Social and Emotional Learning
Social and emotional learning programs develop critical competencies in children. Emotionally competent children are happier and more productive. Schools offer a wonderful opportunity to provide social and emotional education. And schools themselves may benefit from doing so as Jonathan Cohen suggests (2000, p. 5):
In recent years, there has been growing concern that more and more children are distressed, disturbed, and not motivated to learn. We all know that psychological and, too often, physical violence complicate and often derail educators and children's capacity to teach and to learn. . . On a typical school day, over 135,000 students bring weapons to school (Hamburg, 1992; Mott Foundation, 1994). Today, 25% of American 10 to 17 year old children suffer from school adjustment problems, problems that are predictive of later, more serious problems (Dryfoos, 1990). As students move into the adolescence (14 to 17 year olds), recent studies show that 35% of our children engage in high-risk behavior. Between 15 and 22% of our nations youth experience social, emotional and other problems that necessitate mental health treatment. And, approximately 80% of them are not receiving needed services (Dryfoos, 1997). These and related findings about the distressing state of children nationally and internationally have intensified our search for more effective ways by which that we can help our children develop into responsible, caring and healthy individuals.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning is a good source of information and support. For instance, you can find a collection of sample SEL activities and a quick introduction to SEL on their website. CASEL has put forth guidelines for SEL programs (Elias & Weissberg, 2000) that explain the best ways to implement programs at the classroom, school and district levels. They detail the skills that are the focus of SEL efforts. Also of interest is a review of SEL activity in a number of different countries developed by the Marcelino Botin Foundation.
CASEL's Key Skills in Social and Emotional Learning
- Self-Awareness
- Recognizing and naming one's emotions.
- Understanding the reasons and circumstances for feeling as one does.
- Self-Regulation of Emotion
- Verbalizing and coping with anxiety, anger, and depression.
- Controlling impulses, aggression and self-destructive, anti-social behavior.
- Recognizing strengths in and mobilizing positive feelings about self, school, family and support networks.
- Self-Monitoring and Performance
- Focusing on tasks at hand.
- Setting short- and long-term goals.
- Modifying performance in light of feedback.
- Mobilizing positive motivation.
- Activating hope and optimism.
- Working toward optimal performance states, learning how to achieve flow.
- Empathy and Perspective Taking
- Becoming a good listener.
- Increasing empathy and sensitivity to others' feelings.
- Understanding others' perspectives, points of view and feelings.
- Social Skills in Handling Relationships
- Managing emotions in relationships, harmonizing diverse feelings & viewpoints.
- Expressing emotions effectively.
- Exercising assertiveness, leadership, and persuasion.
- Working as part of a team/cooperative learning groups.
- Showing sensitivity to social cues.
- Exercising social decision-making and problem-solving skills.
- Responding constructively to interpersonal conflict.
2008 Meta-Analysis of SEL Programs
Some of the most compelling information supporting SEL comes from findings of the largest, most scientifically rigorous review of research ever done on interventions that promote children’s social and emotional development. This review of more than 700 studies published through 2007 included school, family, and community interventions designed to promote social and emotional skills in children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 18. This large sample of studies was divided into three main areas: studies about (a) school-based interventions, (b) after-school programs, and (c) programs for families.
Results of the school-based research, which included 207 studies of programs involving 288,000 students, is of key relevance here. In this meta-analysis (study of studies), researchers used statistical techniques to summarize the findings across all the studies and found a broad range of benefits for students:
- 9% decrease in conduct problems, such as classroom misbehavior and aggression
- 10% decrease in emotional distress, such as anxiety and depression
- 9% improvement in attitudes about self, others, and school
- 23% improvement in social and emotional skills
- 11% improvement in achievement test scores
More information on the research results is available in a CASEL briefing paper and as an archived teleconference.
Related Videos of Possible Interest
- CNN Segment on Emotional Intelligence
- Classroom Closeup NJ - Peacemakers
- Conflict Resolution at Lewes New School
- Cyberbullying Toolkit for Educators
- Elementary Students Using Their Playground Peace Bridge
- Emotional Intelligence: An Overview
- How to Teach Math as a Social Activity
- In a Responsive Classroom
- Learn & Live: Resolving Conflict at O’Farrell Middle School
- NewsHour segment on the 4Rs Program at Brooklyn’s P.S. 24.
Related Catalog Resources
Below you'll find a randomized listing of up to 20 related items (we may have more...) drawn from our Resource Catalog.
| Resource Title | Description | Links |
|---|---|---|
| What have I done: Victim empathy pack responsibility exercises | 13-page Word document presenting a "new victim empathy resource designed to keep victim awareness high in Restorative Justice practitioner's priorities." Contains a number of exercises about taking responsibility for one's actions and exploring feelings. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Don't Laugh at Me Teachers Guide: Grades 2-5 Creating a Ridicule-Free Classroom | Don't Laugh At Me provides an effective tool for establishing a caring climate in which the emotional and physical abuse children suffer because of peer ridicule, bullying and other asocial behaviors is far less likely to occur. Operation Respect developed the Don't Laugh at Me (DLAM) programs, one for grades 2-5, another for grades 6-8 and a...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Using encouragement | Document which discusses discouraging verbal messages, encouragement and how to teach problem solving skills adapted from Robert J. Mackenzie's book, "Setting limits in the classroom: How to move beyond the classroom dance of discipline." | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Social and emotional learning (SEL) and student benefits | 12-page pdf document brief which "shares the latest research on the effects of social and emotional learning SEL) on students and includes strategies for implementing SEL, it explains how SEL works, elaborates on how SEL can be an integrative prevention framework that addresses the Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) core elements, and spells...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Flirting or hurting?: Teacher guide, grade 6-9 | 9-page PDF teacher's guide which accompanies 3 filmed programs on sexual harrassment, "two of the modules target students, and one targets teachers. Throughout the student programs, the host, an older sister character, provides definitions, explanations and insights based on her own experiences ... the two 15-minute classroom programs include...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Communication for competency | Word document exploring nonverbal and verbal communication with emphasis on direct and indirect language, with exercises. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning School Posters | The Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) materials from the UK Primary National Strategies curriculum provide seven posters for use across the school. They are available for download as pdfs (see attachments in site sidebar). The topics include the following: Feelings detective – understanding my feelings and understanding the...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Needham experience: a district's commitment to social and emotional learning | Powerpoint presentation of the Needham School District's experience with a comprehensive social and emotional learning program. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| 2010-2011 Playworks Playbook | Playworks is a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of children by increasing opportunities for physical activity and safe, meaningful play. The Playbook, a 390-page pdf, provides full descriptions of games and activities appropriate for K-5 school children. They are organized in the following categories:...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Ideas for using emotion cards: Citizenship education for young people with special needs | 5-page pdf document which presents a number of images of different emotional states. The cards can be used with particular lessons or to allow children to show how they feel about specific situations. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Guidelines for personal disclosure (for teachers) | Pdf document that sets forward guidelines (for teachers) for disclosing personal information within the bounds of social and emotional learning programs. Written above title on document: NCIP (National Curriculum Integration Project). | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Positions and interests | Pdf document that describes an exercise in negotiation and problem solving to be used with children in grades 5-8, with a worksheet at end of document. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Positive impact of social and emotional learning kindergarten to eighth grade students, The | 51-page PDF technical report which, "summarizes results from three large-scale reviews of research on the impact of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on elementary and middle-school students — that is, programs that seek to promote various aocial and emotional skills. Collectively the three reviews included 317 studies and involved...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Role play for nonverbal involvement activity | Word document presenting a role play exercise in nonverbal communication. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| SACSC Toward a safe and caring secondary curriculum | Web site developed by the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada whose mission "is to encourage home, school and community practices that teach, model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviors, so that living and learning can take place in a safe, caring and inclusive environment....(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Harmony Island STAR and APE Activity Handouts | This 6-page pdf provides colorful poster and handout examples excerpted from the Teacher's Guide for Harmony Island by Academic Edge, Inc. Harmony Island is a multimedia-enhanced conflict resolution curriculum designed to help learners broaden their understanding of conflicts and develop their conflict resolution skills. Students are introduced to...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Getting to Know You - Classroom Activities for Starting Off the School Year from Morningside Center | As a new school year begins, teachers and students renew relationships after the long summer break, see new faces, and establish their routines for the year. The activities in this packet are designed to help you get the year off to a good start by engaging you and your students in getting to know each other, practicing listening skills, and...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Social emotional learning scenario | Web-based interactive resource which introduces social emotional learning which "refers to knowledge, habits, skills and ideals that are at the heart of a child's academic, personal, social, and civic development ... this type of learning enables individuals to recognize and manage emotions, develop caring and concern for others, make responsible...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Kids Working It Out Resource Appendix | A listing of books, publications and websites provided in the appendix to Tricia S. Jones and Randy O. Compton (Eds.) 2003 book Kids Working It Out: Stories and Strategies for Making Peace in Our Schools. | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
| Social and Emotional Learning and Bullying Prevention | 21-page briefing paper prepared for the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and the Social and Emotional Learning Research Group at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "Schools using a social and emotional learning (SEL) framework...(see more) | Catalog Listing Direct Link to Resource View in Browser |
