The psychological and cognitive impacts of COVID-19 on children are still unfolding; however, several researchers have noted negative effects of quarantine on youth (Orgilés et al., 2020) and parents (Fontanesi et al., 2020). The abrupt departure from preschool due to social distancing and potential family disharmony associated with financial and…

Social-emotional learning refers to the beliefs, attitudes, personality traits, and behaviors that students need to succeed in school and life. Our study looks closely at ten "outlier schools" in California's CORE districts whose students report strong social-emotional learning outcomes compared to other, similar middle schools. This…

This chapter explains that the core principles and practices of social and emotional learning should be used to support doctoral students and enhance their personal welfare and academic performance in graduate school.

Recent research has demonstrated that educators and students succeed when students are present, engaged, socially secure, and academically successful. These practice recommendations draw upon studies of whole-school or whole-class interventions that support prosocial behavior in elementary school students, including students who are identified as…

Liberty Elementary School is a school of 1,110 kindergarten through fifth-grade students in Canton, Georgia. As a 2018 National School of Character, Liberty Elementary is continuously working to maintain a culture of character while celebrating being only the third school in Georgia to be named a National School of Character. In this article, the…

Early in 2019, the National Commission Report, "From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope," highlighted the urgency for new paradigms of research to practice partnerships, engaging all stakeholders in contributing to the understanding and use of data to drive social, emotional, and academic learning. Additionally, the National Commission…

This briefing paper explores Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) policies and practices that state early intervention (Part C) programs may consider implementing to meet the social-emotional and mental health needs of infants and toddlers in the context of relationships with their parents and other caregivers.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process of integrating cognition, emotion, and behavior in our lives. In school settings, it involves systemic practices to incorporate SEL into leading, teaching, learning such that adults and children build self- and social awareness, learn to manage their own and other's emotions and behavior, make…

A sense of belonging and wellbeing at school influences educational and health outcomes. Here we widen the traditional focus of Assessment News to focus on the use of student wellbeing data in schools. We discuss the Wellbeing@ School (W@S) toolkit that is freely available to support schools to self-review as they examine and monitor student…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has been defined in various ways. One of the most commonly cited models, that of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), defines SEL as "the process through which students and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand…

Researchers have been refining their thoughts on student engagement for decades, and teachers who familiarize themselves with this history have an advantage in identifying opportunities to make their own work resonate with students, according to McREL's Cheryl Abla and Brittney R. Fraumeni. The authors present McREL's definition of student…

Grounding research-practice partnerships in educators' expertise can offer us insight into innovative approaches that schools are using to foster student SEL. Our efforts in facilitating the Boston Charter Research Collaborative (BCRC) educator convenings align with the Aspen SEAD recommendations for forging strong, mutually-beneficial…

Launched to "advance a new vision for what constitutes success for our schools and our students," the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (NCSEAD) began their work by listening to students who shared their thoughts on how they learn best. The young people were clear and unequivocal: They want positive…

In order to further understand what educators can do - and are doing - to build strong relationships, Transforming Education (TransformEd) has produced a series of briefs or "stories from the field" that are intended to share student and educator perspectives about developing and sustaining strong relationships within the classroom and…

New advances in neurobiology are revealing that brain development and the learning it enables are directly dependent on social-emotional experience. Growing bodies of research reveal the importance of socially-triggered epigenetic contributions to brain development and brain network configuration, with implications for social-emotional…