Understanding the Why of Behavior Through Regulation

This chapter will review the many foundational theories that outline an historical understanding of behavior. Occupational therapy (OT) and psychology have provided a consistent framework for addressing and defining behavior. Behavior communicates self-awareness and self-management which are key competencies upon which social and emotional learning occur. Perception affects the definition and assumption of behavior, and this is affected by knowledge. Various considerations such as sensory processing, executive functioning, nervous system functions, and environmental factors affect the feedback loop that governs a child's ability to regulate. How we assess this process will determine our expectations and responses. When disciplinary programs do not address the whole child, behavior seldom improves. Embracing the big picture of behavior allows it to be viewed through a different lens to establish a supportive relationship with a student and empower them to achieve self-actualization and skills they will use for a lifetime.

Strengthening College and Career Readiness With Social and Emotional Learning

Social-emotional skills are essential for navigating the rapidly evolving world, especially for students who will become the makers and doers of tomorrow. The literature suggests that a technology-driven shift in needs is fueling a skills gap within a workforce needing social-emotional competencies. These shifts have grown the need for students to develop their social-emotional skills for professional and personal success. Experts suggest infusing social and emotional learning (SEL) in career and technical education (CTE) to address this. This study documents and explores a strategy for explicit SEL in CTE at Clark County School District in Nevada, USA during the 2019-2020 school year. Usage and student answers suggest promising value of SEL in CTE for student learning, but a need to better support teacher adoption. Findings from this study contribute preliminary guidance on program development and implementation upon which future educators and researchers can build.

Mindful Social Emotional Academic Development and Emotional Resilience

This chapter will provide an overview of the history and the basics of SEL/SEAD, SEAD in current time, mindfulness as the foundation of SEL and SEAD, and emotional resilience as the key to successful SEAD implementation and application in all areas of education, from the legislative offices to the PK learning space. The hope is to increase the understanding that SEAD is not a passing fad, not a trend, not “one more thing” that teachers will feel overwhelmed by, and not something to be feared or dreaded.

Implementing SEAD Statewide

School leaders play a significant role in shaping education, and their leadership practices are key in conveying professional learning priorities for districts and schools. Concurrently, the benefits of adult social emotional learning (SEL) on creating conditions for educator effectiveness, wellbeing, and success have been demonstrated in the literature. This chapter chronicles initiatives undertaken by the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) to establish a systemic, sustainable, multi-tiered professional development structure and infrastructure aimed to foster adult SEL across the teaching and learning continuum, and ultimately to positively change student outcomes. Four initiatives are described, including the innovative approach of bringing together multiple projects to provide a virtual comprehensive support system in response to increased educator need.

Nurturing Spiritual Intelligence in the Classroom

Humans have a unique intelligence known as spiritual intelligence that tends to seek meaning and purpose in their lives, ask questions about one's existence, and render resolute conclusions to one's actions. Today, school teachings align with the industry's demands and are nurturing students' cognitive attributes. As the demand for technological innovations increases, the demand for focusing on vocational skill-focused education is also increasing. However, in the era of rapid technological innovations, nurturing the men's psyche behind the technology-driven progress is equally important. The chapter discusses the relevance of spiritual intelligence in schools. Further, the chapter explores spiritual intelligence's relationship with psychological wellbeing, mental health, quality of life (QOL), happiness, and academic performance. The way forward measures to enhance students' spiritual intelligence are also discussed for achieving students' holistic development.

Higher Education Leading With Social, Emotional, and Academic Development

Institutions of higher learning serve as global catalysts for equitable educational systems as drivers of educator workforce that lead with social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) practices. Colleges and universities are well-positioned to instruct on explicit social emotional learning (SEL) not only within pre-service programs of study, but have the unique opportunity to provide continuous education for in-service educators. This large-scale capacity to influence those who shape student experiences is more important today than ever before as schools seek safer, more inclusive campuses and digital learning environments with culturally responsive and respectful communication and interactions. The need for SEL skills across workforce sectors conflicts with the lack of SEL education in higher educational programs. To contribute to the body of literature around post-secondary SEL education, this chapter introduces new graduate-level SEAD courses and how they influenced pre-service and in-service teacher candidates.

Effective Social Emotional Learning Implementation

A growing interest and body of research in education in the United States has centered around the idea that students learn best when they have foundational social emotional learning skills. These skills, ranging from interpersonal skills to self-reflection and awareness skills to self-management skills, allow students and adults to engage with one another in productive, pro-social ways that can positively impact a classroom community and a school's culture at large. This chapter seeks to consider the ways that adult social emotional learning impacts the success of greater, school-wide implementation. Specifically, the chapter explores the impact that a purposeful, measured (six months to year-long) adult social emotional learning rollout has in successful school-wide adoption of a comprehensive social emotional learning program.

The Social and Emotional Issues of Teacher's Professional Identity Development

Teacher professional identity is an important factor in understanding professional lives and career decision making. Teacher professional identity may affect motivation, effectiveness, and most importantly, social and emotional well-being. Teacher identity lacks clarity with regards to a definition. This could contribute to the reason that it has not been studied as a key element for teacher social and emotional wellness during professional identity development. The process of how teachers view themselves as teachers and how their developing professional identity is shaped by their personal identity development and social identity connections has implications on their careers.

Culturally Responsive Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD)

Culturally responsive social-emotional competencies continue being essential skills for college, career, and life success, especially today, as the world seeks global citizens prepared to respectfully navigate relationships and interactions between people from different nations and ethnicities. These skills are more than valuable assets that a modern economy is dependent on, but skills that students, educators, employees, and society need in order for healthy and sustainable co-existence. In academia, educators are increasingly expected to bridge diverse cultural gaps and foster more equitable, respectful, and safe learning environments, but evidence-based implementation methods are limited. To contribute to the body of literature, this chapter presents three case studies and how each of their approaches can increase essential SEL skills at the high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels in addition to the in-service educator level. The chapter concludes with a discussion around themes that emerged from the three case studies, implications for practice, and recommendations.

A More Mindful Approach to College and Career Counseling

While social and emotional learning practices are now more common in American classrooms, counselors often have limited time and resources to devote to college counseling at all, let alone a type of counseling grounded in social and emotional awareness. The American School Counselor Association recommends a student-to-counselor ratio of 250 to 1, but the current ratio is 430 to 1. Few high school counselors have the rare luxury of only needing to focus on college and career readiness. They are up against pressures from parents, and sometimes administrators, who want to see more AP courses, higher GPAs, higher ACT and SAT scores, and more elite college acceptances. These pressures can blur a counselor's view of what is actually suitable for each individual student; this means the counselor needs to understand financial fit, social and emotional fit, and academic match for each college-bound student. This kind of holistic understanding of a student is the only way to restore a focus on student wellbeing to the college and career planning process.