Considering the “How” of SEL: A framework for the pedagogies of social and emotional learning

Abstract

For social and emotional learning (SEL) to be most effective, students must consistently access social and emotional knowledge and apply SEL skills across time and context. This article presents the Framework for the Pedagogies of SEL, which aims to theoretically articulate how teachers can support effective student SEL. We present an overview of how students acquire social and emotional knowledge, describe key processes of learning, and consider relations among culture, identity, and SEL to lay the foundation of the Framework for the Pedagogies of SEL. We then present the framework, which integrates three types SEL knowledge with five teaching practices or pedagogies of SEL. We then describe how the systematic application of these pedagogies of SEL might promote effective SEL and close with the need to support teachers’ SEL implementation and considerations related to SEL instruction and student variability as well as the limitations of this article and conclusions.