scholarly journals “It’s Embedded in What We Do for Every Child”: A Qualitative Exploration of Early Childhood Educators’ Perspectives on Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1530
Author(s):  
Claire Blewitt ◽  
Amanda O’Connor ◽  
Heather Morris ◽  
Andrea Nolan ◽  
Aya Mousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Social And Emotional Development ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills ◽  
The Impact

Early childhood educators play an important role in supporting children’s social and emotional development. While a growing body of research has examined the impact of curriculum-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on child outcomes, the approaches educators use to strengthen children’s social and emotional functioning through their everyday practices are less defined. This study explored Australian early childhood educators’ perspectives on children’s social and emotional development, the approaches educators use to encourage children’s social and emotional skills, the enablers and barriers to SEL within the preschool environment, and the additional support needed. Thirty Early Childhood Education and Care professionals participated in semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Findings suggest children’s social–emotional development is at the forefront of educator planning, practice, and reflection. Participants described utilising various approaches to support children’s social and emotional skills, embedded within interactions and relationships with children and families. Specifically, strategies could be grouped into four broad categories: a nurturing and responsive educator–child relationship; supporting SEL through everyday interactions and practice; utilising the physical environment to encourage SEL; and working in partnership with caregivers. There was, however, inconsistency in the variety and type of approaches identified. Time constraints, group size, educator confidence and capability, high staff turnover, and limited guidance regarding high-quality social and emotional pedagogy were identified as key barriers. Participants sought practical strategies that could be embedded into daily practice to build upon current knowledge.

scholarly journals Integrating Health and Educational Perspectives to Promote Preschoolers’ Social and Emotional Learning: Development of a Multi-Faceted Program Using an Intervention Mapping Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Blewitt ◽  
Heather Morris ◽  
Kylie Jackson ◽  
Helen Barrett ◽  
Heidi Bergmeier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Intervention Mapping ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills ◽  
Learning Programs ◽  
The Impact

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) can strengthen the social and emotional skills that are crucial for children’s ongoing development. With research highlighting an increasing prevalence of emotional and behavioural challenges in young children, there is emphasis on embedding teaching practices and pedagogies to support social and emotional skills within early learning programs. A growing body of research has examined the impact of social and emotional learning programs in ECEC; however, few studies describe the intervention development process, or how educators and other professionals were engaged to increase the relevance and feasibility of the program. The current paper describes the development of the Cheshire Social-Emotional Engagement and Development (SEED) Educational Program, an online learning tool to support early childhood educators to foster children’s positive mental health. Cheshire SEED was designed using five steps of the Intervention Mapping methodology: (i) comprehensive needs assessment to create a logic model of the problem; (ii) creation of program outcomes and change objectives mapped against determinants of educator behaviour; (iii) co-design of theory-based methods and practical strategies; (iv) program development; and (v) adoption and implementation planning. The process and decisions at each step of the IM protocol are presented, and the strengths and limitations of the approach to develop a mental health intervention for ECEC settings are discussed.

scholarly journals Socio-emotional education: paths to inspire studies, research and practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (33) ◽  
pp. e13729
Author(s):  
Eugenia de Paula Benício Cordeiro ◽  
Morgana Marcelly Costa Marques ◽  
Mayara Thayana Neves Costa
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Development ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Social And Emotional Development ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills ◽  
Emotional Dimension ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
Emotional Education

This article presents findings of a bibliographic research which had as its scope identifying social and emotional skills proposed by different authors from this field. More specifically, it aimed to: classifying social and emotional skills by domains of competencies; detailing the skills related to self-awareness, focusing on the emotional dimension; proposing a lesson plan for promoting self-awareness in the classroom. The findings have shown that: by detailing social and emotional skills per competence, it may contribute to guide pedagogical activities based on theoretical pinpoints; deepening the theoretical foundations of emotions is essential for understanding the process of self-awareness; creating pedagogical sequences coherent and consistent with social and emotional development, requires the exercise of transposing theory into practice, respecting each educator’s singularities according to his/her reality in class.  

scholarly journals Creating a Rising Tide: Improving Social and Emotional Learning Across California

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Femi Vance ◽  
Rebecca Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Learning System ◽  
State Agency ◽  
Social And Emotional Development ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Expanded Learning

Given the recent emphasis on social and emotional development, many professionals who manage, develop, or influence expanded learning systems are beginning to ask, “How do we better prepare staff to promote social and emotional development?” California has adopted a statewide professional development strategy for publicly-funded expanded learning programs that is designed to raise awareness of the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL) among practitioners and build tools for the field to support implementation. The strategy—led by a partnership among a state agency, expanded learning intermediaries, and funders—combines leadership development, field-building initiatives, and program-level supports. It also complements the current expanded learning system. In this article, we describe the statewide strategy and discuss how it addresses workforce challenges, the core levers that California used to develop the strategy, and why and how the state-level leadership prioritized social and emotional learning. We conclude the article with lessons learned about collaboration, implementation, and assessing impact. 

Building Learning Communities through Social and Emotional Learning: Navigating the Rough Seas of Implementation

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2156759X0601000
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Kress ◽  
Maurice J. Elias
Keyword(s):  
Learning Communities ◽  
School Counselors ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Learning Interventions

Educators have come to recognize the importance of their efforts in building students' social and emotional skills. However, the creation of lasting programming often fails to keep pace with educators' best intentions. In this article, the authors suggest guidelines for ways in which school counselors can be involved in implementing sustained social and emotional learning interventions in a manner that is consistent with the values and goals of such programs.

scholarly journals Supporting the Out-of-School Time Workforce in Fostering Intentional Social and Emotional Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Zadrazil Newman
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Social And Emotional Development ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Out Of School Time ◽  
School Time ◽  
Learning Practices ◽  
Out Of School

Extensive research demonstrates that a qualified workforce is essential to out-of-school time program quality, which, in turn, is essential for positive youth development. Recently, the in- and out-of-school fields have witnessed an increase in attention to social and emotional learning practices and programs, yet less is known about how to support the adults who are engaged in the social and emotional learning process. A first step in supporting this workforce is to build the collective knowledge around what social and emotional learning is and what the practices are that support social and emotional development. We also believe there is a need to identify and describe the connection between what has been and what could be—that is, connecting youth development as a foundation for intentional social and emotional learning. We reviewed a selection of widely disseminated, research-based, practitioner-focused resources to identify the specific practices that promote social and emotional learning. This process elevated a set of 8 practices, which we delineated into 2 categories: foundational organizational practices and programmatic practices that support social and emotional development. In addition, we completed a comprehensive crosswalk of those practices with seminal youth development and out-of-school time resources to demonstrate the alignment and progression from youth development to social and emotional learning. This article describes the 8 social and emotional learning practices and highlights connections to foundational youth development practices. We conclude with a set of recommendations for the field leaders who must continue to support the workforce.

The ABCs of Social-Emotional Learning

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
School Violence ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Social Emotional Learning ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Social And Emotional Development ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Social And Emotional

Recent polls report a trend that school violence is steadily continuing in middle and high schools. Concurrently, schools are filled with students who cannot function academically and socially due to challenging home lives. Recognizing that social and emotional development in young adolescents is essential to academic success, educators are learning how to address these issues through social-emotional learning (SEL). The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, or CASEL, outlines components of SEL that children and youth need to understand and manage their own emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy toward others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible life decisions. Findings note that schools that employ SEL have better academic performance as well as fewer disciplinary incidents.

scholarly journals Enhancing Social and Emotional Wellbeing of Aboriginal Boarding Students: Evaluation of a Social and Emotional Learning Pilot Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 771
Author(s):  
Linél Franck ◽  
Richard Midford ◽  
Helen Cahill ◽  
Petra T. Buergelt ◽  
Gary Robinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Social And Emotional Learning ◽  
Boarding Schools ◽  
Emotional Learning ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional ◽  
Aboriginal Students ◽  
Social And Emotional Skills ◽  
Social And Emotional Wellbeing

Boarding schools can provide quality secondary education for Aboriginal students from remote Aboriginal Australian communities. However, transition into boarding school is commonly challenging for Aboriginal students as they need to negotiate unfamiliar cultural, social and learning environments whilst being separated from family and community support. Accordingly, it is critical for boarding schools to provide programs that enhance the social and emotional skills needed to meet the challenges. This study evaluated a 10-session social and emotional learning (SEL) program for Aboriginal boarders and identified contextual factors influencing its effectiveness. The study combined a pre-post quantitative evaluation using diverse social and emotional wellbeing measures with 28 students between 13–15 years (10 female, 11 male, 7 unidentified) and qualitative post focus groups with 10 students and episodic interviews with four staff delivering the program. Students’ social and emotional skills significantly improved. The qualitative findings revealed improvements in students seeking and giving help, working in groups, managing conflict, being assertive and discussing cultural issues. The focus groups and interviews also identified program elements that worked best and that need improvement. Secure relationships with staff delivering the program and participation in single sex groups stood out as critical enablers. The findings lend evidence to the critical importance of collaborative design, provision and evaluation of SEL programs with Aboriginal peoples.

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