Social-Emotional Learning

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.

Research confirms and teachers, parents, and principals agree: Social and emotional competencies can be taught, modeled, and practiced and lead to positive student outcomes that are important for success in school and in life.

Decades of research studies demonstrate the following benefits of SEL:

• Improvement in students’ social and emotional skills, attitudes, relationships, academic performance, and perceptions of classroom and school climate
• Decline in students’ anxiety, behavior problems, and substance use
• Long-term improvements in students’ skills, attitudes, prosocial behavior, and academic performance
• Wise financial investment according to cost-benefit research

CASEL’s SEL framework fosters knowledge, skills, and attitudes across five areas of competence and multiple key settings to establish equitable learning environments that advance students’ learning and development. The five core competencies are:

• Self-awareness. The abilities to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.
• Self-management. The abilities to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations. This includes the capacities to delay gratification, manage stress, and feel motivation and agency to accomplish personal and collective goals.
• Socially awareness. The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. This includes the capacities to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
• Relationship skills. The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups. This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed.
• Responsible decision-making. The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. This includes the capacities to consider ethical standards and safety concerns, and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.

SEL is not tied to a political party or agenda. SEL has had broad bi-partisan support because it helps develop productive, responsible community members. SEL can help us heal divisions and come together to build a stronger community/country.

• Majorities of teachers, principals, parents, and students agree SEL is important.
• SEL supports goals that people across the political spectrum agree on: helping young people develop skills and have opportunities to succeed in college and career, contribute positively to their communities, have healthy relationships, and avoid risky behaviors (e.g., drug use, violence, bullying and dropping out).
• SEL does not teach students what to think, but helps them develop skills to communicate their own ideas, listen respectfully to different perspectives and make make responsible decisions after analyzing data and facts.

SEL bolsters academics and productive classrooms. Families are children’s first teachers and play an essential role in shaping SEL implementation in schools.

• SEL teaches knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help students succeed academically, feel motivated to learn and persist through challenges.
• SEL also helps teachers and students build supportive relationships that improves student engagement/motivation and classroom management.
• 93% of teachers want a greater focus on SEL in schools, because they know it improves academic performance, behaviors and attitudes about school.
• By working in partnership, schools and families can develop effective SEL strategies and reinforce the social and emotional skills that students are learning in schools and homes.

SEL helps create high-quality educational opportunities and environments that promote all students’ healthy social, emotional and academic development.

• SEL can help educators to better attune to and appreciate students’ developmental needs and unique strengths, build an awareness of students’ cultures and backgrounds, and create classroom environments that are more inclusive of all learners.
• SEL helps students, families, educators and community partners build relationships, discuss challenges and come up with solutions together.
• SEL helps young people and adults better understand and express their views, listen to and empathize with others who have different viewpoints and experiences, and talk through disagreements and conflict.