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

Although nearly half of U.S. students have experienced a potentially traumatic event (Bethell et al., 2017), educators are not routinely trained in trauma or trauma-informed practices (Hobbs et al., 2019; Koslouski & Stark, 2021; National Council of State Education Associations, 2019). Yet, trauma can have profound negative impacts on students’ social, emotional, and behavioral needs. Thus, this primer introduces educators to the prevalence of trauma in PreK-12 students’ lives, the effects of trauma on students’ development, and proactive and responsive strategies that adults can use to support students who have experienced trauma. We provide several vignettes to help educators understand varied presentations of trauma and the range of trauma-informed practices that can benefit students. We also address educators’ relationships with caregivers and describe strategies for mitigating the toll secondary traumatic stress (Figley, 1995) can take on educators. Throughout, we aim to build educators’ understanding, empathy, and agency for their work supporting students affected by trauma.

The central argument of this article is that educators can empower young people to address global challenges by actively helping them to expand their circle of concern beyond themselves and their social circles. Using the example of a recently developed SEL program called Samvedana, a Sanskrit word for care and concern for others, this article describes an approach to steer SEL toward promoting the welfare of others beyond the immediate circle of the learner. The article provides a brief history and benefits of SEL, describes the Samvedana program, and presents possible ways of developing concern-building SEL programs.

The use of school-based universal assessment of students’ social and emotional competencies is increasing with the popularity of SEL programs (Collaborative for the Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, 2020). Likewise, the development of social emotional assessments has increased in technical sophistication. Yet, a fundamental aspect of their use and interpretation – fairness – has remained relatively unexamined. One potential reason for this situation is the lack of an integrative framework that provides guidance regarding the types of evidence necessary for fair assessment scores. To address this need for fairness evidence, we propose a new model - the Comprehensive Appraisal of Fairness Evidence (CAFE). This model features a unified evidence framework with three facets based upon a targeted expansion and integration of Kane’s (2010) notion of procedural and substantive fairness and the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA, & NCME, 2014). This framework is embedded within an evaluation process that grounds consideration of fairness in specific proposed interpretations and uses. We then provide an example application of this model to illustrate it utility with a published measure of social emotional competence, the SSIS SEL Brief Scales (Elliott et al., 2020). We conclude with implications for social emotional assessment developers, educators, and administrators working to ensure fair assessment of all students. Fairness is a human quality taught in many K-12 SEL programs. Fairness also is an expected quality of tests and assessments. Ironically, few authors of assessments report evidence to support the fairness of their scores for specific uses. Thus, we developed the Comprehensive Appraisal of Fairness Evidence (CAFE) Model to advance consideration of the fairness of SEL assessment scores for all students. This model consists of three types of evidence: Procedural, Contextual, and Consequential. Examples of evidence illustrate the use of this new integrative model that supports a key goal of child SEL assessment development and use – to be fair!

Myrna Shure made extraordinary contributions to research and practice during a career that lasted for 55 years, concluding with her passing on January 3, 2023. With George Spivack, Myrna Shure created the acclaimed and research-validated Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving SEL curriculum. Keeping the ICPS acronym, the program name was changed to I Can Problem Solve and expanded to include a component for parents, Raising A Thinking Child. Focusing on teaching children how to think, not what to think, ICPS begins in Preschool and continues through the elementary school years. It is a CASEL SELect program and one of the most widely used and well respected SEL programs nationally and internationally. This article reviews Myrna Shure’s contributions and legacy and concludes with two anecdotes from cherished colleagues.

As scholars and educators look to integrate trauma-informed practice within social emotional learning, therein lies an inherent danger to this work: a singular focus on one measure of trauma. In this article, we present an overview of the intersection of trauma and SEL. Then we provide background on the ongoing debate over applications of the popularized and standardized adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) framework, while demonstrating that the conceptualization and measurement of ACEs may be incompatible with transformative SEL (tSEL; Jagers et al., 2019). Finally, we present a path forward by offering more nuanced and humanizing ways of conceptualizing trauma in SEL contexts, and suggestions for educators to continue on their learning journey. By grounding our suggestions and next steps in the work of practice for educators, we aim to advance transformative SEL through equitable trauma-informed practices.

Social and emotional competencies developed in childhood are among the strongest predictors of adult wellbeing. Simple parenting techniques that build these strengths and foster children's resilience can be easily taught and modelled. Our aim was to identify whether and which interventions, offered by primary care providers of 4–6 year-olds, could use the supportive nature of the doctor-patient relationship to demonstrate methods for augmenting children's social and emotional development to parents. We conducted a telephone and online Delphi process among 33 international, child development experts. Round 1 individual interviews identified feasibility of and content to incorporate into routine visits. Content areas were then ranked in Round 2 to identify three key themes. Finally, those participants with expertise in the identified areas verified best strategies for modelling these with parents. All 33 invited experts participated in Round 1, agreed that a brief, in-person intervention was valuable and feasible, and named 48 possible approaches or subthemes. After Round 2 (26 participants) the three themes and related strategies that emerged were reading to children, regulating emotions, and fostering positive parent-child interactions. Routine appointments present an opportunity for healthcare providers to address emotional development and foster resilience. Evidence for ongoing benefit of the brief parenting approaches that emerged is clear, however none is currently integrated into medical practice as a routine. Our findings can inform subsequent efforts to develop standard practices for including such interventions in well-child checks.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) initiatives are designed to foster social competencies and have been associated with a myriad of positive student outcomes. However, SEL programs are not always beneficial for all students. There may be unintended consequences in what students are learning and how these skills are being reinforced. In this paper, we argue that when SEL programming is implemented in a color-evasive and value-neutral way, it can exacerbate racial inequities and lead to harmful practices within schools, particularly for Black, Indigenous, and other students of color. We examine how an integration of critical race theory and SEL may, instead, contribute to all students’ positive development and discuss the ways in which this programming may drive systemic change within school communities.