Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the “process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.” (CASEL).
The increased attention that schools have placed on SEL in recent years is the result of the accumulating evidence that a child’s academic performance is deeply related to their social-emotional competence and wellness. For example, strong social-emotional skills are related to:
- Higher levels of academic performance (e.g., grades)
- Higher levels of educational attainment (e.g., enrollment in post-secondary institutions),
- Increased attendance, and
- Higher levels of academic engagement (e.g., on-task behavior)
Given these findings, SEL skills can be thought of as “academic-enablers,” or skills that allow students to more consistently and effectively engage, participate, and benefit from classroom instruction.
Beyond academic functioning, students with strong social-emotional skills also report stronger and more healthy interpersonal relationships, higher levels of subjective well-being, fewer mental health symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression), and reduced engagement in risk-taking behavior (e.g., substance use).
From a community perspective, evidence from Columbia University’s Center for Cost-Benefit Analysis found that for every $1 spent on SEL programming, the return on investment is $11 in long-term benefits to students, schools, and communities.
There are five core competencies described by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) that aid in providing students with the necessary strategies to build resilience towards the social demands of an ever-changing world:
- Self-awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and their influence on behavior. This includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.
- Self-management: The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals.
- Social awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
- Relationship skills: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.
- Responsible decision-making: The ability to make constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others
SEL in PSB
In the Public Schools of Brookline, educators use a variety of practices to support students’ wellness and social-emotional development. Social-emotional learning (SEL) is integrated into daily routines (e.g., community-building activities), embedded within academic instruction (e.g., reflecting on characters’ emotions), and taught explicitly (e.g., stress management skills).
As a reminder, social-emotional learning is not separate from academic learning. Skills such as managing emotions, building relationships, persevering through challenges, organizing tasks, and seeking help when needed are essential for success in school, college, careers, and life. Strong SEL helps students engage more fully in learning and make the most of educational opportunities.
Our primary SEL goals are to:
- Strengthen students’ social-emotional skills, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
- Create safe, supportive, and affirming school communities with strong peer and adult relationships. Research consistently shows that students are more likely to thrive when they feel a sense of belonging at school and have strong, supportive relationships with peers and trusted adults.
- Ensure access to high-quality, culturally responsive mental health care, both in school and within the community.
By investing in SEL, we help ensure that all students are emotionally and psychologically prepared to engage in learning and pursue their personal, social, academic, and future career goals.
Our mental health and SEL programming also focus on:
- Increasing access to protective factors such as belonging and supportive relationships
- Expanding explicit instruction in social-emotional skills and healthy coping strategies
- Includes implementation of the Second Step program in PreK–5 classrooms
- Strengthening suicide prevention efforts in middle and high school
- Includes implementation of the Signs of Suicide program in Grades 7 and 9
- Expanding access to evidence-based, tiered school-based mental health supports
- Increasing access to community-based mental health care
- Supporting educator wellness and capacity to meet students’ needs
- Providing training and support for parents and caregivers. Families are essential partners in social-emotional development. We work collaboratively with parents and caregivers to support students' emotional well-being, resilience, and healthy development both at school and at home.
What Does SEL Look Like in Schools?
In schools, focusing on SEL often looks like:
- Classroom community and relationship-building activities
- Teaching students how to recognize and manage emotions
- Teaching students problem-solving and conflict resolution skills
- Helping students set goals
- Teaching stress management and coping skills
- Opportunities to build empathy and perspective-taking
- Developing positive peer and adult relationships
- Having students work together to complete academic tasks
Supporting All Students
PSB uses a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to promote student well-being. While all students receive universal social-emotional learning and wellness supports, some students may benefit from additional targeted or individualized services based on their needs.