Social And Emotional Learning: Why It So Important For Kids Now?

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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
0:50 What exactly is social and emotional learning?
1:22 What is emotional intelligence?
1:56 Why we need social and emotional learning now more than ever?

Social–emotional learning (SEL) is an educational method that aims to foster social and emotional skills within school curricula. SEL is also referred to as "socio-emotional learning", "social and emotional learning", or "social–emotional literacy". In common practice, SEL emphasizes social and emotional skills to the same degree as other subjects, such as math, science, and reading.[1]

The application of SEL (and similar educational theories) within public schools has become increasingly controversial since 2020, especially within the United States. SEL began in the 1960s at the Yale School of Medicine in its Child Study Center. There, Professor James Comer started the Comer School Development Program where he focused on the education systems of low-income African-American communities, particularly the elementary schools in New Haven, Connecticut due to their poor academic report cards.[2] The school implemented programs that focused on the social and emotional needs of the students. The approach spread to the New Haven public schools due to their proximity to Yale University.

Roger Weissberg, Timothy Shriver, researchers, and educators established the New Haven Social Development program in 1987. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) was founded in 1994, and participants published Promoting Social and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators in 1997.[3]

In 2019, the concept of Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (Transformative SEL, TSEL or T-SEL) was developed. Transformative SEL aims to guide students to "critically examine root causes of inequity, and to develop collaborative solutions that lead to personal, community, and societal well-being."[4][5] In 2020, CASEL added information about Transformative SEL to its website, proclaiming it as their "updated definition of SEL".[6][7][8]