Background Information on Social and Emotional Development Guidelines Prepared by the New York State Education Department
The Children’s Mental Health Act of 2006 requires the state to develop and monitor a children’s mental health plan. Section 305 of Education Law was amended to direct the Commissioners of Education and Mental Health to develop guidelines for incorporating social and emotional development into elementary and secondary educational programs "for voluntary implementation by school districts." The Regents have committed to engaging statewide and local partners on a P-16 Education Action Plan which includes Action 11.3 "to develop guidelines that incorporate social and emotional development into elementary and secondary school programs."
The following issues provide examples of the need for social and emotional learning (SEL):
Developing Assets
The Search Institute’s (Benson et al., 1999) surveys
indicate that 29% of youth see themselves as thinking through the results of
their choices and planning ahead, but 71% do not; and 35% see themselves as
respecting the values and beliefs of people of different races and cultures,
but 65% do not.
Improving Academic Achievement
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional
Learning (CASEL, 2006) at the University of Illinois at Chicago conducted a
meta-analytic summary of 700 research studies that confirm that students who
receive SEL skills instruction improve an average of 14% in standardized
achievement tests.
Reducing Risky Behavior
The Centers for Disease Control (2003) reported that 28%
of youth reported feeling so sad or hopeless every day for two weeks or more
that they stopped doing their normal activities and that 12% of youth surveyed
had made a plan to commit suicide sometime during the last twelve months. In
nationwide interviews with 725 high-school and 515 middle-school professionals
knowledgeable about mental health services, 68% of the high school
professionals identified depression as a great (14%) or moderate (54%) problem
in their schools; 54% identified bullying as a great (11%) or moderate (43%)
problem. Middle school professionals were more concerned about interpersonal
conflict: bullying by 82% and fighting by 57% of professionals (Princeton
Survey Research Associates International, 2006).
Complying with NCLB, IDEA and SAVE
Schools establish plans for being safe and drug-free, preventing
drop outs, reducing suspension, expulsion and referrals to restricted
environments and implementing scientifically-based interventions. A USED Safe
and Drug-Free Schools and Communities report (June 2007) concluded that schools
cited as dangerous need guidance to "focus on improving school climates over
time."
International Comparisons
UNICEF’s Child Poverty in Perspective "report card" (2007)
studied poverty affecting children in industrialized countries and their
policies to mitigate it. There is no strong or consistent relationship between
a country’s wealth (GDP) and child well being. Among the United States’ youth
assets were a high ranking for its lower percentage who smoke tobacco compared
to European counterparts and ranked in the middle of 21 countries in the
percentage of children under age two receiving immunizations. The
U.S. ranked at the bottom for obesity, births among females ages 15-19, and third to last in quality of peer relationships.
Skills for the 21st Century Workplace
In 1990, the U.S. Secretary of Labor's Commission on
Achieving Necessary Skills focused on the skills young people need to succeed
in the world of work to encourage a high-performance, high-skill, high-wage
employment economy. This skills set includes: information, communication and
media literacy skills; critical thinking and systems thinking; problem
identification, formulation and solution; creativity and intellectual
curiosity; interpersonal and collaborative skills; self-direction;
accountability and adaptability; social responsibility; and global awareness.
American Citizenship in a Global
Community
"Diversity happens… pluralism is a conscious effort"
(Hutchinson 2003). Public education is historically challenged by increasingly
diverse populations of students and adults. Getting along in a pluralistic
community does not evolve naturally as students transitioning from small
elementary schools to larger secondary schools discover annually. Overcoming
social isolation and estrangement and becoming comfortable with diversity takes
time and intentional effort by school and district leaders.
Barriers to Learning and Supportive School Environments
An implicit assumption has been that students are motivationally ready and able each day to benefit from the teacher’s instructional efforts. For many youngsters there are interfering factors that thwart the best efforts of teachers. Prevailing approaches to school improvement do not always create optimal school conditions and student capacities for learning. This is especially detrimental where large proportions of students are not doing well and pupil personnel services are fragmented. The comprehensive full service model (Adelman, 1996) calls for six enabling components focused on mechanisms to enhance service access, case management, resource coordination and "classroom focused enabling."
Attention to social and emotional learning (SEL) and coordination of student supports and learning environments are enabling components that aim to engage both marginalized and mainstream students. Done well, it creates a vocabulary and coordinating framework for schoolwide efforts to promote children’s healthy development and can also bridge the gap between mental health personnel and teaching and administrative staff.
The specific goals of SEL are to help students develop skills to recognize and manage emotions, demonstrate caring and concern for others, handle challenging situations constructively, make responsible decisions, and establish positive relationships. These skills, in turn, facilitate other positive outcomes for youth, including better ability to focus attention, study, persist toward goals in the face of setbacks, achieve higher grades and test scores, and make healthier choices (e.g., avoiding drug use).
Social and Emotional Learning
Social and emotional learning (SEL) means children and
adults have knowledge, attitudes and skills to recognize and manage their
emotions, demonstrate caring and concern for others, establish positive
relationships, make responsible decisions and handle challenging situations
constructively. Having those competencies are predictive of children’s ability
to learn and solve problems non-violently (Zins et al., 2004).
The life skills associated with these core competencies can be taught to teachers and staff and integrated into schools in a variety of ways. Examples include:
- implementing curriculum-based programs that focus on social skill development, conflict resolution, character education, health issues, drug prevention or ethics;
- weaving specific SEL themes and skills into class content;
- using cooperative learning experiences through which social and emotional skills and academic skills are practices, reflected upon, and reinforced;
- offering electives and extracurricular activities that help students develop interpersonal and problem-solving skills;
- creating a respectful, supportive school environment where language and behavior encourage positive regard for self and others;
- embracing the family and the surrounding community and engaging students actively and experientially through participation, collaboration and service.
Effective SEL programming provides opportunities for:
- students to contribute to their communities,
- families to enhance their children’s social and emotional development,
- professional development for school administrators, teachers, student support services, and support staff, and
- community groups to partner with schools and affect the lives of children and youth (Elias et al.,1997)
Students learn better when they feel safe and valued in a supportive environment with trained teachers. When we combine social and emotional skill instruction with safe and caring school environments, student attitudes and self perception improve, behavioral adjustment becomes easier, substance abuse and internalizing symptoms lessen, and student achievement increases.
The Annenberg Chicago Project’s research (Lee, et al., 1999) showed that support services from people in and out of schools – teachers, parents, peers and community – and academic press have essentially equal and strong effects on achievement. They are complementary, not in competition or mutually exclusive. Weissberg and Durlak’s meta-analysis (2005) reveals that academic performance can be improved as much as 15% when SEL is integrated throughout the school.
National and State Initiatives
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2002) urges
teachers to incorporate essential life skills into their pedagogy, as did the
U.S. Secretary of Labor's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS,
1991). National organizations such as the CASEL, the National Center for
Learning and Citizenship, and the U.S.DOE’s WhatWorks Clearinghouse have
developed resources to design and manage social-emotional learning and
supportive communities. They have conducted and summarized studies on the
impact of SEL on student performance and behavior.
Prominent examples of state policy addressing barriers to learning:
California Department of Education 1997 adopted a guide and criteria for physical, emotional, and intellectual "Learning Supports" for children and youth to achieve high quality learning.
Hawaii 1999 Department of Education established comprehensive student support systems in schools to ensure the opportunity and environments necessary to learn and attain the standards.
Iowa State Department of Education 2005 committed to oversee cross-agency implementation of a comprehensive system of supports to address barriers to learning.
Illinois State Board of Education 2004 (prompted by a Children’s Mental Health Act) created SEL learning standards and requires school districts to adopt a policy on meeting the social and emotional needs of every child. The legislature allocated $5 million to support implementation, 50 districts received planning funds in 2006, and Regional Offices of Education are preparing to provide coaching in SEL.
Alaska’s Anchorage School District which enrolls two-fifths of the state’s school children approved, in 2004, social and emotional learning standards for children K-12 linked to relevant key developmental assets developed by the Search Institute.
New Jersey State Board of Education completed adoption in 2004 of the first revision of its Core Curriculum Content Standards which provide many new anchors for character education, community service and SEL-related skills.
Ohio Department of Education in 2006 issued school climate guidelines designed for building and district administrators and also used for local policy discussions with staff, students, parents, school boards and other community members.
See Appendix A for international practices in school-based social and emotional development.
Related Past and Emergent New York State
Initiatives
Personal and interpersonal qualities of self-management
and ability to plan, organize, act independently and work in teams are central
to the "universal foundation skills" found in New York State’s CDOS Learning
Standards (1996) and essential for success in family, social and work
situations. A Safe and Healthy Environment, Learning Standard 2 for Health,
Physical Education and Family and Consumer Sciences, calls for students to
demonstrate personally and socially responsible behavior, to care for and
respect themselves and others, to recognize threats to the environment, and to
demonstrate skills of cooperation and collaboration while engaged in physical
activity (see A Guidance Document for Achieving the New York State Standards in
Health Education, November 2005). The last Key Idea in each of the five New
York State Social Studies standards asks students to view history and culture
through the eyes of others, consider diverse points of view, evaluate different
sources of evidence, make informed decisions, and express skepticism toward
questionable arguments.
However, the drive for academic performance has inadvertently pushed these so-called "soft skills" aside. And without explicit identification as a learning standard area in itself, rather than a scattered set of unconnected skills found under multiple other standards, student SEL skill development can easily be lost and ignored.
There already exists throughout New York State models of social and emotional development. New York’s "Learn and Serve America" programs integrate service-learning into schools K-12 and foster civic responsibility, participation, service and knowledge within our young people. NYSED initiated specific linkages to social and emotional development by promoting "Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support" (PBIS). VESID plans to increase discretionary funds to expand regional expertise, training and technical assistance, and opportunities for active parent participation in PBIS schools. The Buffalo Public Schools has enhanced its PBIS programs (using NYS Extended Day funding) with a student support plan and a behavior management model for its focus high schools.
The New York City Department of Education is funding "policy pilots" in which 20 schools are funded and receive technical support to plan and implement schoolwide SEL, in collaboration with Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility. On Long Island, an established "SEL Forum" with representatives from the three BOCES, retired and active district and school administrators, guidance directors and social workers, provides training in supportive learning environments and student leadership. NYSED’s statewide Student Support Services Center conducts Leadership Institutes for several school districts to enhance learning environments that support academic achievement, citizenship, health and youth development.
Summary
"Ready for What?" Education Week’s June 2007 supplement on
high school graduation asks: what is the precise mix of academic and
nonacademic skills that best prepares young people to take advantage of labor
market opportunities? "Nonacademic skills" go by a variety terms: habits of
mind, metacognitive capabilities, team work ethic, leadership skills, etc. See
for example, "Toward a More Comprehensive Conception of College Readiness,"
from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Social, emotional, and cognitive development are highly interrelated. Principle 1 of the New York State Code of Ethics for Educators (2002) begins: "Educators nurture the intellectual, physical, emotional, social, and civic potential of each student." SEL has a positive impact on student attitudes, behaviors, and performance.
School climate and culture emerge in direct relationship to how well a school addresses barriers to learning and how intentionally instruction and environment promote positive social and emotional development. Attention to social and emotional learning, by creating a vocabulary and coordinating framework for schoolwide efforts to promote children’s healthy development, helps bridge the gap between mental health personnel and teaching and administrative staff.
The goals of SEL are to help student recognize and manage emotions, demonstrate caring and concern for others, handle challenging situations constructively, make responsible decision and establish positive relationships. Students learn better when they feel safe and valued in a supportive environment with trained teachers. Research on social and emotional development also indicates that student attitudes and self perception improve, behavioral adjustment becomes easier, substance abuse and internalizing symptoms lessen, and student achievement increases.
Appendix A: International Practices in Social and Emotional Learning
Singapore, in response to requests from the global business community, searched for methods to improve their graduates' abilities to work effectively in the multi-racial work groups common to these companies. In summer 2006, the Ministry of Education launched SEL nationwide in schools.
United Kingdom Department for Education and Skills has committed over the last five years significant resources to develop "social and emotional aspects of learning (SEAL)" programs. The program can be found in about half of primary schools and is being supported in 10% of secondary schools this year.
Israel’s Ministry of Education views emotional intelligence as the key to student engagement, violence reduction, and increased motivation for learning and creativity. Educators have developed a dual approach, first finding and nurturing children's strengths and second integrating life skills and prevention services.
In South America, Colombia implemented a policy on national citizenship competencies to foster the peaceful resolution of conflict, promote the understanding of differences, involve young people in mutual decision making, and encourage a collaboration of youth and adults. This policy is being implemented in 36,000 Colombian institutions.
In British Columbia, many schools and districts are teaching social responsibility, even though it is not mandatory, and making it an integral part of teacher practice.
Areas of Spain committed to SEL include San Sebastian in the Basque region (300 schools), 75 schools in Cantabria (where they call it "Responsibility Education"), teacher prep in Barcelona, and "emotional intelligence" in schools in Malaga.