Utilizing Culturally Responsive Teaching in an SEL Curriculum

Author(s):  
Ronald D. Morgan ◽  
Sonia Rodriguez ◽  
Sladjana Rakich

Schools are increasing the use of social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, especially at the elementary level. As this trend continues, it's important to examine the SEL curriculum and the competencies that define it. While there are similar definitions for explaining what's involved in SEL, most educators agree that it's basically the process through which students acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, in order to help them make more responsible decisions. In this chapter, the detailed elements of SEL will be reviewed first, followed by an overview of the basic tenets of culturally responsive teaching. Additional cultural needs that today's elementary, middle, and high school students face will also be addressed in this chapter. The last part of the chapter will discuss the importance of merging SEL and culturally responsive teaching in co-existence in order to develop a stronger curriculum for creating equitable outcomes for diverse groups of students.

Author(s):  
Ronald D. Morgan ◽  
Sonia Rodriguez ◽  
Sladjana Rakich

Schools are increasing the use of social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, especially at the elementary level. As this trend continues, it's important to examine the SEL curriculum and the competencies that define it. While there are similar definitions for explaining what's involved in SEL, most educators agree that it's basically the process through which students acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, in order to help them make more responsible decisions. In this chapter, the detailed elements of SEL will be reviewed first, followed by an overview of the basic tenets of culturally responsive teaching. Additional cultural needs that today's elementary, middle, and high school students face will also be addressed in this chapter. The last part of the chapter will discuss the importance of merging SEL and culturally responsive teaching in co-existence in order to develop a stronger curriculum for creating equitable outcomes for diverse groups of students.


Author(s):  
Anita Gardner ◽  
Michelle Wong ◽  
Belinda Ratcliffe

Abstract Social-emotional learning (SEL) is key to student success. Teachers can effectively implement SEL programs to a variety of school populations, with demonstrated improvements in emotional, social, and academic outcomes. Research also suggests that SEL for students on the autism spectrum can result in improved outcomes. Although social-emotional difficulties are core characteristics of autism, there is a dearth of research identifying the SEL needs for high school students on the autism spectrum and how to meet these needs. The aim of this preliminary qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of SEL needs in a high school setting with adolescents on the autism spectrum. A focus group was conducted with 8 experienced teachers from mainstream and special needs settings. The thematic analysis identified 3 themes: (a) SEL needs of students on the autism spectrum, (b) teaching SEL in high school settings, and (c) gaps in SEL. The study also revealed suggestions for how a SEL program could be developed so that it best meets the needs of the teachers who would be implementing it. Outcomes from this study provide important insights into SEL in adolescents on the autism spectrum in special education and have practical implications for intervention models.


2020 ◽  
pp. 001312452096208
Author(s):  
Meghan E. Fairless ◽  
Cheryl L. Somers ◽  
Rachel L. Goutman ◽  
Carla A. Kevern ◽  
Francesca M. Pernice ◽  
...  

This study examined the role of select intrapersonal and microsystem factors in high school adolescents’ academic achievement. A combination of factors, derived from an ecological framework, were hypothesized to be unique in their ability to explain greater proportions of variance in academic achievement in adolescents. Participants included 379 high school students (176 males, 193 females) from a mid-western high school in a large metropolitan area with a 53% poverty rate that enrolls approximately 1,500 students. A variety of variables emerged as significant predictors of academic achievement, with social emotional learning, self-efficacy, socio-economic status, parental involvement, peer support, and teacher support all explaining significant proportions of variance in achievement, and some to stronger degrees than others. This lends support to the notion that learning is shaped by a myriad of ecological factors. These findings are discussed with regard to their usefulness in understanding ways in which to target each of the investigated variables to ultimately increase academic achievement in adolescents.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Lifeas Kudakwashe Kapofu

This study recentres the sociocultural in culturally transforming pedagogic settings whilst foregrounding culturally responsive teaching (CRT). Through a protracted anthropological excavation, teachers’ experiences in a culturally diverse integrated high school were explored and interpreted vis-à-vis tenets and precepts of CRT. Findings from observation and interviews indicate that the pedagogic settings as structured by the teachers were not attendant to the aspirations of CRT and teacher practices were not reflective of dispositions of CRT. Teachers professed negative experiences of the pedagogic setting, demonstrated and professed limited knowledge of the cultural being of their learners. The findings highlighted the need for micro-context cultural excavations to remedy socioculturally detached teaching. Cognisant of the emergent need for a learning tool, the LEAP model is proposed premised on centering the humanistic world of the learners and the inherent currency in their culture for progressive teaching and learning engagements.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document