Positive Outcomes of a Social-Emotional Learning Program to Promote Student Resiliency and Address Mental Health

Abstract

This paper supports that social-emotional learning (SEL) programs are used as a method to increase resiliency and promote positive mental health in youth and will focus on one program, Positive Action (PA). This paper engages in a review of the literature that utilized the program to increase resiliency and address the mental health needs of students in school settings. PA is a program that is aimed at character development and decreasing problem behaviors. Several studies have been conducted with diverse populations and they found that this program does improve character development, decreases problem behaviors, and promotes resiliency. This review encourages practitioners to utilize evidence-based SEL programs to promote resiliency and increase positive mental health in the students that they work with. To my knowledge, this is the first article of its kind, making the necessary connection between already created and developed social-emotional learning programs and explicitly connecting the programs to building resilience among students. This analysis draws the connection between SEL programs and the promotion of student resiliency. SEL programs are designed to improve student outcomes that can include student achievement and reduce problem behaviors. These programs already have the theoretical foundation to increase resiliency; this analysis explicitly connects the SEL program to promote resiliency among students.