Social Emotional Learning Competencies Research Articles

Program Evaluation of the radKIDS® Youth Personal Empowerment Safety Education Program

AbstractDeveloping sound evidence of program effectiveness can be difficult for many programs initiated by schools and communities, and impedes many beneficial programs from broader dissemination. This paper shares results of an evaluation approach used with a bullying and victimization prevention program with elementary school children called the radKIDS® Personal Empowerment and Safety Education Program. The purpose of this study was to examine indicators of initial effectiveness of the radKIDS® program for elementary school child safety skill development and instructor training to reduce child victimization and associated trauma and empower healthy psychosocial child development. The study involved 330 active radKIDS® instructors surveyed during two separate two-week periods, resulting in 148 completed questionnaires (45%). Instructors rated their perceptions of what children effectively learned in radKIDS®, the effectiveness of instructor training, and on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies addressed in the program. Evaluation findings confirmed the theoretical model of the program, and that the developmental safety domains impacting children in radKIDS® differs from those in other bullying prevention interventions focused on SEL and other competencies. Recommended areas of improvement for the program included making training less time consuming and more flexible in delivery, provide more practice opportunities and time on skill acquisition during training, and increase supervision and guidance during program implementation.

Pola penerapan social emotional learning dalam pembelajaran matematika di sekolah dasar

<p class="Abstract">This research aims to describe the pattern of implementing Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in mathematics learning for fifth grade students at SD Djama'atul Ichwan Surakarta. This research uses a qualitative approach with a case study method. The subjects of this research were class teachers and 28 students. This research uses observation, interviews, questionnaires and document study techniques. Testing the validity of the data uses triangulation of time and techniques. The data analysis model uses the Creswell model. Results showed teachers utilized supportive classroom environment approaches, integration of SEL and Academic Instruction, and explicit SEL Instruction. The teacher carries out several activities that have become routine, thus forming a clear pattern. The approach used can shape students' SEL competencies, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. The use of the SEL approach in mathematics learning indirectly influences mathematics learning outcomes. Therefore, it is important for teachers to integrate SEL into mathematics learning. The implication of this research is that it can increase scientific insight regarding the application of SEL to both teachers and students. The recommendation from researchers is that SEL can be further optimized in its implementation in a massive and structured manner.</p><strong>Kata kunci:</strong> social emotional learning, approach, competencies, mathematics, academic achievement, and elementary school

Teachers’ Social Emotional Learning Competencies and Social Justice Teaching Beliefs and Associations with Children’s Prosocial Behavior and Community Engagement

Teachers’ Social Emotional Learning Competencies and Social Justice Teaching Beliefs and Associations with Children’s Prosocial Behavior and Community Engagement

ЦИФРОВИЙ СТОРІТЕЛІНГ ЯК ІНСТРУМЕНТ ДЛЯ РОЗВИТКУ СОЦІО-ЕМОЦІЙНИХ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТЕЙ НА УРОКАХ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ

The modern educational environment actively integrates social-emotional learning (SEL) to promote social adaptation, ethical culture, and emotional development of students. This article considers the method of digital storytelling as a tool for the formation of social-emotional competencies of students during English classes. The article examines social-emotional competencies, known as CASEL5, which are self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, responsible decision-making, and social awareness. At the same time, the analysis of the standards for basic and full general secondary education in Ukraine (2011 and 2020) proved the productivity of the linguistic and literary educational field in the integration of social-emotional learning, where the use of the storytelling method, in particular digital, enables the formation of key social-emotional competencies of students. The method of digital storytelling is implemented through various online platforms and related tasks. For example, creating comics appears as a visualization of complex stories, which helps students improve not only SEL competencies but also foreign language communicative competence, creativity, and digital literacy. This goal is also facilitated by the use of online cubes for storytelling, and emojis. The article also highlights AI-enabled online books as a tool for social-emotional learning. The Storybooks platform generates online books at the user's request. The generated stories are aligned with social-emotional learning themes and end with questions that stimulate discussion among students, thus encouraging them to think critically and reflect. The study found that digital storytelling serves as a powerful channel for students to express emotions, empathy, improve their ethical skills and social responsibility. This method develops a constructive dialogue, the articulation of thoughts and beliefs, as well as the visualization of universal values and life experience, and thus contributes to the holistic development of students’ socio-emotional competencies. Keywords: digital storytelling, socio-emotional learning, socio-emotional competence, English language classes.

The Association Between Bullying Victimization and Problematic Internet Use: The Role of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies

Guided by the compensatory Internet use theory, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between bullying victimization (i.e., overall, traditional, and cyberbullying victimization) and problematic Internet use (PIU) among 1,141 Chinese adolescents. The study also examined the moderating roles of five core social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies (i.e., responsible decision-making, social awareness, relationship skills, self-management, and self-awareness) between bullying victimization and PIU. Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that more frequent traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimization were associated with a higher frequency of PIU symptoms. Overall, SEL competencies were protective factors against PIU. Moreover, the positive association between traditional bullying victimization and PIU was intensified among students with higher levels of overall SEL competencies, social awareness, relationship skills, and self-awareness. The significant and positive association between cyberbullying victimization and PIU was not moderated by any of the five core SEL competencies. This implies that students with high SEL competencies generally experienced less bullying victimization and PIU. However, once they experienced bullying, they were more vulnerable to have PIU. Implications for school-based bullying intervention and PIU prevention were also discussed. Impact Statement The study demonstrated that traditional bullying and cyberbullying victimization place students at a higher risk of PIU. Overall, SEL competencies were protective factors against PIU. However, higher levels of overall SEL competencies, social awareness, relationship skills, and self-awareness intensified the positive relationship between traditional bullying victimization and PIU. This implies that students with high SEL competencies generally experienced less bullying victimization. However, once they experienced bullying, they were more vulnerable to PIU.

You Can Do It! A narrative inquiry into children’s experiences of a social-emotional and academic learning programme

ABSTRACT Internationally and nationally, government and educational policies prioritise wellbeing to support education. Social-emotional learning (SEL), a frequently used term for wellbeing in the United States of America (USA), comprises accrued skills enacted over time. This article presents the findings of an arts-based narrative inquiry exploring eight primary school children’s experiences of the five foundations of the social-emotional and academic learning program ‘You Can Do It (YCDI) Program Achieve’. YCDI is a structured classroom-based programme where children are taught explicit SEL skills through lessons based on the five programme foundations, or SEL competencies, of Organisation, Confidence, Getting Along, Persistence, and Resilience. Using a three-dimensional, narrative inquiry framework, the researcher addresses two questions: What impact did the YCDI programme and its foundations have on the children’s lives on and off the school landscape? What are the implications for the future implementation of the YCDI programme? Through the presentation of children’s narratives, this study provides insight into how YCDI improved the children’s SEL skills and wellbeing. It also prompts important questions for those considering the program’s implementation in the future.

Supporting Preschoolers' Mental Health and Academic Learning through the PROMEHS Program: A Training Study.

There is compelling evidence that early school intervention programs enhance children's development of life skills, with a positive knock-on effect on their behaviors and academic outcomes. To date, most universal interventions have displayed gains in children's social-emotional competencies with a limited reduction in problem behaviors. This may depend on programs' curricula focused to a greater extent on preschoolers' social-emotional competencies rather than problem behaviors. Promoting Mental Health at Schools (PROMEHS) is a European, school-based, universal mental health program explicitly focused on both promoting students' mental health and preventing negative conduct by adopting a whole-school approach. In this study, we set out to evaluate the effectiveness of the program for Italian and Portuguese preschoolers. We recruited 784 children (age range = 4-5 years), assigning them to either an experimental group (six months' participation in the PROMEHS program under the guidance of their teachers, who had received ad hoc training) or a waiting list group (no intervention). We found that PROMEHS improved preschoolers' social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies, prosocial behavior, and academic outcomes. The more practical activities were carried out at school, the more children's SEL competencies increased, and the more their internalizing and externalizing behaviors decreased. Furthermore, marginalized and disadvantaged children were those who benefited most from the program, displaying both greater improvements in SEL and more marked decreases in internalizing problems compared to the rest of the sample.

Social-Emotional Learning Competencies and Its Relation to Reasoning Skills: Moderating Effect of Academic Strand

Waning attention to the facets of social and emotional learning competencies (SELC) in an educational context along with the students’ poor mathematical performance, which can be predicted through mathematical reasoning skills (MRS), is an issue that has to be addressed in the Philippines. Despite the fact that it has been shown to have an impact on mathematics achievement, associating SELC into the field of mathematical reasoning has yet to be explored. Hence, the study attempted to shed attention on the relationship between the perceived SELC of the respondents in terms of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making and their level of MRS as to analyzing, generalizing, and justifying, and if strand moderates this relationship. A descriptive-correlational design with moderation analysis was used and stratified-random sampling technique was utilized in choosing 117 grade 12 students from one state university. Adapted self-report survey and mathematical reasoning tasks were used to gather data. The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between the perceived SELC and MRS, except in self-management and relationship skills. Findings have also suggested that strand moderates the relationship of the two variables which implies that the interaction of SELC and strands of the respondents poses a direct relationship with their reasoning abilities in mathematics, when students are from STEM. Implementation of teaching strategies fostering students’ social and emotional states is recommended.

Perceived school climate and adolescent behaviors among Chinese adolescents: Mediating effect of social‐emotional learning competencies

AbstractAlthough school climate plays an important role in the development of adolescent prosocial behaviors and problem behaviors, little is known about the mechanisms underlying school climate's impact on such behaviors, particularly in Chinese adolescents. This study used a multi‐informant approach to investigate the mediating role of social‐emotional learning (SEL) competencies on the association of school climate with prosocial behaviors and problem behaviors (i.e., internalizing and externalizing behaviors) among Chinese adolescents. A total of 699 students (Mage = 12.89 years, SD = 0.70) in 7th and 8th grades from three middle schools in Chengdu, China completed measures of perceived school climate and SEL competencies. Their guardians also completed ratings on adolescent prosocial and problem behaviors. As predicted, while perceived school climate was positively associated with adolescent prosocial behaviors, it was negatively related to adolescent internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Analyses using PROCESS further showed that SEL competencies mediated the relationship between perceived school climate and adolescent behaviors. The findings underscored the importance of promoting positive school climate as well as SEL competencies to foster positive adolescent development.

Association Between School Victimization and Substance Use Among Hispanic/Latinx Adolescents: An Intersectionality Analysis of Social–Emotional Learning (SEL) Competencies, Immigration Status, and Gender in Predominantly Hispanic/Latinx High Schools

Guided by coping theory, the social–ecological diathesis-stress model, and the theory of intersectionality, this study examined how social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies, gender, and immigrant status contributed to the heterogeneity of the association between school victimization and substance use among 2,795 Hispanic/Latinx adolescents from four predominantly Hispanic/Latinx high schools in central California. After controlling for students’ demographics, SEL competencies were found to mitigate the magnitude of the positive association between school victimization on substance use. Moreover, a higher level of school victimization was associated with an increased risk of substance use in all four subgroups, with immigrant males having a stronger positive association between school victimization and substance use than three other groups (immigrant females, U.S.-born males, and U.S.-born females). The buffering effect of SEL was significant for three subgroups (i.e., immigrant males, immigrant females, U.S.-born females) but not for U.S.-born males, with immigrant males having the strongest buffering effect. The findings highlight the importance of promoting social and emotional resilience and understanding the intersection of multiple marginalized and stigmatized identities in school violence and substance use prevention and intervention; it also provides implications for implementing transformative SEL in diverse school settings. Impact Statement This is one of the first empirical studies integrating both the social–ecological diathesis-stress model and intersectionality theory to examine how SEL competencies, gender, and immigrant status influence the direction and magnitude of the association between school victimization and substance use among Hispanic/Latinx adolescents in a high school setting where they were the numerical majority. It highlights the importance of promoting social and emotional resilience in mitigating the negative influence of school victimization on substance use; it also emphasizes the importance of understanding the intersection of adolescents’ multiple marginalized and stigmatized identities in preventing school violence and substance use and implementing transformative SEL in diverse school settings.

Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions and Experiences Regarding Social-Emotional Learning in Ontario

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an essential part of students’ learning journey. Teachers’ perceptions of SEL have been associated with teaching outcomes and the effectiveness of its implementation in classrooms. In Ontario, SEL is a mandated component of some curricular areas. It is important to consider teachers’ perceptions and experiences regarding SEL because a teacher who is confident in implementing SEL strategies may contribute to positive social, emotional, and academic outcomes for their students. This study explored teachers' perceptions and experiences regarding SEL before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three elementary teachers in Ontario implementing SEL practices took part in a semi-structured interview that followed a modified version of Seidman’s (2019) three-interview protocol, and was informed by the CASEL (2021b) framework. Research findings reveal for the first time in the literature elementary teachers’ perceptions and experiences on SEL during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. The benefits and barriers of teaching SEL competencies to students were discussed, as were the SEL strategies implemented by the teachers and professional development received on it. Implications for practice were also described.

Utilizing the Framework of Life Skills Development to Promote Social–Emotional Learning in Elementary Physical Education

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how elementary physical education (PE) teachers can incorporate social emotional learning (SEL) and life skills into their teaching. Within school-based PE, the ability to foster SEL competencies has been the traditional focus. However, even with the recognized differences between youth sport and PE, the application of life skills holds much merit within PE settings, due, in part, to the fundamental philosophies that underpin PE.

A How-To for Pairing Standard 1 NHES-Infused Performance Indicators With NHES Skills and CASEL Competencies: Planning for the Skills-Based Health/SEL Education Classroom

The purpose of this article is to provide the practicing teacher with a planning tool that helps infuse National Health Education Standard (NHES) 1 with NHES 2–8 and social–emotional learning competencies and sub-competencies in their lessons and units. Because the focus on the social and emotional learning of students is in high demand given the stresses that currently plague society, it is important that teachers have the tools to incorporate the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) competencies and the NHES into their daily lessons and units. This article provides the teacher with instruction on how to infuse health education content into the health education skills and align social and emotional learning. The article expands the recently published CASEL and NHES Crosswalk to dig deeper into the infusion of Standard 1 of the NHES. The authors provide concrete steps and examples to show teachers practical ways for incorporating health education content, skill standards, and social and emotional learning.

Positive Classroom Design through Social-Emotional Learning: Building a Community of Learners

There is a direct relationship between meeting the needs of our students through providing a positive learning environment that is rich in social and emotional learning and building a community of learners who want to be engaged in their learning. Students who participate in social and emotional learning in the classroom are able to practice self-control, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness (Casel, 2020). Social and emotional learning activities and lessons help teachers to meet the basic needs of their students in order for them to thrive in their learning environment. When basic needs are met and social-emotional learning competencies are achieved, students feel a sense of community in their classroom. When students feel a part of a positive environment, behavior decreases, and engagement increases. The article is based on a review of the literature and the personal experiences of one of the authors.

Youth-Led Participatory Action Research in School Counseling as a Vehicle for Antiracist SEL

As youth in the United States continue to become diverse, it is important for the practices educators adopt to be inclusive and antiracist. Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is a pedagogy that aligns with the social emotional learning competencies and the tenets of antiracist education. We propose that school counselors are best positioned to support efforts to implement YPAR in schools. The following article provides 2 case examples of the use of YPAR: one in a school counseling small group and the other in a classroom co-facilitated with a teacher.

The Effects of a Culturally Adapted Program on ELL Students’ Core SEL Competencies as Measured by a Modified Version of the BERS-2

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students face more complex social-emotional and socio-cultural challenges than their mainstream peers as part of their development and socialization in U.S. schools. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) has been found to be beneficial in the academic and social success of all students; however, limited research has been conducted on the effects of SEL interventions on CLD populations’ core SEL competencies. With the unique needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) in mind, this study analyzes existing intervention data to evaluate the effects of a culturally adapted SEL program on participants’ five core SEL competencies (i.e. relationship skills, self-awareness, responsible decision making, social awareness, and self-management). Results indicate that the intervention was effective at improving participants’ self-awareness and relationship skills. Implications for measuring each core SEL competency instead of global constructs such as resiliency for all populations, including CLD students, are discussed.

Qualitative Study on At-Risk Hispanic Adolescents engaged in Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness Practices

<p style="text-align: justify;">The following study highlights the importance of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and provides a descriptive overview of the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) organization competencies at both the national and state level. Qualitative data was collected during a study conducted on at-risk Hispanic high school students who engaged in a mindfulness yoga program. Adolescents voluntarily participated in 12 weeks of mindfulness yoga (24 classes) and provided post essay responses to questions associated with the five core competencies of SEL: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. Evidence aligned with SEL competencies after 24 mindfulness yoga sessions through implicit yoga instruction (absence of explicit direct instruction) were coded and reported accordingly. Overall, findings indicate consistencies with previous research on mindfulness yoga programs in the schools of the impactful benefits of healthy behaviors and mental wellness for adolescents at risk. Documented conclusions from this study showcase an increased positive impact on SEL categories of self-awareness, self-management, and decision making.</p>

Parents' assessment of students' social emotional learning competencies: The SSIS SEL brief scales‐parent version

AbstractObjectiveThe objective of this research was to develop a brief version of the well‐established Social Skills Improvement System Social Emotional Learning (SSIS SEL) Parent Rating Form (2017) so that parents' voices are heard by schools where programs to facilitate children's social emotional learning (SEL) are increasingly popular.BackgroundParents' observations of their children's social emotional skills based on social interactions within a family are potentially rich, but parents typically have not been included in universal SEL screenings conducted by schools. This information can contribute to a more complete picture of children's social emotional functioning and status.MethodUsing an item response theory approach, items rated by parents on the SSIS SEL Rating Form were selected to maintain content representation and maximize estimated information while minimizing differential item functioning across gender and ethnicity. The parent ratings were for a nationally representative sample of 2,400 students grades K–12.ResultsInitial evidence of reliability and validity for the resulting brief scales supports their use by parents for low‐stakes assessment of SEL skill development.ConclusionThis new assessment holds promise for meaningfully documenting parents' observations of their children's SEL skills at home and in the community.ImplicationsThe SSIS SEL Brief—Parent can be completed in 5 minutes and provides a picture of student SEL functioning that supplements teachers' assessments.

Equity in Social Emotional Learning Programs: A Content Analysis of Equitable Practices in PreK-5 SEL Programs

As the positive impact of social emotional learning (SEL) has become widely recognized, there is increasing demand for SEL programs to address the diverse cultures, identities, and experiences of all students in the classroom, in particular students of color and other youth impacted by structural inequality. SEL programs increasingly provide resources and guidance to ensure that diverse students are represented in materials and content and to help educators understand how culture plays a role in the development and expression of SEL competencies. However, few programs are intentionally designed with equity in mind and even fewer examine how historical and structural inequalities impact both the teaching and learning of SEL skills. While many believe that SEL is well-positioned to play a role in creating learning environments where students of all cultures, races, identities, and backgrounds feel safe, respected, and empowered, the link between equity and SEL is not always clear. Furthermore, despite existing well-established, research-grounded practices from which to draw in other fields, the field of SEL currently lacks a coherent and unified definition of what constitutes equitable SEL and what equitable SEL looks like in the classroom. As schools and other educational settings strive toward creating more equitable learning environments for students, the field of SEL needs a clearer viewpoint and explicit practices describing how equity can be better integrated into SEL programming and practice. This paper describes the need for equitable SEL, summarizes existing research and practices, and provides a set of recommendations for implementing them effectively in schools and other educational settings. We begin with a brief exploration of the relationship between educational equity and SEL, describing the potential for SEL to create more equitable, inclusive, and just learning environments. Next, we present key perspectives from the literature that shape current views on how issues of equity can be integrated into SEL programming and practice, proposing a set of principles and definition for equitable SEL. Finally, we discuss the current state of PreK-5 SEL programs, using findings from a content analysis to describe the extent to which programs address equity in lessons and promote transformative SEL skill building.

Using Picturebooks to Teach with and against Social and Emotional Learning

Using critical literacy, this study examines how teachers can use quality picturebooks to read both with and against social emotional learning competencies.