SEL Benefits Positive Youth Development

As counselors and teachers, we want our students to succeed in and out of the classroom. Our goal is to provide students with the skills that will continue to benefit them long after they are with us. The benefits of SEL can be long-lasting!

The Journal of Child Development published an article titled Promoting Positive Youth Development Through School-Based Social and Emotional Learning Interventions. Researchers looked at the data from 97,000 students and found that the students that received school-based SEL fared significantly better than those that did not receive school-based SEL.

They discovered that the benefits of SEL were equal regardless of the school location, socioeconomic background, and student race.

The research also indicated that students that received SEL in school were more likely to graduate. They had better social-emotional skills, attitudes, and indicators of well-being.

One of the priorities of a school is to ensure that its students graduate. The research shows that SEL can increase the chance of a student graduating. SEL can also increase a student’s mental well-being. Beyond that, the school is preparing them to be career-ready.

Practical Benefits of SEL

We know SEL can improve student outcomes, but what are the practical benefits? How will this show up in our school data?

CASEL published a brief listing the practical benefits of SEL.

They noted that schools could look to find the following increases by adding an SEL program to their curriculum.

• 27% more students would improve their academic performance at the end of the program;
• 57% more would gain in their skills levels;
• 24% more would have improved social behaviors and lower levels of distress;
• 23% more would have improved attitudes; and
• 22% more would show fewer conduct problems.

This boils down to students spending more time in the classroom engaged in learning.

Benefits of SEL in the Community

The American Journal of Public Health published an article titled Early Social-Emotional Functioning and Public Health: The Relationship Between Kindergarten Social Competence and Future Wellness which found statistically significant associations between measured social-emotional skills in kindergarten and key young adult outcomes across multiple domains of education, employment, criminal activity, substance use, and mental health. These results demonstrate the relevance of noncognitive skills in development for personal and public health outcomes.

What does this mean for you and me? This means that our students that develop social and emotional skills in school are likely to have improved mental health. They will have less criminal activity and substance use. Our students will even have the skills to obtain and maintain employment.

This means that we are developing students that are mentally healthy and have the skills to graduate high school and maintain employment. This is a positive outcome for our students, schools, and community.

What will this look like in your school?

Office and Counseling Referrals

You will see that there are fewer office referrals. Students are learning the skills of self-regulation and self-control. They use their words when they are upset instead of getting into fights. Students also have the skills to work through their emotions instead of being disruptive in class.

You might notice an initial spike in counselor requests when starting an SEL program. Students are gaining the knowledge of how to care for one another and how to recognize and stand up to bullying. When this occurs, students will be more likely to report bullying behavior or concerns for other students.

This increase in reporting does not mean that you have an increase in bullying. It simply means that your students are noticing and concerned about it.

Students Managing their own Needs.

You will notice that students are more equipped to regulate their emotions. Teachers are equipped to help students regulate their emotions. Sometimes students will even help their teacher regulate emotions.

Recently a teacher came to me and shared a story from her classroom. She described that a student was messing around and had spilled his entire water bottle all over her and her desk. She stated that she was covered in water, her computer, her entire desk, and the worksheets for the entire day were all soaked.

The teacher described her face turning red, and she was about to start yelling. She then looked up and saw a student mouthing to her, “box breathing” and drawing a box in the air with her finger. It is amazing to watch students use calming strategies for themselves and have the empathy to share them with others.

Students will begin to manage their own conflicts and drama. They have the skills to show empathy to one another, along with increased communication skills. They have learned how to share their feelings and disagree respectfully.

You will also notice an increase in students coming to school. School becomes a safe place. The culture is of a place that is kind and supportive. Students feel eager to learn even when school is challenging for them.

Check out our other post on the Additional Benefits of Social and Emotional Learning and Why You Need SEL in the Classroom.

SEL Unfiltered

Do you want to hear more? Check out the rest of our series on Creating and Implementing an SEL Program on our SEL Unfiltered podcast, wherever you stream your podcasts.

Check out other episodes in our Implementing an SEL program, including Creating an Advisory Period, Creating an Advisory Council, Developing Your SEL Framework, Choosing an SEL Program, and Initial Implementation of an SEL Program.

Game of the Week

Every week on SEL Unfiltered, we like to bring you a game or activity. You can use the game with your students, in the classroom, or in a small group. This week Kaitlin and I played a quick game of Teaser Tuesday.

Teaser Tuesday is a great way to start a class or take a brain break. The activity allows students to collaborate together, share their ideas, and get their brains working. Teaser Tuesday is also a great way to get the juices flowing and set students up for further learning.

Teaser Tuesday is a simple brain teaser for students to try. You can even allow students to create their own brain teasers. They get excited when it is their turn for their brain teaser to be shared with the class.

You can find sample Teaser Tuesdays every Tuesday on our social media! Check out our Instagram Page here.