring, community, and diversity. However, recommended practices across programs tend to undermine these ideals by focusing on emotional and behavioral control strategies that privilege individualist models of self."
Do Coping Responses and Racial Identity Promote School Adjustment Among Black Youth? Applying an Equity-Elaborated Social–Emotional Learning Lens (Brown Griffin, Gray, Hope, Metzger, & Henderson, 2020)
"This study examines two equity-elaborated social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies among Black adolescents: coping responses to race-related stress at school (self-management) and racial identity (self-awareness), and their relation to school adjustment (school belonging, school valuing, cognitive strategy use). Findings support the value of using an equity-elaborated lens to understand the role of SEL competencies for Black youth’s school adjustment."
Toward Equity-Oriented Assessment of Social and Emotional Learning: Examining Equivalence of Concepts and Measures (El Mallah, 2020)
"Cultural beliefs, values, and norms influence the frequency and display of behavior. Accordingly, broadening the operational definitions of social and emotional competencies and establishing the equivalence of measures are two necessary steps to ensure that current assessment tools are sensitive to cultural and contextual variations."
Transformative Social and Emotional Learning: Work Notes on an Action Research Agenda (Williams & Jagers, 2020)
"The potential for transformative social and emotional learning (SEL) was conceptualized as a lever in service of equity. This article explains the next steps and working assumptions the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has employed to collectively address the inequities that exist in schools. The proposed research agenda has implications for the continuous improvement of various resources."
“Sometimes I Wish I Was a Girl, ’Cause They Do Shit Like Cry”: An Exploration Into Black Boys’ Thinking About Emotions (Harris, Kruger, & Scott, 2020)
"Social-emotional learning (SEL) is important for academic and social success, yet responsive SEL for Black youth remains underexamined. The current study analyzed focus groups to investigate how Black boys in an urban middle school think about emotion and its regulation."
Teaching the Whole Child: The Importance of Culturally Responsiveness, Community Engagement, and Character Development in High Achieving African American Students (Wiggam and Watson, 2016)
This article discusses teaching the "whole child" through the lens of African American students.
On the Ontological Status of Autism: The ‘Double Empathy Problem’ (Milton, 2012)
An idea that is frequently discussed in the autism community is the "Double Empathy Problem". That's the idea that historically, those who are autistic have been seen as the ones lacking socio-emotional skills because they have trouble communicating with non-autistic people. However, they often communicate well with other people in the autistic community, so another way of seeing it is that autistic and non-autistic people have equal trouble understanding one another and both need to gain skills.
“There’s Still That Window That’s Open”: The Problem With “Grit” (Golden, 2015)
One challenge with socio-emotional learning is the over-emphasis on the individual. "This narrative analysis case study challenges the education reform movement’s fascination with “grit,” the notion that a non-cognitive trait like persistence is at the core of disparate educational outcomes and the answer to our inequitable education system."
Controlling Ourselves: Emotional Intelligence, the Marshmallow Test, and the Inheritance of Race (Staub, 2016)
"A history of Emotional Intelligence (EI) cannot be told apart from a history of race and class in the United States-and this has everything to do with one further dimension of EI and that is the significance to it of the ideal of self-control "
(Un)Standardizing Emotions: An Ethical Critique of Social and Emotional Learning Standards (Clark, Chrisman, & Lewis, 2022)
Our ethical critique of the Ohio K–12 SEL standards and CASEL core competencies demonstrates how benign acquiescence to their expressed assumptions may negatively affect the experiences of multiply-marginalized people in schools. By ignoring racism, ableism, and other oppressions; privileging civility over productive conflict; and focusing on behaviors over emotions, especially when expressed by Black, Brown, dis/abled, and queer people, SEL standards may undermine or erase the critically productive role that emotions have played in movements for social justice.

Social Emotional Learning Books

The SEL Coach by Jennifer E. Rogers
Publication Date: 2022-08-08

Your guide to transforming SEL ideas into actions and practice into process While social-emotional learning (SEL) is regularly identified as a top priority for student well-being and achievement, effective implementation will not happen on its own. The lessons and examples in this book produce coaching competencies and qualities necessary to transform practices into processes, ideas into action plans, and goals into outcomes.
Social-Emotional Learning and the Brain by Marilee Sprenger
Publication Date: 2021-05-30

Offering clear, easy-to-understand explanations of brain activity and dozens of specific strategies for all grade levels, Social-Emotional Learning and the Brain is an essential guide to creating supportive classroom environments and improving outcomes for all our students.
The Social-Emotional Learning Toolbox by Kathy Perez
Publication Date: 2021-11-30

This book shows K-5 teachers how to infuse their existing curriculum and routines with high-quality, evidence-based SEL instruction. Created by a seasoned educator with three decades of experience, this engaging, research-supported guidebook is filled with classroom-tested tips and techniques for teachers who want to begin integrating SEL practices into each part of their school day. You'll learn the fundamentals of designing effective classroom environments and lessons with easy-to-implement, inclusive SEL supports for every student.
The Social Emotional Classroom by Anna-Lisa Mackey; Melissa Ragan
Publication Date: 2022-07-26

Using research from the Theory of Constructed Emotion, the authors highlight the relationship between the new view of neurobiology and Social Emotional Learning. The book connects five key competencies, including self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, and relationship skills, to this new understanding of the brain.
Creating Social and Emotional Learning Environments by Amy Cranston
Publication Date: 2019-07-01

This book defines SEL and digs into the real work of how to incorporate SEL in K-12 schools. It makes the connection between research and practical application and the real-life examples and testimonials of SEL in the classroom will help educators effectively implement SEL programming. Featured case studies demonstrate real-world applications of SEL in different types of K-12 learning environments. It addresses students' different interests and varied learning styles and features Mindful Moments that encourage understanding, learning, and reflection.
Start with Radical Love by Crystal Belle
Publication Date: 2024-01-22

Foster an environment of love and healing within schools In this groundbreaking book, educator, poet, and activist Dr. Crystal Belle challenges traditional educational practices and offers a new approach to teaching rooted in radical love and social justice. Combining research with personal experiences and interviews, Dr. Belle explores the roots and practical application of a social justice education framework grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), heart healing, educator beliefs, and a deep understanding of the structural inequities in education.

Social-Emotional Pathway Resources

Many factors contribute to a students academic performance, including individual characteristics, family dynamics, and neighborhood experiences. But research suggests that, among school-related factors, teachers matter most (Opper, n.d). Teachers have a very significant, lifelong impact on all of their students. This impact involves not only the teaching of particular academic skills but also includes students social emotional development and their experiences as a learner in your classroom. These resources can be used to craft a social-emotional pathway. You also may consider SEL Skills/standards that are an existing part of your school’s curriculum.

source: Opper, I. M. (n.d.). Teachers matter: Understanding teachers' impact on student achievement. RAND. https://www.rand.org/education-and-labor/projects/measuring-teacher-effectiveness/teachers-matter.html#:~:text=Teachers%20matter%20more%20to%20student,and%20family%20and%20neighborhood%20experiences.

SEL Student Screener Gr. 3 - 12
Panorama’s survey helps educators understand student, teacher, and staff perceptions of how supported they feel at school socially and emotionally and their own SEL skill development. The questions are applicable to all types of K-12 school settings—including public, independent, and charter schools—and to communities serving students from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
SEL Teacher Screener for Gr. K - 2
Panorama’s survey helps educators understand student, teacher, and staff perceptions of how supported they feel at school socially and emotionally and their own SEL skill development. The questions are applicable to all types of K-2 school settings—including public, independent, and charter schools—and to communities serving students from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds.
Teacher Perception of Students SEL Screener
Panorama developed this shortened questionnaire to only one or two core questions per topic to allow teachers to reflect on many students’ SEL without survey fatigue.
Social & Learning Skills One-Pager
Casel SEL Standards
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
SEL Policy by State
Today, 27 states have adopted K-12 SEL competencies and all 50 have adopted pre-K SEL competencies. Interested in what your state is doing? Follow this link then click on a state in the interactive map to learn more about SEL policies in that community.

Additional Research

The Appeal(s) of Character Education in Threatening Times: Caring and Critical Democratic Responses (Winton, 2008)
This article promotes "commitments to caring relationships and critical democratic education as socially just alternatives to traditional character education."
Promoting Positive Outcomes Through Strengths Interventions: A Literature Review (Ghielen, Van Woerkom, and Meyers, 2017)
"This paper reviews studies of strengths interventions published between 2011 and 2016."
Effects of a Culturally Adapted Social-Emotional Learning Intervention Program on Students' Mental Health (Cramer & Castro-Olivo, 2015)
This article finds that social-emotional learning interventions had positive effects on students' mental health.
The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions (Durlak, Dymnicki, Taylor, Weissberg, and Schellinger, 2011)
"This article presents findings from a meta-analysis of 213 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) involving 270,034 kindergarten through high school students. Compared to controls, SEL participants demonstrated significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, behavior, and academic performance."
Teaching Moral Character: Two Alternatives for Teacher Education (Narvaez and Lapsley, 2008)
This article argues that teachers can't help but teach values/character, whether implicitly or explicitly.
How Not to Teach Values: A Critical Look at Character Education (Kohn, 1997)
One critique of character education is the question of exactly which values you're teaching. This article is about 20 years old, but has good questions around which values you're teaching and what the ultimate goal is.
Social and Emotional Learning (The Future of Children, 2017)
This journal issue examines the latest SEL research, as of 2017.

Teacher Education

Examining Teacher Dispositions for Evidence of (Transformative) Social and Emotional Competencies with Black Boys: The Case of Three Urban High School Teachers (Warren, Presberry, & Louis, 2020)
"Drawing from a larger study of teacher empathy, this article offers a critical race analysis of three teachers’ dispositions to discern (a) their social and emotional competencies (SEC) and (b) evidence of transformative social and emotional learning (SEL)... Findings illustrate the influence of race, identity, and one’s conceptions of power for determining transformative expressions of teacher participants’ SEC."
Humanizing Student–Teacher Relationships for Black Children: Implications for Teachers’ Social–Emotional Training (Legette, Rogers, & Warren, 2020)
"A growing number of scholars in the field of urban education compellingly demonstrate the myriad ways U.S. schooling for Black youth is dehumanizing. Social and emotional learning (SEL), particularly, transformative social emotional learning (TSEL) has come to the fore as a promising intervention to promote positive inclusive school cultures and relationships while recognizing and accounting for the realities of racial oppression."

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