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office of equity and inclusion
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
Social and Emotional Learning is a process of establishing and maintaining culturally respectful environments for students and their families, and for faculty and staff. It is an inclusive environment that is managed through visual, verbal, emotional, and intellectual respect. The process builds skills to recognize and manage emotions, develop caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations effectively1.
SEL is also a unifying concept for organizing and coordinating school-based programming that focuses on positive youth development, health promotion, prevention of problem behaviors, and student engagement in learning2. It is a holistic approach for the school environment—facilities, actions of its population, and programs that support learning etc. It establishes a comprehensive plan to integrate strategies.
The Project:
A pilot program is being conducted over a five-year (5) period, beginning with the 2008-09 school year. The program incorporates social and emotional learning and is a collaboration among strategic partners, internal readiness, the Council on Educational Equity and Inclusion and three pilot schools (Englewood High School, Southside Middle School and Southside Estates). The pilot program is currently in its first year of planning. The mission of the program is to establish social and emotional learning (SEL) as an essential part of education. The goal of the project is to integrate SEL practice into formal and informal learning environments as a means to promote the healthy development of all students, staff, and families.
Projects managed by the Office of Equity and Inclusion will coordinate internally between Safe & Healthy Schools, Crisis Team, Community & Family Engagement, Curriculum & Instruction, and Instructional Research & Accountability.
Essential Areas of Social and Emotional Development
- Self-awareness: Recognizing one's emotions and values as well as one’s strengths and limitations.
- Self-management: Managing emotions and behaviors to achieve one’s goals.
- Social awareness: Showing understanding and empathy for others.
- Relationships skills: Forming positive relationships, working in teams, dealing effectively with conflict.
- Responsible decision making: Making ethical, constructive choices about personal and social behavior
Why is SEL needed?
A great deal of data indicates that large numbers of children are contending with significant social, emotional, and mental health barriers to their success in school and life. In addition, many children engage in challenging behaviors that educators must address to provide high quality instruction. Data from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey4 state that:
- 28.5% of youth reported having felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row during the previous 12 months that they stopped doing some usual activities
- 13% reported actually having made a plan to attempt suicide during this period
Data on developmental assets considered important to children’s mental health and social/emotional development are also cause for concern. A 2003 Search institute survey of 202 U.S. communities found that only 29% of students in 6th through 12th grade thought their school provided them with a caring, encouraging environment3.
In addition to the national data represented above, the Equity and Inclusion office has been working with students and staff over the past six years collecting data and conducting focus groups to obtain feedback to guide implementation. The most recent SPIRIT program conducted with Mandarin High School students revealed the top three priorities from over 50 student participants. Priorities include the following: 1) Administrations’ relationships, behaviors, and interactions with students; 2) Environmental issues including safety, cleanliness, and nutrition; and 3) Stereotyping in relation to adults and peers.
Proven practices
Research demonstrates that SEL is critical in developing the whole child—health, ethics, citizenships, academic learning, and motivation to achieve4. A meta-analysis of 207 studies involving a broad representative group of more than 288,000 students from urban, suburban, and rural elementary and secondary schools shows positive results of SEL that shows significant improvement in the following :
- Social and emotional skills
- Attitudes about self, others, and school
- Social and classroom behavior
- Conduct—including misbehavior and aggression
- Emotional distress—stress and depression
- Achievement test scores and school grades
Gains Achieved
The gains resulting from school-based SEL programs:
- 23% improvement in social and emotional skills
- 9% improvement in attitudes about self, others, and school
- 9% improvement in school and classroom behavior
- 9% decrease in conduct problems
- 10% decrease in emotional distress
- 11 percentile point gain in achievement test scores
*Sources: 1 & 2 Building a Foundation for the Future, CASEL; 3 & 4 http://www.casel.org
Contact:
Josephine Jackson, J.D.
Executive Director
Office of Equity and Inclusion
Duval County Public Schools
1701 Prudential Drive, 4th Floor
Jacksonville, FL 32207-8182
Phone: (904) 390-2181
Fax: (904) 390-2536
Email
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