Considering multiple levels of influence on adjustment in school: Ethnic‐racial public regard, peer socialization, and social‐emotional learning practices
This article discusses the potential that trauma-informed pedagogy and social-emotional learning practices hold for supporting educators during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The authors bring a critical lens to considering these approaches, noting some limitations and provisos in their use. We advocate for dialogue, mentorship, and professional learning in using them not only to support educators but to authentically include diverse ways of knowing, doing, and being in early childhood environments.
This study sheds light on the interrelations of universal, school-based social-emotional learning strategies and ethnic-racial identity over time. We assessed exposure to social-emotional learning practices and ethnic-racial identity exploration and resolution among 367 middle school students (70% African American, 30% Latinx; 51% girls) across 3 years. The results of a latent growth model with social-emotional learning practices as a time-varying covariate suggest that practices that afford youth opportunities for autonomy, prosocial behavioral routines, and collaboration in the context of homerooms (advisories) and classrooms were consistently associated with greater ethnic-racial identity exploration and resolution across the middle school years. Theoretical and practical implications for the potential of school-based social-emotional learning to support the development of cultural assets such as ethnic-racial identity are discussed.
We Are All In This Together: Supporting Hearts and Minds During Unprecedented Times
