Why Social and Emotional Learning Is Essential for Students
Schools today are becoming increasingly multicultural and multilingual, with students coming from a wide range of social and economic circumstances. Students are served by educators and community organisations who have varying levels of motivation for participating in learning, behaving positively, and performing academically. Social and emotional learning (SEL) serves as a foundation for students’ ability to learn in a safe and positive environment, and it improves their ability to succeed in school, in careers, and in life.
5 Crucial Elements of a Successful SEL
Create a wheel-like diagram with Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning as the centre and Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making as the spokes branching out from it. Curriculum and instruction in the classroom; school climate; and P
Image courtesy of http://secondaryguide.casel.org/casel-secondary-guide.pdf (case Secondary Guide). (To see a larger version of this image, click here.)
Students’ achievement is improved by an average of 11 percentile points, according to research, and prosocial behaviours (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy) are increased. SEL also improves students’ attitudes toward school and reduces depression and stress among students (Durlak et al., 2011). To be effective, social and emotional learning programming must be implemented in a coordinated manner across the classroom, school, family, and community to assist students in developing the following five key skills:
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Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the ability to recognise and understand one’s feelings, personal goals, and values. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations, having positive mindsets, and having a strong sense of self-efficacy and optimism that is based on solid evidence and reasoning. Having a high level of self-awareness necessitates the ability to recognise the connections between one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Self-Management
Self-management necessitates the development of abilities and attitudes that make it easier to regulate one’s own emotions and behaviours. Among these abilities is the ability to delay gratification, manage stress, control impulses, and persevere through difficulties to achieve personal and educational objectives.
Social Awareness
Social awareness is defined as the ability to comprehend, empathise with, and feel compassion for people from a variety of different backgrounds or cultures. It also entails understanding social norms for behaviour and recognising the resources and supports available from family, school, and the community.
Relationship Skills
Building and maintaining healthy and rewarding relationships, as well as acting by social norms, are all skills that students learn as they progress through school. These abilities include the ability to communicate clearly, to listen actively, to cooperate, to resist inappropriate social pressure, to negotiate conflict constructively, and to seek assistance when assistance is required.
Responsible Decision Making
Learning to make responsible decisions involves developing the ability to make constructive decisions about one’s behaviour and social interactions in a variety of situations. It necessitates the ability to consider ethical standards, safety concerns, accurate behavioural norms for risky behaviours, the health and well-being of oneself and others, as well as the ability to make realistic assessments of the consequences of different actions.
Students learn social and emotional skills at school, which is one of the most important places where they can learn them. To be effective, an SEL programme should incorporate four components, which are represented by the acronym SAFE (Durlak et al., 2010). These components are:
The Short- and Long-Term Benefits of SEL
Sequenced: a series of activities that are connected and coordinated to promote skill development.
Students’ ability to master new skills is enhanced through active learning methods.
Concentrated: the emphasis is on developing personal and social skills.
Targeting specific social and emotional skills is stated explicitly.
Beneficial Effects of SEL in the Short and Long Term
Students are more successful in school and their daily lives when they do the following:
They are aware of and capable of managing themselves
Understand the points of view of others to communicate effectively with them
Decide on sound personal and social decisions promptly.
Some of the short-term student outcomes that are promoted by SEL programmes include the development of social and emotional skills (Durlak et al., 2011; Farrington et al., 2012; Sklad et al., 2012). Among the other advantages are:
More positive attitudes toward oneself, others, and tasks, such as increased self-efficacy, confidence, perseverance, empathy, connection to and commitment to school, and a sense of purpose, are associated with higher achievement.
Positive social behaviours and relationships with peers and adults are more likely to occur.
Reduced instances of misbehaviour and risk-taking behaviour
Emotional distress has been reduced.
Test scores, grades, and attendance have all improved.
Increasing one’s social and emotional competence over time can improve one’s chances of graduating from high school and being prepared for postsecondary education, as well as the likelihood of having a successful career, having positive family and work relationships, having better mental health, having less criminal behaviour, and being an active citizen (e.g., Hawkins, Kosterman, Catalano, Hill, & Abbott, 2008; Jones, Greenberg, & Crowley, 2015).
Building SEL Skills in the Classroom
Developing Social and Emotional Learning Skills in the Classroom
Promoting social and emotional development in classrooms for all students entails teaching and modelling social and emotional skills, providing opportunities for students to practise and hone those skills, and providing students with opportunities to apply those skills in a variety of settings.
An approach that has become increasingly popular in social and emotional learning (SEL) involves training teachers to deliver explicit lessons that teach social and emotional skills, followed by identifying opportunities for students to reinforce their use throughout the day. Another curricular approach incorporates social and emotional learning (SEL) into content areas such as English language arts, social studies, and mathematics (Jones & Bouffard, 2012; Merrell & Gueldner, 2010; Yoder, 2013; Zins et al., 2004). From preschool through high school, there are a variety of research-based social-emotional learning (SEL) programmes that help students improve their competence and behaviour in developmentally appropriate ways (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, 2013, 2015).
Additionally, through their interpersonal and student-centred instructional interactions with students throughout the school day, teachers can naturally foster skills in students. When adult-student interactions result in positive student-teacher relationships, enable teachers to model social-emotional competencies for students, and promote student engagement, they promote social-emotional learning (SEL) (Williford & Sanger Wolcott, 2015). Student engagement in the educational process is enhanced by teacher practices that provide emotional support to students and provide opportunities for students to express themselves, exercise their autonomy, and gain mastery of a skill.
How Schools Can Support SEL
At the school level, SEL strategies are typically implemented in the form of policies, practices, or structures that are concerned with school climate and student support services (Meyers et al., in press). Students’ academic, behavioural, and mental health outcomes are positively influenced by safe and positive school climates and cultures (Thapa, Cohen, Guffey, and Higgins-D’Alessandro, 2013; Cohen et al., 2013). Students and staff members benefit from schoolwide activities and policies that promote positive school environments. Examples of such activities and policies include the formation of a team to address building climate issues, adult modelling of social and emotional competence, and the development of clear norms, values, and expectations for students and staff members
More effective than strictly behavioural methods that rely on reward or punishment, fair and equitable discipline policies and bullying prevention practises are fair and equitable discipline policies and practises (Bear et al., 2015). Using structures such as regularly scheduled morning meetings or advisories that provide students with opportunities to connect, school leaders can plan activities that help students develop positive relationships and a sense of belonging among themselves.
Integration into multi-tiered systems of support is a critical component of schoolwide social and emotional learning. Professionals such as counsellors, social workers, and psychologists need to coordinate their services with the efforts of the entire school community in the classroom and throughout the building. Student support professionals frequently reinforce and supplement classroom-based instruction for students who require early intervention or more intensive treatment, which is done in small groups.
Building Family and Community Partnerships
When it comes to extending learning into the home and community, family and community partnerships can enhance the impact of school-based approaches. The efforts of classroom teachers and school administrators can be added if members of the community and organisations work together to provide students with additional opportunities to refine and apply various social and emotional skills (Catalano et al., 2004).
Student participation in after-school activities also provides opportunities for them to make connections with caring adults and their peers (Gullotta, 2015). They provide an excellent environment for young people to learn and apply new skills and personal talents. According to research, after-school programmes that focus on social and emotional development can significantly improve students’ self-perceptions, school connectedness, positive social behaviours, school grades, and achievement test scores, while simultaneously reducing problem behaviours and increasing problem behaviours (Durlak et al., 2010).
SEL can be promoted in a variety of settings other than the classroom. As early childhood is when social and emotional learning begins, the importance of family and early childcare settings cannot be overstated (Bierman & Motamedi, 2015). Higher education settings have the potential to promote social and emotional learning as well (Conley, 2015).