Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy最新文献

The success of social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom hinges on the buy-in of teachers, as they serve as the principal implementers of SEL initiatives. This is particularly relevant in contexts where SEL is nascent and emerging. In response to this need, we developed a scale to measure teachers’ beliefs about factors that promote classroom social and emotional learning (CSEL). We validated the scale in India, where SEL has recently gained attention, on a large sample of teachers (N = 2097). Factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure comprising beliefs about healthy classroom management, inclusive classroom culture and supportive student relationships. The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties: strong internal consistency, predictive validity (with mental well-being), convergent validity (with emotional intelligence), discriminant validity (with perceived stress) and measurement invariance across males and females. We hope that understanding teachers' beliefs on these factors can help inform successful program implementation, and thus offer crucial insights for mainstreaming SEL.

There is an urgent need to support the social and emotional well-being of adolescents with experiences of adversity and trauma. Adolescence is a critical period of development for promoting social and emotional competencies, which can prevent poor mental health and problematic substance use and promote thriving during challenging teenage years and beyond. Both transformative social and emotional learning (TSEL) and trauma-informed programs for schools (TIPS) have been identified as promising practices for supporting social and emotional well-being among young people with experiences of adversity. We propose a pragmatic theory of action for schools for implementing and evaluating initiatives that integrate TSEL and TIPS made up of three iterative components: awareness, assessment, and action. The TSEL + TIPS Theory of Action is illustrated by a case study of a cross-sectoral collaboration of government, schools, researchers, healthcare, and adolescents to implement TSEL and TIPS initiatives in British Columbia, Canada. The case study provides evidence for the feasibility of TSEL + TIPS Theory of Action and may serve as an example for other regions as experiences of adversity and poor mental health continue to rise among adolescents globally.

In this conceptual article, we envision a future in which collaboration among social emotional learning (SEL) researchers and special education researchers strengthens inclusive policies and practices within our schools, fostering the meaningful participation of all students with respect to their academic, social, and emotional strengths and needs. We make a case for the value and urgency of interdisciplinary research among SEL scholars and special education scholars, explaining how scholarship within each field would benefit from greater integration of the evidence and scholarly discourse of the other. Then, to catalyze our vision for increased collaboration, we present four assertions about inclusion that we believe are foundational to future, collaborative efforts toward more inclusive schools and educational systems. We assert that inclusion 1) is an active stance against exclusion, 2) requires clarity in roles and responsibilities, 3) benefits everyone, and 4) is a long-term investment. In presenting these assertions, we surface both current barriers to inclusion and the potential of interdisciplinary research to productively address these challenges. We conclude with an invitation for researchers to engage in increased interdisciplinary collaboration in service of advancing a vision of inclusive schools.

Impact Statement

We argue that through increased collaboration, special education researchers and social and emotional learning researchers have opportunities to increase inclusion and meaningful belonging within schools. We offer four action steps to move both fields forward in their research and promotion of meaningful participation of all students.

Anxiety disorders are common among adolescents. To avert long-term adverse consequences, several school-based prevention programs have been created, yet few have explored the influence of emotional and social self-efficacy as a psychosocial competence on anxiety symptoms. In the context of the implementation of a school-situated anxiety prevention program named HORS-PISTE, the present study examines descriptions of anxiety symptoms associated with social anxiety, generalized anxiety, separation anxiety and panic anxiety, and two domains of self-efficacy (social and emotional), as well as an exploration of the association between these two elements, and the predictive effect of self-efficacy on anxiety symptoms. The present study included 1705 adolescents from 15 different schools in 4 different regions of Québec, Canada. Participants completed questionnaires assessing their anxiety symptoms and self-efficacy levels before and after completing the HORS-PISTE program. Our findings suggest that: emotional/social self-efficacy and anxiety symptoms differ according to certain characteristics in adolescents; self-efficacy and anxiety symptoms present a strong association in the context of the implementation of a school-based anxiety prevention program; self-efficacy has a predictive effect on anxiety symptoms; and self-efficacy presents a moderate interaction effect on anxiety symptoms change over time.

School staff implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) programs continue to face significant barriers, one of which includes limited confidence in delivering SEL. This paper describes how schools and school systems can mitigate some of these barriers by actively incorporating educator expertise into SEL programming. Elevating educator expertise in SEL can increase confidence, wellbeing, and willingness to flexibly utilize programming, factors that improve effective SEL implementation and impact students, staff, and learning environments. Using the example of TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) Tier 1 SEL, a school- and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)-based SEL program that offers K-12 programming, this paper describes how leveraging educator expertise before, during, and after content delivery through programmatic features and adaptations can increase educators’ confidence, reduce salient barriers, and enhance positive impacts for students. This paper also offers several practical strategies for schools and school systems for prioritizing and elevating teacher voice in SEL programming.

In this article, we introduce a research-practice partnership (RPP) between the University of California San Diego and the non-governmental organization (NGO), Africa Education and Leadership Initiative (Africa ELI), and we share the lessons we learned as we adapted and facilitated The Wellbeing Club, a trauma-informed social and emotional learning (TI-SEL) curriculum, for refugee youth in Uganda. First, we describe our RPP and the goals of our work together. Then, we describe The Wellbeing Club, including its theoretical foundations and curriculum. In the sections that follow, we reflect on lessons learned for effective TI-SEL implementation from the facilitation of The Wellbeing Club with 48 primarily South Sudanese refugee youth: adapting the curriculum to the cultural context, sharing stories of resilience, developing environmental and contextual awareness, developing self-awareness, modeling caring practice, involving youth in changemaking processes, identifying and addressing underlying trauma, and supporting one another in research and practice. In each section, we provide specific examples from practice to illustrate the themes. We conclude with key takeaways and next steps.

This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate students' perspectives regarding their behavioral and academic changes following an 8-week combined intervention of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mindfulness-Based Program (MBP). A total of 552 teenagers (mean age = 13.03, SD = 0.50, 47.5% females) from an urban Chinese private school participated, with 184 participants randomly assigned to each condition (taught, self-help, and active control groups). Paired-sample t-tests were employed to examine changes within groups, while General Linear Models compared academic achievement changes among the three groups. Despite finding no significant improvement statistically on academic achievement, some students attributed their improved academic performance to the course. Thematic analysis was conducted on 115 written responses and 4 focus group interviews from the taught group. The analysis revealed several key themes among the Chinese population, including no changes, state change, attitude change, and behavior change. These themes were consistent with the theoretical foundations of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and aligned with previous qualitative research on Western adolescents. The study highlights the benefits of techniques and cognitive change in facilitating behavioral change and offers practical suggestions for supporting students in behaviour regulation. It also underscores qualitative research's role in detailing these practices' effects on behavior and academic performance. Furthermore, a proposed model aligns with established behavioral change theories, providing a practical visual aid for teachers. This study offers a comprehensive framework for future research on the theoretical constructs of MBPs and provides practical suggestions for supporting students in behavior regulation.

Feel Your Best Self (FYBS) teaches 12 emotion-focused coping strategies to strengthen emotion regulation and day-to-day experiences of positive emotions. Released in 2022, FYBS was designed to be implemented flexibly and with minimal preparation by elementary educators. In this manuscript, we present findings from a case study of early adopters (n = 6), sharing insights into how they have used, adapted, and generalized the program with their students. Participants ranged from first to fifth grade teachers. Four teachers implemented in English and two teachers implemented in Spanish. Findings suggest that early adopters “kept it simple;” leaned into opportunities to promote joy, engagement, and access using FYBS; adjusted instructional activities for developmental appropriateness; and integrated additional best practices. These insights suggest that FYBS is achieving its intended goal of simple and flexible instruction of emotion-focused coping strategies in elementary classrooms. We conclude by discussing next steps in expanding FYBS materials and testing the program’s cultural responsiveness and impact on student outcomes.

American children need access to high-quality early education. One limiting factor is the lack of professional development for the childcare workforce. This study examined the impact of a professional development model designed for teachers working with preschool children in childcare settings. Intervention included an evidence-based early learning curriculum focused on social-emotional learning and early literacy. Center directors were trained to serve as program coaches. Childcare centers with classrooms serving preschool children were recruited from ten counties in [state blinded for review] characterized by concentrated population-level poverty and randomized to intervention and control groups. Teachers and directors showed high levels of intervention engagement and good program implementation. Pre- to post-test comparisons of the intervention and control groups revealed that the intervention promoted responsive teaching practices, emotion coaching, enriched language use, and improved instructional quality. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Student mental wellbeing is an area of concern within higher education, and there is increasing recognition that social and emotional learning has a role to play in supporting student mental wellbeing. This is particularly the case for mature and part time students, who, as outsiders in many traditional university settings, can experience feelings of isolation and a negative impact on wellbeing. This paper presents a study in UK higher education which applied humanisation and social and emotional learning as a theoretical framework to accompany a co-creation methodology, in order to develop resources to support the wellbeing of mature and part time students. This resulted in co-created resources for students and practitioners aiming to support Positive Pedagogies in higher education. Evaluation of the resources found the project had a two-fold effect on mature and part time student wellbeing and experience; it positively impacted on student co-creators’ SEL and overall experience and on student users as they associated an emotional connection with the resource because it had been developed by fellow students, which provided them with a greater sense of agency due to the voice given to the co-creators. Similarly, practitioners found that the guidance embedded wellbeing into teaching practice and encouraged the development of holistic skills such as emotional intelligence and resilience. This paper therefore concludes that the embedding of the humanising framework into co-creation practices can work to positively enhance the resultant emotional response and therefore positive wellbeing of students in a higher education setting.