There is a growing awareness among educators that schools don’t go far enough in developing our young children and teens. There has always been an emphasis on academics along with athletics and performing arts. But children are more than their combined skill set. They have feelings, emotions, relationships, ambitions, fears, learning issues, and insecurities. These impact learning as well.
The movement today in education is toward understanding the whole child, the whole student. Schools are being asked to broaden their approach beyond academic work and support social and emotional development, too.
Researchers say all these aspects are deeply intertwined and are central to learning. They also point out that students have a sense of purpose and belonging. They have goals in life and will face challenges beyond academics.
Those who can develop their sense of purpose and belonging, set and meet goals, overcome challenges, and become adept at literacy, using numbers, and grasping scientific concepts are the ones who are more likely to reach their full potential.
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process by which students acquire and apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
SEL enhances students’ capacity to integrate their skills, attitudes, and behaviors so they can deal effectively with daily tasks and challenges.
SEL Beyond the Classroom, Into the Community
Beyond the classroom, social-emotional learning prepares students for tomorrow’s workforce, giving them the tools for successful careers. SEL prepares employees to solve work-based problems, manage emotions, and communicate effectively.
The effort to educate the whole child is a daunting one and it does take a village. Teachers have not been prepared to deal with SEL on their own. They need special training and peer support. Colleges are not prepared to teach the teachers how to deal with SEL needs and solutions. Federal, state, and local administrations do not understand the issue fully nor do they provide adequate guidelines or funding.
But there are some organizations that are taking a leadership position in making SEL a top priority in our schools. One of them is a Chicago-based organization, CASEL.
CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) is a growing organization with the mission to help make evidence-based SEL an integral part of primary and secondary education. CASEL provides research to create evidence for developing, synthesizing and disseminating information that documents the impact of social and emotional learning.
The organization demonstrates what is possible in classrooms, schools, and communities that focus on SEL, implementing and refining quality SEL in school districts and creating tools and resources that can be used by other school systems.
CASEL is also helping to develop country-wide state and federal policies on SEL by developing practices that are scalable and sustainable across the U.S.
The organization guides curriculum choices in classrooms,leads efforts for staffing and professional development with an SEL focus and drives school-wide practices and policies. It promotes the interaction of adults and students at all levels and creates a climate of learning and caring.
Core SEL Competencies Are Essential to Success in School, Life
CASEL has developed an integrated framework that promotes intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive competence for students. It promotes five core competencies that can be taught in many ways and in different environments like classrooms, homes, school districts, and communities.
Self-awareness is the ability to recognize one’s own emotions, values, and thoughts and how they influence behavior. It includes knowing one’s strengths and limitations and includes the development of self-confidence.
Self-management is the ability to regulate one’s emotions and behaviors in different situations and manage stress, control impulses, and motivate oneself. It includes goal-setting and organizational skills.
Social awareness is the ability to empathize with and have respect for others with diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Relationship skills are the ability to listen to others, communicate well, cooperate, negotiate, engage socially, be team-oriented, and build relationships.
Responsible decision-making is the ability to identify problems, analyze solutions, solve problems, and make good decisions about personal behavior and social interactions based on social norms, safety concerns, and ethical standards.
Importance of Teacher Participation in SEL
Teachers need to know more than curriculum management to teach SEL skills. They need to be able to recognize the characteristics that define SEL dysfunction and know how to provide the direction and support required.
Teachers also need time to spend with other teachers and collaborate with each other to support one another, share ideas, and develop a camaraderie that leads to their own social and emotional growth.
Teachers need to have guided practice so they can learn to recognize the messages they are sending students and how to model positive social and emotional behaviors. This modeling can help all students, not just those with behavioral needs or history of trauma. This strategy promotes equity in the classroom.
To be successful, the strategy needs to include other members of “the village.” It should incorporate school officials and a school climate that understands and supports the importance of SEL.
The school district should focus on SEL as well as academic development at its level and influence the policies and practices at the school level.
It should include family engagement with direct parent involvement. And it should include an interested community with partnerships that further the efforts of educators to make schools SEL inclusive.
Integrating SEL Into College
Colleges today offer courses in subject area mastery and basic teaching methods. But they seldom incorporate the integration of SEL with traditional learning techniques, even in advanced degree programs
Those colleges and collaboratives that seek to train teachers to meet the holistic needs of children with SEL issues should provide teachers with the knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to integrate SEL and academics. And they should provide guided practice.
Communities and companies have an interest, too. SEL skills matter across all cultures, including the characteristics of positive behavior, respect for other beliefs, social acceptance, and self-reliance.
SEL Skills, Strengths in the Workplace
In the workplace, SEL skills can lead to job attainment, career advancement, and civic engagement. Since these skills can be taught to all students, they bring value to their companies when they join a workforce.
Having learned empathy, they can be great at customer service. With impulse control, they can react calmly to pressure situations.Through emotional control, they can deal with family or company disputes or emergencies.
Through better communications, they can better listen, focus, and share their ideas. Problem-solving and assertiveness can put them at the head of important projects.
The importance of SEL training reaches many spheres of life. It isn’t just for students with learning issues. It is for everyone. It makes everyone more capable and contributes significantly to self-image and the potential for success throughout life’s adventures.
