Unintended lessons of SEL programs

Soutter, Madora

doi:10.1177/0031721719827550

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…This is consistent with studies that have found no impact of “no excuses” schools on student non-cognitive skills (e.g., Tuttle et al, 2015). When the implicit and explicit messages students receive from school staff equate self-regulation and leadership with silence, conformity, and compliance, students’ social and emotional growth can be undermined (Soutter, 2019).…”

Section: What We Do: the Gap Between Science And Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…This catch-22 leads many districts to resort to what appear to be quick-fix solutions relying on adult-regulation and strict control of children’s everyday behaviors. Scientific studies about the importance of grit, self-discipline, and similar skills are sometimes used to justify the “no excuses” approach to learning and behavior (Whitman, 2008; Sondel, 2016), but this approach to behavior management is a misinterpretation of research on self-regulation 1 and paradoxically can undermine children’s opportunities to develop critical social and emotional skills (Golann, 2015; Lewis, 2015; Engber, 2016; Sondel, 2016; West et al, 2016; Golann and Torres, 2018; Soutter, 2019) – skills that are a foundation for success in school and life-long health (Jones and Bouffard, 2012). Indeed, more and more “no excuses” schools explicitly state that they focus on character, values, and other SEL-related skills.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Getting Developmental Science Back Into Schools: Can What We Know About Self-Regulation Help Change How We Think About “No Excuses”?

et al. 2019

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Research from education, psychology, and human development indicates that social and emotional skills are essential to success in school, work, and life, and that high-quality social and emotional learning (SEL) programs can benefit students’ mental health, academic achievement, and behavioral outcomes. While many schools are adopting an SEL approach, there remains a concerning gap between SEL research and policies and practices related to discipline and behavior management. Following the No Child Left Behind Act and education reform driven by a culture of high-stakes standardized testing and accountability benchmarks, there has been an increase in elementary schools adopting a “no excuses” model of education. This model is characterized by extended time in school, highly structured in-service teacher training, frequent assessments, and “zero tolerance” policies to strictly manage and control children’s behavior. These behavior policies are problematic as they run counter to what research tells us about children’s social and emotional development. Reactive and exclusionary discipline policies inhibit children’s abilities to build and practice self-regulation skills and jeopardize the relationships between students and teachers. The developmental science perspective on children’s regulatory skills suggests that the early years of school are a central context for developing and practicing self-regulation with the support of educators and peers. Research also indicates that warm, caring, reciprocal relationships based on trust are critical to learning and development. Yet, this research base is often overshadowed by pressures to improve standardized achievement scores or misinterpreted in the form of hyper-vigilance about children’s behavior in the classroom. Finally, the “no excuses” approach to behavior management is used disproportionally in schools serving low-income students of color and thus may contribute to unequal rates of suspensions and expulsions, both of which are linked to negative developmental outcomes later in life. This is particularly true for students who have experienced trauma, in part because the act of social exclusion is often re-traumatizing. This article summarizes research on self-regulation, trauma, and developmental relationships, highlights potential consequences of “no excuses” policies and practices in schools, and presents an alternative view of learning environments which promote effective self-regulation skills in young children.

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Section: What We Do: the Gap Between Science And Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Getting Developmental Science Back Into Schools: Can What We Know About Self-Regulation Help Change How We Think About “No Excuses”?

et al. 2019

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“…They argue, for example, that SEL programs can place the sole onus of responsibility on individuals to combat systemic inequality (e.g., Kirshner, 2015;Rose, 2013). Many note that well-intentioned SEL programs can actually be harmful for students if not approached with a critical lens (e.g., Kaler-Jones, 2020;Love, 2019;Soutter, 2019) and that they often overemphasize being "nice" while ignoring the realities of racism (e.g., Simmons, 2019Simmons, , 2021. In response to these calls, scholars such as Seider & Graves (2020) have advocated for a culturally competent approach to SEL that leverages tenets of critical consciousness (Freire, 1970) and supports students in developing social-emotional wellness that is grounded in social justice and cultural and racial identity development.…”

Section: Transformative Social and Emotional Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social-Emotional Learning for Teachers

Soutter

2023

Journal of Teaching and Learning

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Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a crucial part of student wellness and academic achievement, but teachers’ own SEL is often overlooked. This qualitative study examines educators’ perceptions of their own university-level teacher preparation programs to better understand the ways in which teacher educators can support pre-service teachers’ well-being, preparedness, and longevity in the field. Findings reveal that teachers saw their own transformative SEL—a form of SEL committed to equity and social justice (Jagers et al., 2019)—as a key factor for their success, highlighting the importance of critical and holistic preparation that focuses on the social–emotional development of teachers themselves. Implications focus on practical ways transformative SEL can be infused into teacher preparation programs including redefining success beyond student academics alone, focusing on teacher well-being in a way that does not ignore systemic oppression and school-level barriers, preparing teachers for the realities of roadblocks and ethical dilemmas they may face, and examining syllabi and coursework for the development of transformative SEL competencies.

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“…Much of our knowledge on sensemaking in relation to education policy comes from studies that have examined how educators within the school system make sense of a particular policy, network of reform policies, or initiatives by reconstructing and reshaping these policies during implementation (Berman & McLaughlin, 1978;Ganon-Shilon & Schechter, 2019;Schechter, Shaked, Ganon-Shilon & Goldratt, 2018;Schmidt & Datnow, 2005;Tyack & Cuban, 1995;Weatherley & Lipsky, 1977;White & Mavrogordato, 2018). The practitioners draw on their own worldviews and understandings to make sense of the messages they receive in their environment (Jonson, Thompson, Guetterman & Mitchell, 2017;Spillane, Hallett, & Diamond, 2003), which has often led to the transformation of initiatives in practice (Coburn, 2001;Soutter, 2019). This is because "policy messages are not inert, static ideas that are transmitted unaltered into local actors' minds" (Spillane, Reiser, & Reimer, 2002, p. 392).…”

Section: Conceptual Framework: Sensemaking Theory Policy and Selmentioning

confidence: 99%

Muddy sensemaking: Making sense of socio-emotional skills amidst a vague policy context

Muñiz

2020

EPAA

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Education laws and policies have moved toward promoting socio-emotional (SEL) skills, adopting numerous terminologies in their standards. However, the incremental change has left compensatory education practitioners who are committed to promoting SEL opportunities with little guidance when the programs’ governing policies do not include language acknowledging the importance of SEL to student success. Additionally, the ongoing debate in the SEL field about which taxonomies might best capture the skills and the lack of conceptual clarity offers these practitioners little additional guidance. Drawing on sensemaking theory, this case study examined how practitioners in a compensatory education program made sense of SEL skills through their practice. The study used a case-based design with multiple methods, namely, document review, observations, and pre- and post-program semi-structured interviews. The study employed sensemaking theory and CASEL’s SEL framework in the thematic analysis of the documents, observations, and interviews to understand how practitioners made sense of the concept of SEL. The findings indicate three key aspects important in the practitioners’ sensemaking process: the local environment established by the federal policy and the leaders’ policy interpretation, which emphasized the importance of SEL skills; their articulation of their conceptualization of SEL skills at the beginning of the program; and the usefulness of an SEL skills conceptual framework. I discuss the policy and equity implications at the federal and local level.

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Unintended lessons of SEL programs

Cited by 10 publications

References 7 publications

Getting Developmental Science Back Into Schools: Can What We Know About Self-Regulation Help Change How We Think About “No Excuses”?

Getting Developmental Science Back Into Schools: Can What We Know About Self-Regulation Help Change How We Think About “No Excuses”?

Social-Emotional Learning for Teachers

Muddy sensemaking: Making sense of socio-emotional skills amidst a vague policy context

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