SEL Research
Immordino-Yang et al. (2018).pdfThe Brain Basis for Integrated Social Emotional and Academic Development: How emotions and social relationships drive learning (Immoridino-Yang et al., 2018)
A brain’s neuroplasticity, or ability to prune and reorganize neural connections, is dependent on how a person experiences their world.
Meaning, positive emotions and social relationships drive learning. Physical and physiological safety are paramount.
Teachers and schools can increase sense of belonging, affirm students, reduce the stereotype threat, and provide culturally relevant tasks in the zone of proximal development.
Allbright et al. (2019) - SEL Practices (2).pdfSocial-Emotional Learning Practices: Insights From Outlier Schools (Allbright et al., 2019)
Schools that have better results for BIPOC students incorporate a variety of social emotional learning practices.
Organize human capital, students, schedules to promote positive school climate and relationships.
Use specific strategies like greeting students by name, positive behavior interventions, restorative justice.
Have a coherent school wide strategy.
Some perspectives from the global majority:
SEL without an Anti-Racist lens is proformative. SEL is seeing the humanity in those that are harming us.
How can we center the BIPOC community in SEL? Are you a healer or an accomplice to spirit murder?
Centering Equity and Caring in Leadership for Social-Emotional Learning: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Diverse Learners (Kennedy, 2019)
It is important to critically examine local context to ensure the SEL strategies and curricula reflect the diverse perspectives of the local context.
Specifically, linking racial equity with SEL policies and practices and understanding structural racism and build on assets.
This could include implicit bias training and hiring teachers that reflect the identities of the students.
Ultimately, students need to be seen, valued, and appreciated.
Kennedy (2019) - Centering equity and caring (2).pdf
Transformational Social Emotional Learning: In Pursuit of Equity and Excellence (Jagers et al., 2018)
Identity implies understandings and sensibilities associated with multifaceted personal and social group statuses (often discussed in terms of intersectionality and positionality). It suggests self-reflection and self-respect.
Agency confers the wherewithal to impact positively on this psychological and social reality. It reflects hope and self-direction.
Belonging suggests the sense of connectedness and trust needed to engage in co-constructing an equitable, thriving local community and vibrant civil society. It enhances self-worth.
Collaborative problem solving acknowledges and helps realize the collective rights and responsibilities of full citizenship in local, national, and global community contexts. It is a critical feature of efforts to pursue equity and excellence.
Curiosity reflects the deep need to continuously surface and curate information about oneself in relation to others and the physical world. It prioritizes informed decision making based on open-minded investigation that sparks self-development and careful social analysis.
SEL-and-RACE.Brief_.pdfThe findings of the brief point to the promise of SEL as an integrated component for addressing students’ social and emotional needs, but with an essential caveat: in order to be effective, SEL activities need to integrate anti-racist curriculum as a central component and schools must train and support staff to bring this into their classroom practice. This requires investment and courage on the part of high-level administration to name and address structural racism within their own organizations.
To test a scalable “empathic-mindset” intervention, a 45- to 70-min online exercise was used to refocus middle school teachers on understanding and valuing the perspectives of students and on sustaining positive relationships.
APA 2015.pdfTop 20 Principles from Psychology for PreK-12 Teaching and Learning (American Psychological Association, Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, 2015)
Principle 1 Students’ beliefs or perceptions about intelligence and ability affect their cognitive functioning and learning.
Principle 7 Students’ self-regulation assists learning, and self-regulatory skills can be taught.
Principle 11 Teachers’ expectations about their students affect students’ opportunities to learn, their motivation, and their learning outcomes.
Principle 14 Interpersonal relationships and communication are critical to both the teaching–learning process and the social-emotional development of students.
Principle 15 Emotional well-being influences educational performance, learning, and development.
Principle 17 Effective classroom management is based on (a) setting and communicating high expectations, (b) consistently nurturing positive relationships, and (c) providing a high level of student support.
ATN Guide to Racial and Restorative Justice in.pdfA Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social Emotional Learning
August 2020
Beyond test scores.pdfBeyond test scores: Broader academic consequences of Covid-19 pandemic on American students
September 2023
SEL in the News
Is Social Emotional Learning Effective?: A new meta-analysis adds to evidence, but debate exists. A research update on Social Emotional Learning; schools spend millions on programs despite little hard evidence to show what works. KQED (8/14/2023)
Research: Schools Prioritizing Social-Emotional Learning See Big Academic Gains: A recent study out of the University of Chicago showed high schools that prioritized social- emotional development had double the positive long-term impact on students (graduation rates, college attendance). The biggest predictor of student outcomes in their study was what the students themselves said about their school experience. most effective schools provide a welcoming environment for students, an experience that shapes their later years. How safe students feel — physically, socially, psychologically — how deeply connected they are to others, how much they trust their teachers and their peers matters. The 74 (7/18/2023)
Effective SEL instruction isn’t possible without this key element. Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a critical component of education today, and that’s especially true in the wake of the global pandemic, which has left many students grappling with anxiety, depression, and other social-emotional challenges. While high-quality SEL involves many elements, at its foundation is the need to establish a welcoming and inclusive learning environment for every student. eSchool News (7/17/2023)
SEL, Mentoring, Career Prep: Schools that deliver what parents say they want. Young people have made it clear they want safe environments that support their well-being, and most adults now believe schools should teach a range of practical skills, not just academics and college prep. Students also want more choice over what they learn, and they say they’re most engaged by relevant and customized schoolwork. The 74 (4/12/2023)
Advocates say Social Emotional Learning is one approach to addressing the child mental health crisis. Mental Health advocates say prevention is an equally important part of the conversation. Huston Public Media (3/21/2023).
Racialized Organizations and Social-Emotional Learning Initiatives in Juvenile Court Schools. The findings of the brief point to the promise of SEL as an integrated component for addressing students’ social and emotional needs, but with an essential caveat: in order to be effective, SEL activities need to integrate anti-racist curriculum as a central component and schools must train and support staff to bring this into their classroom practice. This requires investment and courage on the part of high-level administration to name and address structural racism within their own organizations.
SEL is a Trojan horse for Critical Race Theory Indoctrination. Washington Examiner (10/7/2022)
School Culture IS the SEL Program. Forbes (9/26/2022)