scholarly journals The role of culturally responsive social and emotional learning in supporting refugee inclusion and belonging: A thematic analysis of service provider perspectives

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256743
Author(s):  
Cyril Bennouna ◽  
Hannah Brumbaum ◽  
Molly M. McLay ◽  
Carine Allaf ◽  
Michael Wessells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mena Region ◽  
Newcomer Adjustment ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Provider Perspectives

Young refugees resettled to the U.S. from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region face significant acculturative stressors, including language barriers, unfamiliar norms and practices, new institutional environments, and discrimination. While schools may ease newcomer adjustment and inclusion, they also risk exacerbating acculturative stress and social exclusion. This study seeks to understand the opportunities and challenges that schoolwide social and emotional learning (SEL) efforts may present for supporting refugee incorporation, belonging, and wellbeing. We completed semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 40 educators and other service providers in Austin, Texas, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Detroit Metropolitan Area, Michigan as part of the SALaMA project. We conducted a thematic analysis with transcripts from these interviews guided by the framework of culturally responsive pedagogy. The findings revealed that students and providers struggled with acculturative stressors and structural barriers to meaningful engagement. Schoolwide SEL also provided several mechanisms through which schools could facilitate newcomer adjustment and belonging, which included promoting adult SEL competencies that center equity and inclusion, cultivating more meaningfully inclusive school climates, and engaging families through school liaisons from the newcomer community. We discuss the implications of these findings for systemwide efforts to deliver culturally responsive SEL, emphasize the importance of distinguishing between cultural and structural sources of inequality, and consider how these lessons extend across sectors and disciplinary traditions.

scholarly journals An Investigation of Principals' Social and Emotional Learning Beliefs and Attitudes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Jones ◽  
Melissa Cater
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Learning Beliefs ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
8Th Grade ◽  
Academic Accountability ◽  
Beliefs And Attitudes

With recent educational demands placed on academic accountability, it is difficult for many people to determine or acknowledge where or how focusing on social and emotional learning (SEL) can be beneficial. In this paper we focus on principals’ beliefs and attitudes about social and emotional learning. Principals influence implementation through their school priorities, vision, expectations, and emphases. We used grounded theory techniques and semi-structured interviews with K-8th grade principals of public schools located in a state in the southeastern United States. When describing principals’ beliefs and attitudes, late majority adopters held neutral attitudes and weak beliefs regarding SEL. In addition, a lack of understanding of the SEL concept became evident as principals did not express a clear understanding of SEL. Comprehensive training at the administrative and policy level is needed. Principals should implement targeted staff training providing key strategies for intentionally integrating SEL skills into their current curriculum.

scholarly journals Culturally Responsive Social Emotional Learning for International Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Yeh ◽  
Rashmi Sharma ◽  
Monika Jaiswal-Oliver ◽  
Guofang Wan
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Culturally Responsive Teaching ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Responsive Teaching ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Faculty And Staff ◽  
Campus Activities

This qualitative study demonstrates how a culturally responsive teaching (CRT) approach builds the capacity of faculty and staff to create a social and emotional learning (SEL) environment that is conducive to success for international students. The researchers propose a CRT-SEL model to address the increasing needs of mid-sized universities with emerging international students. The findings from 14 faculty and staff participants point to professional development strategies that can help reduce or remove barriers for working with international students. This study highlights the need to build upon the CRT and SEL tenets and align them with the existing support networks within the mid-size higher education institutions for classroom learnings and off-campus activities to bolster international students’ overall success. The results also indicate the faculty and staff’s varying priorities and diverging trajectories.

Diverse books for diverse children: Building an early childhood diverse booklist for social and emotional learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 146879842090185
Author(s):  
Rhoda Myra Garces-Bacsal
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Learning Competencies

Research has indicated how diverse books contribute to a more culturally responsive pedagogy, allowing children to identify themselves in the stories they read and gain an appreciation for others whose lives are different from theirs. Moreover, a sensitive discussion of and critical responses to diverse picturebooks is found to positively influence a child’s social and emotional learning competecies, apart from increasing a child’s cultural knowledge and serving as a catalyst for social justice. This paper is meant to broaden early childhood educators’ repertoire of picturebooks that can be used in the classroom to also include international titles (translated into English from their original languages) and multicultural titles to facilitate affective engagement with these narratives and introduce social and emotional learning skills (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management and responsible decision-making). This paper provides a list of diverse books (from the Netherlands, Japan, Lithuania, Spain, Germany, France, Argentina – among others) for students in early childhood (from preschool to third grade) thematically organized across the five social and emotional learning competencies. Strategies such as book-bonding and literacy bags for family engagement will be shared while using the framework of culturally responsive teaching in an early childhood setting. Recommendations for how family members can be more involved are included, along with critical literacy strategies that include conversations, multiple perspectives and the sharing of authentic experiences.

Using Social-Emotional Learning and Literacy Tools to Bridge the Gap During and Beyond COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 172-194
Author(s):  
Marianna Stepniak ◽  
Susan Shaffer ◽  
Seth Shaffer
Keyword(s):  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Emotional Needs ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Use Of Technology

MAEC developed culturally responsive and accessible resources and tools to meet students' intersecting literacy and social-emotional needs during COVID-19, centering students and families from marginalized groups (considering race, gender, language, culture, socioeconomic status, and personalized learning needs). MAEC disseminated its materials by building the capacity of caregivers and educators to provide social and emotional learning and literacy to their students. Through MAEC's webinar and newsletter series, caregivers and educators learned how to enhance SEL and literacy skills through the use of technology and visual tools, common household items and experiments, and social justice literature. The approach and tools developed by MAEC in summer 2020 remain relevant and important as educators, families, and students move to re-enter, recover, and reimagine schooling.

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