Social and emotional learning in schools: overview, principles, tensions

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Social and emotional learning in schools
overview, principles, tensions
Katherine Weare University of Southampton Skw
_at_soton.ac.uk ESRC seminar series 2nd seminar,
Southampton June 2008
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Terminologies, paradigms, discourses

• skills

• emotional intelligence

• resilience

• prevention

• promotion

• mental health

• problems

• wellbeing

• social and emotional learning

• happiness

• emotional literacy

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Aims and focus

• Overview of the (evidence based?) principles
  around SEL in schools
• Explore some tensions and balances
• Focus
• Universal approaches
• Programmes
• UK

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Some sources of quality programmes and evidence
of effectiveness world wide

• US Social and Emotional Learning - thousands
  of programmes at district level. 20 pass
  systematic review
• Australia- Health Promoting Schools,
  Resilience, Friends programme, focus
• Africa - Lifeskills
• Europe mental health, coping skills, Health
  Promoting Schools, anti-bullying

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UK

• Some home grown work e.g. Antidote, Jenny Mosely,
  Liz Morris
• Some imported programmes e.g. Paths, Second Step,
  EL in Middle Schools, Friends
• England
• SEAL 2/3 of primary, 10 secondary and growing
• Targeted approaches, some through SEAL, recent
  DCSF 60m
• Scotland, wide range including
• Restorative practices, Being Cool in School,
  Creating Confident Kids
• Wales
• Growing interest in EL and SEAL
• Northern Ireland
• Mainly through PSHE

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Some of the key principles driving this work
(in UK)

• Belief SEL/ mental health in school works
• Whole school approach
• Universal approach
• Further targeted work to help those with problems
• Teamwork e.g. supportive agencies, parents as
  partners, pupil voice
• Tailoring approaches
• Continued monitoring and improvement
• Staff development
• Explicit learning of skills and values, using
  diverse methods

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Some tensions and balances

• Appropriate terminology, discourses, paradigms
• Aims of SEL, and of schooling
• Autonomy/ conformity
• What constitutes evidence and the challenges of
  collecting it
• Whole school/group/individual focus
• Appropriate whole school environments
• Universal/ targeted balance
• Degree of prescription
• Monitoring proper uses
• Skills, competences qualities, attitudes/ values
• Autonomy or compliance

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Changing view of social and emotional education

• Holistic view
• Everyone including adults
• Everywhere e.g. secondary schools, workplaces
• All of us, including without problems(?)
• Positives e.g. wellness, growth, strengths,
• Central to educational goals e.g. learning and
  behaviour

• Traditional view
• For young children
• Responsibility of the home
• Special needs/ those with problems
• Trouble shooting prevention- therapy?
• Bolt on extra/low status activity

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Possible aims for SEL and for schools.

• Keeping the nation competitive - more employable/
  skilled students
• Innovation, change, future proof students
• Social harmony, community development
• Personal growth- e.g. happiness, spirituality,
  emotional literacy, resilience
• Socially responsible citizens- e.g. sustainable
  planet
• Critical thinking, social change, equity

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Systematic reviews suggest that well designed and
effective programmes can improve.

• Behaviour
• Attendance
• Exclusion social and educational
• Cultural and racial understanding
• Teacher retention, performance and morale
• Mental health problems - anxiety, depression,
  stress

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Some also impact on academic learning across the
ability range

• Paths thinking skills, problem solving,
  reading
• Child Development Project reading, maths,
  social studies, science
• Social decision making maths, modern languages,
  arts, social studies
• Resolving conflict creatively maths
• Primary SEAL reading and science

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Major influence of neuroscience - the brain is an
emotional organ

• Cerebral cortex - value driven and can only
  process what the limbic system lets in
• Limbic system gatekeeper -responds to what is
  emotionally meaningful/ valued
• Reptilian brain basic survival - all that is
  left to us under stress

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Tensions - what constitutes evidence in this
field?

• Systematic reviews of successful programmes?
• Controlled studies in classrooms/ groups?
• Impacts on behaviour, attendance, learning?
• Practical experience of what works?
• Qualitative studies?
• Necessarily eclectic
• Whole school is a nightmare to evaluate
• Need for caution
• Need for action

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A whole school approach- more than for everyone
or outside the classroom
Curriculum and Methods Pupil support Pupil
involvement
Management Leadership Policies
School climate and ethos
Community Parents Outside agencies
Physical environment
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Whole school tensions and balances

• Holism is attractive
• Striking a balance between skills and environment
• Is the school a meaningful unit? To whom?
• Can ignore the experience of the individuals,
  groups within the school
• Can be overwhelming - where do schools start, or
  stop?
• Can encourage top down approach

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Balance the key features of emotionally effective
environments

• Clarity e.g. rules and boundaries
• Autonomy e.g. respect, independence
• Relationships e.g. warmth, listening
• Participation e.g. belonging, ownership

CARP?
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Relationships

• Emotional wellbeing at the heart of the process
• Warmth
• Belonging/ valuing
• Empathy/ respect/ genuineness
• Focus on positives
• Listening
• Fun, humour
• Zero tolerance of bullying, violence also
  sarcasm, belittling

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Clarity

• Clear aims, strategic plans
• Explicit expectations, rules, roles
• Firm boundaries
• Congruent policies
• Positive behaviour management
• Real life rewards and consequences

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Participation

• Teamwork by all Involvement, engagement,
  ownership
• Equity, inclusion
• Open and transparent/ shared goals, values,
• Diversity/ success for all/ range of learning
  styles
• Pupil voice
• Groupwork, peer learning

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Autonomy

• Self determination/ independence
• Having control
• Personal responsibility
• Critical awareness and expression
• Choices, decision making, responsibility
• Self reflection

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Getting the right balance

• Clarity only cold, rigid environment
• Relationships only laissez faire
• Relationships clarity participation
  coercion, brainwashing
• Relationships participation autonomy
  confusing diversity
• Need all 4 features to balance
• The right balance changes over time, context
  etc

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SEL for those with problems - universal approach
is the vital base

• Less stigmatising
• Problems are widespread, on a continuum,
  connected
• Same processes which help everyone help those
  with problems more not different
• Provides educated critical mass of people to
  help those with problems
• But also need targeted and early interventions

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Effective work with special needs within the
context of SEL

• Start early
• Intervene energetically
• Use small groups to supplement mainstream work
• Some schools using topic focused groups e.g. self
  esteem, anger management, behaviour recovery,
  open to all pupils
• Change of role for agencies - to support schools,
  not just withdraw pupils

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Getting the balance right between..?

• Basic provision for all
• Targeted at particular groups e.g. year 7
• Small groups, for those with problems
• One to one for those with severe problems
• Effective involvement of outside agencies/
  referral

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Tailoring SEL e.g. to secondary schools

• Challenges
• Size impersonality
• Subject rather than child focus
• Problem behaviour
• Exam orientation

• Assets
• Size diversity
• Opportunities offered by subjects
• Greater range of staff strengths
• Links with world of work
• Student involvement

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Tailoring some tensions

• Too much tailoring dilution, confusion
• Too much prescription lack of ownership,
  depowerment

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Monitoring and evaluating current approaches

• Some reasonable inventories of SEL skills of
  individuals, effort going into new ones
• Not much reliable or valid to assess of whole
  school ethos and atmosphere, - mostly at level
  of audit
• Some schools are using existing data e.g.
  attendance, incidents, academic results
• Some process evaluation

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Monitoring and evaluating good practice
Use data to improve the process, not label
individuals Collect data at the outset for
comparison Involve people in the process Allow
time Keep it simple Integrate with existing
monitoring processes
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Helping staff develop their capacities

• Integrate SEL with existing and new activities
• Take change slowly
• Embed into normal professional development e.g
  training, coaching, mentoring
• Encourage critical reflection, dissent
• Allow new staff/ideas to have an impact on school
  approach

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Staff development- some tensions

• Centrality of modelling to the whole process
  guilt?
• Dealing sense of overload
• Unease from some not out job, not my forte, is
  it brainwashing etc
• Clarifying roles and expertise
• Need to involve all the SMT

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Explicitly learning skills and values

• Vital part of the whole school picture
• Use methods of skills learning e.g.
  generalisation, coaching, feedback, modelling
• Empower, not coerce or manipulate
• Include attitudes, values
• Learnt through diverse methods and relevant
  examples

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Using all the learning opportunities in and
around schools
Subjects Learning skills PSHE Citizenship
Out of classroom e.g. assemblies, sports days,
trips and visits, School council
Process of learning and teaching
Staff development Coaching, modelling Work with
parents
Tutor groups Pupil support Circle time
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Understanding and managing emotions e.g.
Increasing enjoyment Coping with challenges and
frustrations around learning
Self understanding e.g. Own strengths and
weakness Learning style Feedback and
evaluation Sense of coherence

The subject/ the person/ autonomy
Social skills e.g. Communication Empathy Cooperat
ive working Groupwork Listening Understand
cultural contexts
Motivation e.g. Planning Goal setting Persistence
Resilience Critical thinking
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Emotional and social learning is central to
education, and what it is to be fully human