Social and Emotional Education: A Framework for Primary Schools

Abstract

There have been various terms and definitions of social and emotional education (SEE), such as social and emotional learning (SEL), social and emotional literacy, social and emotional well-being and mental health amongst others. This chapter presents social and emotional education as a multidisciplinary, integrative construct drawing from six major perspectives in children’s health and well-being, namely social and emotional learning, positive education, mindfulness, resilience, inclusive education and caring communities. It then reviews the literature on the effective processes underlying SEE in schools and presents a whole-school, multilevel and evidence-based framework for the promotion of social and emotional education in primary school.