SOCIAL AND

EMOTIONAL
D E V E L O P M E N T:
A S C H O O L’ S
RESPONSIBILITY

CARINA GUTIERREZ
SOCIAL AND
EMOTIONA L
LE ARNING
WHAT IS IT?
“Social and emotional
learning (SEL) is the process
through which children and
adults acquire and effectively
apply the knowledge,
attitudes, and skills necessary
to understand and manage
emotions, set and achieve
positive goals, feel and show
empathy for others, establish
and maintain positive
relationships, and make
responsible decisions.”
(“What is SEL?” n.d.)
SELF-MANAGEMENT
• Successful regulation of:
– Emotions
– Thoughts
– Behaviors
• This includes:
– Impulse control
– Stress management
– Self-discipline
– Self-motivation
SCHOOL
CONTEXT
WHY IS SELF-MANAGEMENT IMPORTANT?
EMOTIONS
• Emotions facilitate cognition
– (Djambazova-Popordanoska, 2016; Durlak, Weissberg,
Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011)

• Limbic system may take over cognitive

functioning when dysregulated
– (Perry & Szalavitz, 2008)
• Overwhelming emotions may inhibit learning by:
– Competing for attention in working memory
– Less efficient processing & storing of verbal
information
– Limited capacity for future planning
• (Djambazova-Popordanoska, 2016; Perry &
Szalavitz, 2008)
THOUGHTS

• Planning
• Setting goals
• Self-evaluation
– (Korinek & deFur, 2016)
• Facilitate actions associated
with learning
– (Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg, &
Walberg, 2007)
• Thoughts + emotions
– (Villavicencio & Bernardo, 2013)
BEHAVIORS

• Attending to instruction
• Following directions
• Participation
• Completing work
– (Korinek & deFur, 2016)
SCHOOL RESPONSIBILITY
• Poor self-management leaves students at-risk for:
– Underachievement
– Strained peer relationships
– School drop out
• (Korinek & deFur, 2016; Zins et al., 2007)

• Why address it at school?

– Schools are social places
– Learning is a social process
• (Zins et al., 2007)
– Teachers find it important
• (Durlak et al., 2011)
TEACHING
SELF-
MANAGEMENT
WHAT CAN THE SCHOOL DO?
SERVICE DELIVERY:
MULTI-TIERED SYSTEM OF SUPPORT
• Intensive Services
Tertiary • Individual Counseling
• 5% Tier 3
• Targeted Services
Secondary • Small Group Counseling Tier 2
• 15%

Tier 1
• Universal/preventative services
Primary • School-wide curriculum
• 80%
UNIVERSAL SERVICES

• Integrate SEL into school mission statement

• Support from administration
• Universal implementation of SEL curriculum
– Time commitment
– Consistency
• Infuse social and emotional skills into daily
activities & interactions with students
– Beyond the classroom, too
– Collaboration among staff

(Jones & Bouffard, 2012)

CALIFORNIA EDUCATION STANDARDS
• English Language Arts
• Mathematics
Illinois
• English Language Development Kansas
• Career Technical Education Maine
West
• Computer Science Virginia
• Health Education
• History-Social Science
• Model School Library
• Physical Education
• Science
• Visual and Performing Arts
• World Language
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/
THE GOOD NEWS!

• Collaborating States Initiative:

– California
– Georgia
– Massachusetts
– Minnesota
– Nevada
– Pennsylvania
– Tennessee
– Washington
“Only by making SEL important
at every level ─ classroom,
school, district, state, and
nation ─ will it truly become an
essential ingredient in
education from preschool
through high school.”
(Weissberg & Cascarino, 2013, p. 13)
Questions? CARINA GUTIERREZ
cgutierrez22@mail.csuchico.edu

Comments?
REFERENCES
CASEL Program Guides Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs. (n.d.). Retrieved May 7, 2017, from
http://www.casel.org/guide/
Djambazova-Popordanoska, S. (2016). Implications of emotion regulation on young children’s emotional wellbeing and
educational achievement. Educational Review, 68(4), 497-515.
Domitrovich, C. E., Durlak, J. A., Staley, K. C., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Social-emotional competence: An essential factor for
promoting positive adjustment and reducing risk in school children. Child Development, 88(2), 408-416.
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’
social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-
432.
Jones, S. M., & Bouffard, S. M. (2012). Social and emotional learning in schools: From programs to strategies. Social Policy
Report, 26(4), 1-22.
Korinek, L., & deFur, S. H. (2016). Supporting student self-regulation to access the general education curriculum. TEACHING
Exceptional Children, 48(5), 232-242.
Perry, B., & Szalavitz, M. (2008). The boy who was raised as a dog and other stories from a child psychiatrist's notebook: What
traumatized children can teach us about loss, love, and healing. New York: Basic Books.
Villavicencio, F. T., & Bernardo, A. B. I. (2013). Positive academic emotions moderate the relationship between self-regulation
and academic achievement. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 239-340.
Waajid, B., Garner, P. W., & Owen, J. E. (2013). Infusing social emotional learning into the teacher education curriculum. The
International Journal of Emotional Education, 5(2), 31-48.
Weissberg, R. P. & Cascarino, J. (2013). Academic learning + social-emotional learning = national priority. The Phi Delta
Kappan, 95(2), 8-13.
What is SEL? (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.casel.org/what-is-sel/
Zins, J. E., Bloodworth, M. R., Weissberg, R. P., & Walberg, H. J. (2007). The scientific base linking social and emotional learning
to school success. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 17(2&3), 191-210.