Viewpoint: Social emotional learning supports the whole person and community

Social emotional learning is being attacked. Specific reasons are rarely identified. Some folks suggest that emotional learning is the sole domain of the family and that current SEL programming represents overreach by the schools. Others accuse teachers of trying to be therapists or ignoring academics. These claims, in my grandmother’s words, are just a lot of “hooey.”

From the start of compulsory education, schools have played a significant role in the social emotional development of young people — and you know why? Because teaching and learning are social activities. Because self-awareness (knowing what you know and what you don’t) and the ability to regulate one’s mental and emotional states are essential to all learning. All functioning is dependent upon one’s brain state.

We resolve playground conflicts by helping students identify their feelings and motivations, consider their behavior’s impact on others and understand another’s perspective — the same way we teach character analysis in language arts. We teach about the importance of sleep, nutrition and planning as students prepare for exams. We support students to think positively and regulate their emotions because both impact complex thinking. We teach them to be assertive about their needs, because personal agency is fundamental to academic excellence. We teach them decision-making skills. Decades of research in human development, neuroscience and educational policy have established that social and emotional development is critical to learning.

SEL is about developing knowledge and utilizing skills in order to: establish a positive identity, manage emotions, empathize with others, create and maintain healthy relationships, set and achieve goals and make just and caring decisions. Social emotional skills develop through explicit and purposeful instruction, but also through practices, interactions and relationships. SEL is not simply about teaching discrete skills; it is also about creating “conditions for learning,” including the school culture and climate.

Extensive research indicates that when schools intentionally focus on SEL, students and communities experience the following benefits: student academic gains, including on-time graduation; improved school attendance and engagement; increases in post-secondary enrollment; enhanced employability skills; reduced rates of anxiety, depression and risky behaviors; and improved long-term outcomes in employment, citizenry and health. And SEL competencies are associated with decreased risk of alcohol and substance misuse and an increased likelihood of bouncing back from adversity.

Teachers with well-developed SEL skills have better relationships with students, engage more students and stay in the profession longer. Potential employers want a workforce with social and emotional competence. For all these reasons, SEL is broadly supported by educators. According to a recent report from The Fordham Institute, there is also broad family support for schools to teach social and emotional skills.

Young people, even before the isolation and anxiety of the pandemic, were struggling. Youth reports of depression and anxiety have now reached an all-time high. Distressingly, in Indiana, suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 15-24. Attending to the emotional well-being of our young people is imperative for schools and for families. It isn’t an either/or proposition, but a collective responsibility. SEL is our best primary prevention for mental health struggles, including addiction.

Hundreds of professional associations, research institutes and educational organizations support SEL in schools. From the American Academy of Pediatrics, to the After-School Alliance, to the Indiana Association for Public School Superintendents, to the Division of Mental Health and Addictions, groups knowledgeable about learning and developmental sciences, addiction and educational policy support this work. If one is genuinely concerned about young Hoosier’s school or post-school success, they support social emotional learning in Indiana schools. The science is clear.

Recently, Indiana’s attorney general has connected SEL to critical race theory. CRT is now used as an umbrella term for anything related to identity, equity and racial justice — concepts that appear divisive. Why these concepts are divisive is another column, but the AG knows his base.

The Collaborative for Social, Emotional and Academic Learning is a well-established group of distinguished scientists and educators producing resources for evidenced-based implementation of SEL. Their work is solid and highly regarded. Their resources have been used around the globe for decades. Most SEL curriculum and programming materials are based on CASEL’s work. The AG has condemned CASEL, and his main objection appears to be CASEL’s vision that SEL be a tool to leverage equity, as if leveraging equity is a dastardly deed. Isn’t education itself a lever for equity?

Sandy Washburn is a research scholar at Indiana University, Bloomington.