Social and Emotional Learning in Action Creating Systemic Change in Schools

Just because a school has adopted a social and emotional learning (SEL) program does not mean it will work. This book explores the conditions needed to implement, strengthen, and sustain effective SEL, and identifies paths that schools, districts, and states have taken to create those conditions. Major themes include equity of access to high-quality SEL, promoting interracial understanding in all school interactions, and enhancing the well-being and SEL skills of teachers and school leaders as well as students. Chapters describe exemplary initiatives that infuse SEL into classroom instruction, administrative decision making, school–family–community partnerships, and teacher training. End-of-chapter discussion questions enhance the book’s value for professional learning and course use. 

Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, PhD, is the Commonwealth Professor at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Since the early 2000s, she and her team have been conducting research on schools with the goal of using evidence to improve the quality and equity of learning experiences. Dr. Rimm-Kaufman has studied a range of programs, including Connect Science, EL Education, Leading Together, Responsive Classroom, RULER, and Valor Collegiate and Compass, among others. She has authored more than 100 chapters, articles, and blog posts, yet she wrestles with the reality that researchers’ extensive knowledge about social and emotional learning is rarely made accessible to educators.
 
Michael J. Strambler, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and Director of Child Wellbeing and Education Research at The Consultation Center at Yale, where he is also Senior Evaluation Consultant for YaleEval. Dr. Strambler’s work focuses on the role of social environments in the academic, psychological, social, and behavioral well-being of children and youth. Much of his work occurs in the context of partnerships between researchers and practitioners, such as the Partnership for Early Education Research, which he directs among three Connecticut communities. Dr. Strambler is a recipient of the Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark Early Career Grant from the American Psychological Foundation and the Postdoctoral Award from the Ford Foundation.
 
Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, PhD, is the NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning and Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. Prior to her graduate work, she worked as a middle school teacher and as a teacher at an alternative high school for adolescents at risk. Dr. Schonert-Reichl is a recipient of the Janusz Korczak Medal for Children’s Rights Advocacy; the EdTech Postsecondary Leader of the Year Award from MindShare Learning Technology; the Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning; and the Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award from the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia.

Foreword, Aaliyah A. Samuel
1. Introduction: Meeting the Moment with Systemic SEL, Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, Michael J. Strambler, & Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl
I. Supporting Systemic SEL
2. Increasing Equity in SEL for Students from Marginalized Populations, Tia Navelene Barnes, Jocelyn Easley Brown, Melissa Stoffers, Jurni Jackson, Yu Xia, Amanda G. Wells, & Alexcia Bryant
3. Striving for Racial Equity through Restorative Practices and SEL, Anne Gregory, Allison Rae Ward-Seidel, & Dionne Grayman
4. Integrating SEL into Textbooks and Instruction in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, Andy Smart, Jean Bernard, James H. Williams, Aaron Benavot, & Margaret Sinclair
II. Fostering Adult SEL: Insights for Preservice Education and Professional Development
5. “What We Saw on the Wall”: Adult Transformative SEL as a Lever for Equity and Excellence in Schools, Olivia A. Johnson, Bloodine Barthelus, Alexandra Skoog-Hoffman, Ednah Nwafor, & Robert J. Jagers
6. Cultivating SEL-Ready Teachers: SEL in Teacher Preparation, Deirdre Hon, Julie Sauve, Julia Mahfouz, & Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl
7. Creating Spaces for Adult Learning and Professional Development: SEL Skills for Facilitating Racial Equity Discussions, Shannon B. Wanless, Caitlin F. Spear, Jocelyn V. Artinger, & Jennifer O. Briggs
III. Cultivating Student SEL: Creating School Conditions Conducive to Skill Development
8. Cultivating Contexts of Interpersonal Skill Development among, Diverse Students and Schools, Elise Cappella, Stacey Alicea, & Natalie May
9. Cultivating Students’ Intrapersonal SEL Skills, Tyralynn Frazier & Brendan Ozawa-de Silva
IV. Identifying Roadmaps for SEL in Action
10. The SEL Roadmap: Avoiding the Roadblocks, Ruts, and Dead Ends, Sheldon Berman, Jacqueline Jodl, & Joyce Barnes
11. Supporting Transformative SEL Implementation through a Collaboratory for Inclusion, Christina Cipriano, Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann, Julie M. Riley, Lauren Hunter Naples, & Abigail Eveleigh
12. Using Measurement and Continuous Improvement to Support SEL at the Classroom, School, District, and State Levels, Pilar Alamos, Jenna Lawrence Conway, Tamilah Richardson, & Amanda P. Williford
13. Conclusion: Trends, Challenges, and Future Directions in SEL, Michael J. Strambler, Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, & Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman
Index