Essentials of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Donna Lord Black
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immensely complex system of programs, policies, curriculums, and funding formulas. In addition, student populations are increasingly more diverse, leaving school systems to struggle with meeting the needs of all students. In his writings, Plato wrote about education as a means to achieve justice, both individual and social justice. He believed that all people could exist in harmony if society provided them with an equal educational opportunity. Without this, society would be unjust because he believed it would be run by unqualified people, resulting in tyranny. While modern education somewhat mirrors Plato’s beliefs, it continues to struggle with issues of educational equity and social justice. However, an increased focus on the need to prepare children for a global workforce has shifted these priorities to the forefront.
Preparation for a Global Workforce: World Economic Forum’s Emphasis on SEL
Prior to and since the publication of the report from the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, interest in and demand for SEL in schools have surged dramatically. This surge has been due, in part, to a strong recognition that students are not being prepared for the workforce of the future. It is projected that 65% of children entering grade school will work in jobs that do not currently exist (Davison, 2013). It is further projected that this emerging labor market will require workers to have skills that have not been the traditional focus in the past. Skills in social and emotional proficiency will be the skills most demanded by these jobs of the future (Levy & Murnane, 2013). According to the World Economic Forum, there are 16 critical skills that young people will need for the future workforce, and these skills extend well beyond the literacy skills that are the primary focus of most schools today. In fact, only six of these necessary skills are considered literacy skills. The remaining 10 skills are related to character qualities and competencies needed for dealing with complex challenges (World Economic Forum, 2016). A description of these 16 skills can be found in Rapid Reference 2.8. While these skills are important for workforce success, they are equally important in preparing students for success in life. In fact, the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) reports that today’s children will need a balanced set of social, emotional, and cognitive skills in order to face the challenges of the twenty‐first century and achieve positive life outcomes (OECD, 2015).
Rapid Reference 2.8 Critical Skills for the Twenty‐First Century
Source : World Economic Forum, New Vision for Education: Fostering Social and Emotional Learning Through Technology, March 2016. Reprinted with permission.
CONCLUSIONS
A review of historical events demonstrates the importance of social and emotional development in educating young people, and how important this area of development is in guiding future educational efforts. Awareness of SEL’s importance has gained widespread recognition and it is now valued as being of equal importance in educating young people as cognitive development and academic achievement. Recent societal events confirm this importance, as do studies on future workforce needs. Unfortunately, policy efforts have been slow to adapt to the mounting evidence for SEL, although recent events suggest this may be evolving more positively. As school systems struggle to prepare young people for success in life and to meet the demands of a changing society, they should not ignore what history has demonstrated. In the case of SEL, history clearly has demonstrated that social and emotional development is a critical domain in the learning process and should be viewed as a natural and necessary component of learning.
TEST YOURSELF
1 The knowledge we gain from the history of SEL helps usconfirm existing problems.advance and promote SEL in schools.memorize important facts about SEL.
2 The recent event that was most responsible for propelling SEL into the spotlight wasthe COVID‐19 pandemic of 2020.school safety concerns.trauma and adversity.
3 During the COVID‐19 pandemic of 2020, advocates for SEL were most concerned that funding for SEL in schools would be lost because of greater access to free SEL resources.TrueFalse
4 National and state policy changes that lead to “zero‐tolerance” policies in schools were not rooted in clear knowledge surrounding need, but instead was fueled by media coverage of out‐of‐control youth.TrueFalse
5 From the late 1990s and into the 2000s, exclusionary discipline practices based on zero‐tolerance policies resulted in schools deferring to the juvenile and criminal courts systems to handle minor, discretionary discipline infractions in schools. This became known as the school‐to‐prison pipeline, a phenomenon that was fueled by which of the following?Reliable, accurate data measuring school crimeMedia coverage of juvenile crime and out‐of‐control youthThe No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
6 The impact of trauma and adversity on children has contributed to a sudden surge of interest in SEL. Prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic of 2020, how many children were reported to have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE)?25%30%50%
7 Despite the numerous studies that have been conducted to confirm the short‐ and long‐term benefits of SEL, there continues to be resistance from different groups, including school and district leaders, school staff, parents, community members, and policy makers. This resistance is likely due toa misunderstanding of what SEL is and what makes it an essential component of education.a lack of funding to support SEL implementation.a fragmented educational system in which the various components must compete for sparse resources.
8 Although the beginnings of SEL date back to Ancient Greek times, SEL was not well defined until the late 1990s. The event that established and defined the field of SEL wasthe formation of the Collaborative for Advancing Social Emotional Learning, now known as CASEL.the emergence of the Comer School Development Program.the 1997 ASCD publication entitled Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators, coauthored by Maurice Elias and Roger Weissberg.
9 In January 2019, the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development issued its final report that provided recommendations for implementing SEL in schools and communities. The report was entitledFrom a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope.From Schools at Risk to Schools of Hope.From a Nation Broken to a Nation Repaired.
10 According to the World Economic Forum, there are 16 critical skills that young people will need for the future workforce, and these skills extend well beyond the literacy skills that are the primary focus of most schools today. Of these skills, how many are related to character qualities and competencies needed for dealing with complex challenges?61016
Answers: 1, b; 2, a; 3, b; 4, a; 5, b; 6, c; 7, a; 8, c; 9, a; 10, b.
REFERENCES
1 Abbott, G. (2018). School and firearm safety action plan. State of Texas, Office of the Governor. https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor‐abbott‐unveils‐plan‐to‐address‐school‐safety‐in‐texas
2 American Civil Liberties Union. (2019). School‐to‐prison pipeline [Infographic]. https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile‐justice/school‐prison‐pipeline/school‐prison‐pipeline‐infographic
3 Black, D. (2020, May 7). Social and emotional learning: Why we must act now. Western Psychological Services.