Fix School Discipline Toolkit for Educators | Page 50
SOCIAL
EMOTIONAL
LEARNING
What is it?
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) focuses on
developing the individual qualities, strengths,
and assets of a child related to social, emotional,
cognitive, and moral development and positive
mental health.
School-based educational initiatives that focus
on youth development, health promotion and
problem prevention can be organized through SEL
instruction.38 Students learn, apply and practice
SEL skills similar to the way that they learn other
academic skills through instruction in the classroom.
These skills are then reinforced in the classroom by
the teacher and other students as situations arise
where they need to be applied, throughout the school
day, at home and in the community.
What are the features of a successful SEL
system?
Instruction in SEL is taught in the classroom and
reinforced throughout the school and can be used as
a proactive and preventative way to impart skills that
will help avoid behaviors that harm the community.
Through various pre-packaged curriculums, SEL
can be taught and reinforced in concert with other
frameworks such as School-Wide Positive Behavior
Intervention and Support (SWPBIS) or Restorative
Justice (RJ) and can easily be coordinated with a
broad array of prevention and promotion efforts.
Through SEL programs, students learn five key
competencies:
38 Ji, P., Axelrod, J., Foster, C., Keister, S., O’Brien, M.U., Ogren, K., &Weissberg, R.P. (2008), A model for implementing and sustaining schoolwide
social and emotional learning, The Community Psychologist.
48 How we can fix school discipline
Image from
CASEL (2013),
Effective Social
and Emotional
Learning
Programs,
Preschool and
Elementary School
Edition.
Self-awareness—Identification and recognition of their
own emotions, recognition of strengths in themselves and
others, sense of self-efficacy, and self-confidence.
Social awareness—Empathy, respect for others, and
perspective taking.
Responsible decision-making—Evaluation and
reflection, and personal and ethical responsibility.
Self-management—Impulse control, stress
management, persistence, goal setting, and
motivation.
Relationship skills—Cooperation, help seeking and
providing, and communication.39
What does SEL look like in school?
SEL instruction can be implemented either through a
pre-set curriculum taught in every classroom and/or
in coordination with other prevention and promotion
efforts, such as SWPBIS or RJ. For example, SWPBIS
requires explicit instruction around behavior
expectations, and SEL programming can be used to
fulfill instruction. Additionally, in RJ circles, students
can discuss topics that require SEL competencies,
such as “What does it mean to be a good friend?”
Teachers teach key competencies similar to and
in addition to academic subjects. Effective SEL
programming is a coordinated effort: teachers
directly teach SEL skills inside classrooms, and
parents, administration and other non-instructional
staff reinforce SEL skills outside of the classroom.
39 Id.