Facilitators

1
Facilitators Barriers to Integrating
Social-Emotional Learning into Classroom Settings

• Bonnie K. Nastasi, PhD
• Jean J. Schensul, PhD
• Cheryl Tyler Balkcom, PsyD
• Institute for Community Research
• Hartford, CT, USA
• This project is supported through a grant to ICR
  from NIDA (NIH, USA), Building Group Norms in
  Urban Middle Schools, DA12015.

2
Students Are students developmentally ready for
the curriculum?

• Do students have prerequisite social emotional
  competencies?
• Do students have prerequisite academic skills to
  work with curriculum?

3
Students Are skills relevant to students lives?

• Does curriculum address diverse cultural
  contexts relevant to students (peer, family,
  school, community)?
• Are the skills/strategies in curriculum
  appropriate to complex lives of students?
• Does curriculum provide opportunity for students
  to incorporate personal experiences?

4
Teachers Is social-emotional development outside
the domain of educators?

• Are teachers prepared to facilitate
  social-emotional learning?
• When does social-emotional instruction become
  mental health intervention?
• Do teachers see SEL as part of their domain?

5
Teachers Are there adequate opportunities for
training and support?

• What types of support and training are needed?
• What is the role of the mental health specialist?
• Do training support need to extend beyond the
  SEL curriculum to include behavior management
  /or general instructional issues?

6
Teachers Does the teacher have a choice?

• Is social-emotional instruction voluntary?
• Do teachers have freedom to choose how they
  promote SEL?

7
Classroom/Curriculum Is SEL viewed as separate
lesson or integral to instructional
environment?

• Is SEL integral to behavior management or
  classroom discipline policies?
• Does the teacher attempt to integrate
  social-emotional competencies across the
  curriculum?

8
Classroom/Curriculum Does the curriculum
include opportunities for application?

• Does the curriculum go beyond knowledge?
• Do students have opportunities to practice
  skills?
• Are there opportunities to apply skills outside
  of the lessons?

9
Classroom/Curriculum Is the curriculum part of
a comprehensive strategy for SEL?

• What are the goals of the curriculum?
• How does the program fit within a prevention lt-gt
  treatment continuum?
• How are the needs of students with existing
  problems addressed?
• Is a procedure in place for identification and
  referral for students with more serious problems?

10
System School/District Does the program have
institutional support?

• Is SEL part of a system-wide effort?
• Are administrators aware of and supportive of the
  program?
• Are there mental health specialists available to
  assist teachers?
• Are resources (e.g., funding, staff, curriculum)
  to support SEL adequate?

11
System School/District Is SEL part of the
school culture?

• Is SEL priority that is equal to academic
  learning?
• Is SEL integrated with academic curriculum and
  school discipline procedures?
• Is the classroom program part of system-wide
  mental health effort?

12
System School/District Are there efforts to
facilitate consistent implementation?

• Is sufficient instructional time devoted to SEL?
• How are assignments of SEL instruction decided?
• Is there a sequenced SEL curriculum across grade
  levels?
• Is there a plan for monitoring implementation
  outcomes?

13
Solutions

• Participatory process to involve stakeholders at
  multiple levels
• Process for adaptation of the program to
  population context (vs. single program)
• Ongoing monitoring of acceptability, social
  validity, implementation, impact
  (evaluation/accountability)
• Continual process of negotiating relationships at
  multiple levels
• Planning for institutionalization
  sustainability
• Flexibility of program developers

14
Implications

• Ecological-developmental approach to address
  person-context interactions at multiple levels
• Systematic intervention-as-research process to
  guide decision making reflective practice
• Need for careful study of program implementation