Social-Emotional Learning in Secondary ELA Classrooms

Introduction

Social-emotional learning (SEL) practices are sometimes overlooked in the secondary setting, with most teachers focusing on academic content rather than developing SEL, and understandably so with mounting pressures of testing, lesson planning, and time constraints. Researchers at RAND Corporation conducted a study in 2019 involving 1200 K-12 teachers from across the United States and discovered that 79% of secondary teachers felt that the focus on standardized testing and academics overwhelmed the effective implementation of SEL (Hamilton & Doss, 2020). Also in this study, secondary teachers expressed lower levels of SEL support than elementary teachers (Hamilton & Doss, 2020). Because of this lack of perceived support, SEL practices are not at the forefront of some secondary educators’ classroom practices, and because of this, students are impacted. DePaoli et al. (2018) found that only a third of high schools were perceived as strong in SEL, and recent high school students did not feel their school helped them develop SEL skills. Furthermore, 61% of high school students report that stress and disruptive peers create barriers in their learning (DePaoli et al., 2018). This stress can take its toll on students while disruptive peers distract from the academic content, thus creating a need for SEL in secondary schools.

Integrating SEL into classrooms is a global educational focal point, reaching far beyond the borders of the United States. Changing curricula to focus on academic achievement and SEL boosts students’ democratic citizenship identities while supporting their social and emotional well-being (Schonert-Reichl & Hymel, 2007). Moreover, the emphasis of SEL in schools is worldwide—with countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand and countries across Europe, Africa, Latin America and the U.K. implementing SEL within schools (Schonert-Reichl & Hymel, 2007). A meta-analysis comparing studies about SEL in classrooms in the United States and other parts of the world found the effect sizes between the two were similar, suggesting that school-based SEL programs were beneficial to children worldwide (Sklad et al., 2012).

There are numerous positive impacts of implementing SEL in schools. Studies show that students’ academic performance is higher in classrooms with emotionally intelligent teachers who implement SEL practices than in classrooms without an SEL focus (Durlak et al., 2011). In addition to higher levels of achievement, students also benefit from a greater perceived sense of connection (Strahan & Poteat, 2020). In a meta-analysis of 82 SEL interventions in K-12 schools in and outside of the United States, researchers found that school-based SEL practices created long-term positive effects, fostering across diverse contexts and ages (Taylor et al., 2017). The study demonstrated the longevity of the positive impact of SEL on students, including improved skills, attitudes, behaviors, and academic performance (Taylor et al., 2017). SEL programs also positively contribute to students' futures by safeguarding them against mental anguish, drug use, etc. (Taylor et al., 2017). SEL practices and programs provide a framework for teachers to use SEL as the lens through which their entire class is run. It can color every moment and interaction and helps to build skills that positively serve students for the rest of their lives.