As battles rage over what can be taught in classrooms across the country, social-emotional learning (SEL) has also been caught in the crossfire. At least eight states have introduced bills to ban or limit SEL, and parents across the country are protesting.
SEL teaches students interpersonal skills and how to understand, control, and express their emotions, and has been a part of education for decades under various names, including whole-child education and character development. I did. However, the program has recently come under fire from conservative media outlets, including coverage of 2021. washington examiner article, suggested that SEL could be a “Trojan horse” for teaching children about critical race theory and gender diversity.
“What is clear is that while SEL programs do not focus on diversity and equity, they do not extend the SEL goal of “working well with others” to anything other than supporting student learning. There is a section of the population that is confused about the meaning,” Tammy said. Dr. Hughes is a professor of school psychology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and past president of APA Division 16 (School Psychology).
But psychologists stress that research shows SEL skills are essential to student learning, mental health, and well-being. If the ban and funding cuts are successful, children and teens, many of whom are already at risk, will suffer at a time when anxiety, depression, and suicide rates are all on the rise. right(youth mental healthU.S. Surgeon General, 2023).
“I think it’s really concerning that this could be used as a political point-scoring operation that could cause real harm to children, educators and schools.” , said Dr. Stephanie M. Jones, professor of child development and psychologist. Educated at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, he helped develop, evaluate, and implement his SEL programs in K-12 schools.
Critics of SEL also ignore the vast body of research showing the widespread benefits of social-emotional learning. Meta-analyses of hundreds of studies show that SEL programs improve academic achievement, student well-being, peer relationships, and overall school functioning (Durlak, JA, et al., child development, Vol. 82, No.1, 2011; Cipriano, C. et al. OSF preprint, 2023). SEL can also help address key risk factors for youth suicide, such as hopelessness, anxiety, substance use, and sexual abuse (Posamentier, J., et al., trauma, violence, abuse; Vol. 24, No. 2, 2022). Longitudinal studies predict that the effects last for at least 18 years, improving social relationships, increasing high school graduation and college attendance, and decreasing arrests and health problems (Taylor, R.D., et al. child development, Vol. 88, No. 4, 2017).
“At this point, it’s clear that exposure to these programs actually benefits children both academically and socially,” said Dr. Sarah Lim Kaufman, a psychologist and professor of education in the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development. Stated. Impact of SEL programs.
Backlash against SEL
Jordan Posamantier, J.D., vice president of policy and advocacy at the Children’s Commission, one of the nation’s largest SEL providers, said two main concerns are fueling attacks on SEL and that programs are not progressive. He said it was part of a “woke agenda” to teach new ideas. School can be a distraction from schoolwork.
Hughes said the accusations surfaced during school board meetings, parent-teacher meetings and regular parent-teacher conferences. Parents are concerned that SEL is a slippery slope or even an indoctrination tool for teaching children about racial inequality, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
At Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Virginia, several parents criticized a freshman seminar class aimed at helping students transition from middle school to high school just before the pandemic. This course provides academic support and teaches her SEL skills such as expressing empathy for others, building healthy relationships, and contributing to the broader school community.
“When there’s pushback from parents, they usually say it’s not the school’s right to teach these topics, or that their kids don’t need support,” said Stephen Turner, equity education specialist for the Ablemar County School District. It is customary,” he said.
At the state level, proposed bills in states such as North Dakota, Oklahoma, Maine, and Iowa seek to ban or limit SEL. For example, Oklahoma’s SB 1027 requires schools to promote “self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, interpersonal skills, responsible decision-making, and/or other attributes, temperament, social skills, attitudes, behaviors, beliefs; feelings, emotions, mindset, metacognitive learning skills, motivation, grit, self-regulation, tenacity, perseverance, resilience, and/or intrapersonal resources.” Such bans have largely failed, but teaching materials New legislation that would require broader scrutiny of programs and make it easier for children to opt out could pose a greater threat to SEL programs, Posamantier said.
Still, data shows families, legislators and communities value the principles underlying SEL, Posamantier said. A nationally representative survey commissioned by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education policy think tank, found that parents overwhelmingly want schools to teach skills important to SEL, such as managing emotions and communicating with peers.How to sell: Parents and the politics of social-emotional learning. Fordham Institute, 2021).
More than 90% of parents surveyed agree that students should learn at school how to set and achieve goals, approach challenges positively, and believe in themselves and their abilities. did. More than 80% supported schools that teach children how to navigate social situations. Understand, express, and control your emotions. Empathize with others. And stand up for people from different backgrounds.
“When parents ask their children what they want in school, they often report that it aligns with social and emotional skills,” Jones said. “They want their children to be noticed and valued, to be happy, to learn, to be successful and to feel like they fit in.”
But when asked about terminology, parents ranked “SEL” second from the bottom on a list of 12 related program names. “Soft skills” was the least popular term. “Life skills” was by far the most popular. The survey also revealed differences along political lines. Democratic parents were more likely than Republican parents to support teaching SEL skills in schools, including allocating more resources to SEL programs.
These findings suggest that using different terminology may be an important way to build support for content taught in SEL programs. Currently, many programs use scientific terminology (e.g. “self-regulation” instead of “self-control”) that does not clearly convey what is being taught and can leave parents feeling left out. said National Research Director Dr. Adam Tyner. Fordham Research Institute, 2021 Research Report Author.
“Instead of using terminology that everyone knows, we are using new terminology that makes parents feel like they are outsiders or that they are not involved,” he said. “This raises a lot of red flags for people who may already be skeptical about what’s going on in schools.”
dispel the myths
One reason educators use standard terms like “SEL” is because it helps garner funding and support for policies, Limkaufman said. In fact, schools and districts’ spending on SEL programs increased by 45% from November 2019 to April 2021, according to a report by education consulting firm Titon Partners.Social-emotional learning plays a central role in kindergarten through high school. Titon Partners, 2021).
“But it also calls attention to SEL and suggests that we’re doing something completely new and different,” Lim Kaufman said.
Psychologists say one of the best ways to increase support for SEL programs is to include parents in the conversation.
“Teachers are the clear experts when it comes to teaching the periodic table, but not when it comes to believing in yourself and collaborating with others,” Tyner says. He added that parents teach these skills from birth and may have strong opinions about how they should be developed.
90% of those surveyed by Fordham said parents are most responsible for developing their children’s social and emotional skills. Teachers were ranked fourth, behind other families and children.
Schools can involve parents in the conversation by clearly explaining, without jargon, what SEL skills are and how they support learning. Children learn how to focus and shift their attention, manage their behavior, communicate with others, and express emotions such as frustration and excitement in appropriate ways. Programs from leading groups such as Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and Character Lab, The Children’s Committee also teaches children about gratitude, grit, curiosity, humility, and more.
Schools can also share specific details about what and how they plan to teach, and encourage dialogue with parents about how to teach the skills at home and address concerns. said Rim Kaufman. For example, teenagers often learn about respectful behavior in middle school and high school classrooms, but not all families and cultures define “respect” the same way. For some, behavior against authority is most important. Others encourage children to show respect to adults only if adults have shown them respect by listening to them and trying to understand them.
In addition to providing parents with details about what the SEL program teaches their children, schools should explain that the SEL program is not a substitute for academic learning and be clear about what the program does not cover. can. For example, while SEL’s core skills include understanding and adjudicating inequitable situations, Jones and his colleagues argue that most of his SEL programs include equity, cultural, and racial Indicated that it does not contain content related to injustice (frontier of education, Vol. June 6, 2021).
“There is a huge misconception about what SEL programs are actually meant to do and what their content involves,” Jones says.
In fact, promoting SEL as a way to increase equity capital may be exacerbating the polarization around it, Tyner said. When parents hear the word “fair,” they may mistakenly think that the program is not designed to help their child. Instead, SEL can be marketed as a way to enhance learning for all students.
Emphasizing the practical, long-term outcomes of SEL programs also helps engage parents, says Angela Duckworth, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder of Character Lab. states.
[Related: The benefits of social-emotional learning]
“When I speak to parents and educators, I point out that these skills are positively correlated with and predictive of academic outcomes such as grades, attendance, and even college graduation. ” she says.
Psychologists can support that dialogue by bridging the gap between science and the public, including policy makers, educators, and parents. Children’s committees can help school districts find ways to emphasize the benefits of her SEL without using jargon and tailoring the conversation to resonate with specific communities. For example, it provides an easy-to-understand overview of research on the specific benefits of SEL skills, including reduced substance abuse, violence, and suicide.
“You shouldn’t expect your child to progress academically, much less to succeed in work or life in the future, by ignoring their emotional and relational experiences,” Posamantier says. . “Policies and politics that get in the way of these parts of life undermine the essence of education.”
Psychologists have already helped build a strong evidence base for SEL, so future priorities should promote the idea that these programs are simply aimed at helping children succeed in school. Jones said that should be the case.
“It’s like chanting a mantra,” she said. “I think if we can continue to talk about SEL in this very basic way, we can set aside some of the political myth-making that has arisen around it.”