What Does the Research Say? - CASEL (2024)

FAQs

What does the research say demand for SEL is on the rise and it is easy to see why SEL makes a difference? ›

Demand for SEL is on the rise, and it is easy to see why: SEL makes a difference. The benefits of social and emotional learning (SEL) are well-researched, with evidence demonstrating that an education that promotes SEL yields positive results for students, adults, and school communities.

This Theory of Action from the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is structured around four key elements: 1) building the foundation and plan; 2) strengthening adult competencies and capacity; 3) promoting SEL for students; and 4) using data for continuous improvement.

The CASEL 5 addresses five broad and interrelated areas of competence and highlights examples for each: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

CASEL's mission is to help make evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) an integral part of education from preschool through high school.

But schools have seen a backlash against SEL in recent months. Some experts say the use of jargon and the lack of a specific explanation of SEL's content and purpose is one reason for parent anger and misunderstanding.

First, claims that SEL is “evidence-based” have been vastly oversold. Second, SEL has become an ideologically charged enterprise. Third, the data collection involved in SEL implementation poses major risks to the privacy of students and families.

CASEL identifies high-quality evidence-based programs as those that are well-designed to systematically promote students' social and emotional competence, provide opportunities for practice, offer multi-year programming, and provide high-quality training and ongoing implementation support.

Evidence-based SEL programs are grounded in research and principles of child and adolescent development, and are scientifically evaluated and shown to produce positive student outcomes. Adopting an evidence-based program is one of the key strategies for providing consistent SEL opportunities for all students.

James Comer and his colleagues at Yale University's Child Study Center began a program to put their ideas about supporting the “whole child” into practice at two schools in New Haven, Connecticut.

The following descriptions of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) are from CASEL. They address five broad, interrelated areas of competence and provide examples for each: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

What are the 5 keys to SEL? ›

communication, engagement/charisma, delegation, respect.

SEL is beneficial to both children and adults, increasing self-awareness, academic achievement, and positive behaviors both in and out of the classroom. From an academic standpoint, students who participated in SEL programs saw an 11 percentile increase in their overall grades and better attendance.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) helps improve kids' academic performance, curtail bullying, reduce dropout rates, and build character. Well-implemented SEL programs positively affect students' success in school.

That is why social and emotional learning (SEL) is important—because it can help create educational opportunities and environments that promote learning and practicing social, emotional, and academic skills, all of which are fundamental to healthy human development.

What is Trauma-Informed SEL? Trauma-informed SEL is an approach to fostering youths' social-emotional development with practices that support all students, but is particularly inclusive and responsive to the needs of children and youth who have experienced trauma.

Through self-reflection and social awareness, SEL helps teach skills needed to connect across race, class, culture, language, gender identity, sexual orientation, learning needs and age.

But about that name, social-emotional learning. It was ranked second to last out of 12 different terms related to SEL, coming only above soft skills. The favorite term, by a long shot, was life skills.

SEL ignores spiritual, physical, and societal well-being. It doesn't encourage students to learn outdoors in nature and become stewards of the environment. It has nothing to say about physical fitness. Nor does it address young people's spiritual hunger to feel part of something greater than themselves.

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Is an Integral Part of Creating a Trauma-Informed Learning Environment. As a part of a trauma-informed learning environment, SEL can: Support self-regulation, coping skills, and other protective factors critical to mitigating the negative impacts of trauma. Promote resiliency.

Do parents support SEL? ›

Through supportive relationships and home environments, families model and practice SEL with their children. As experts in their children's development, interests, cultures, and strengths, families are also important advocates for SEL at their child's school.

CASEL – The Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning leads the Collaborating District Initiative (CDI). The CDI is funded by NoVo Foundation and the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust and involves the American Institutes for Research (AIR) as an external evaluator.

In 2011, CASEL took an unprecedented step: an initiative to study and scale high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) in complex school systems.

Although similar, SEL and PBIS have considerable differences. For starters, SEL focuses more on long-term emotional gains, while PBIS focuses on rewarding behaviors in the moment. SEL focuses on teaching competencies, while PBIS is more about implementing the actual process through systems, data, and processes.

To help clarify what integration means, the authors provide a taxonomy of SEL-academic integration that includes four categories: explicit skill alignment, explicit strategy alignment, ways of interacting, and ways of being.

What does EBP mean in practice? Evidence-based practice is a process that involves five distinct steps which we call the five 'A's: Ask, Access, Appraise, Apply, Audit.

Florida rejected many of the math textbooks on the grounds that it had social emotional learning or references to critical race theory.

Maurice Elias, the Director of the Social-Emotional & Character Development Lab at Rutgers University and the “Godfather of SEL,” about the importance of sustainability when it comes to social emotional learning.

Aaliyah A.

Samuel is the President and CEO of CASEL and Senior Fellow, Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child. Dr. Samuel is a bilingual executive leader with expertise from early childhood through higher education. Dr.

What are the 3 pillars of SEL? ›

Three Pillars: Culture, Adult Skills, Curriculum. A culture where social emotional learning can thrive is one that provides a safe and healthy place for children to learn and grow.

Where can SEL be taught and practiced? Our framework takes a systemic approach that emphasizes the importance of establishing equitable learning environments and coordinating practices across four key settings: classrooms, schools, homes, and communities.

7 Mindsets is a web-based program that teaches students the skills needed to master social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies. The 7 Mindsets are Everything Is Possible, Passion First, We Are Connected, 100% Accountable, Attitude of Gratitude, Live to Give, and The Time Is Now.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success. People with strong social-emotional skills are better able to cope with everyday challenges and benefit academically, professionally, and socially.

The five SEL competencies (self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision making, social awareness, and relationship skills), are vital to the teaching and understanding of social and emotional learning at school.

On the right are the core leader competencies you'll read about in this section—leading, developing, and achieving.

The 3 Competency Categories

Competencies fall into three main categories: Core, Cross-functional and Functional. All are important, but there is a hierarchy.

Do you know what they are? Communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity are considered the four c's and are all skills that are needed in order to succeed in today's world.

Samuel emphasized that effective SEL programs are integrated throughout schools and districts. Key characteristics include explicit SEL instruction as well as SEL integrated into the curriculum, supportive discipline, a focus on adult SEL as well as the students, and partnerships with the family and the community.

How does SEL impact mental health? ›

Social and emotional learning helps to support student mental health needs by fostering a sense of safety and security, building positive relationships with others, and providing equitable support to learning. The combined impact, according to CASEL, is a strengthened school community.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is sometimes described as the leading skill in social-emotional learning. CASEL defines it as the ability to “understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.”

SEL leads to improved academic outcomes and behaviors

When students have supportive relationships and opportunities to develop and practice social, emotional, and cognitive skills across many different contexts, academic learning accelerates.

SEL helps students acquire the skills to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) helps improve kids' academic performance, curtail bullying, reduce dropout rates, and build character. Well-implemented SEL programs positively affect students' success in school.

SEL is beneficial to both children and adults, increasing self-awareness, academic achievement, and positive behaviors both in and out of the classroom. From an academic standpoint, students who participated in SEL programs saw an 11 percentile increase in their overall grades and better attendance.

SEL can help students better understand and identify their emotions; it can help them develop empathy, increase self-control and manage stress. It also helps them build better relationships and interpersonal skills that will serve them in school and beyond, helping them succeed as adults.

Social Studies is enhanced when it is intentional about developing social and emotional learning (SEL) core competencies. organized to develop community service skills, which give students opportunities to practice communication, assertiveness, conflict resolution, and problem-solving.

What are some potential barriers to SEL implementation? ›

A recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) identifies five of these barriers: poverty, exclusionary discipline practices and policies in school, lack of trauma-informed practices, implicit bias and educator stress and burnout.

Studies in both SEL and school climate show: When students feel a sense of belonging and community, their ability to accept feedback and persevere in the face of challenge improves. A positive school climate is correlated with higher academic achievement, and even better health outcomes for students.

Give Teachers the Responsibility to Teach SEL: It is important that teachers, rather than counselors or support staff, take the lead on delivering explicit SEL instruction.

Social and Emotional Learning—SEL. Emotions can facilitate or impede children's academic engagement, commitment, and ultimate school success since relationships and emotional processes affect how and what we learn.