Thanks for writing this. It crystallizes some of my skepticism about SEL instruction in schools. I think it's important to note that spending time on SEL instruction means that educators are not engaging in stronger instructional practices. Educators should be spending as much time as possible teaching using high impact instructional practices based in evidence! I'm not sure that SEL instruction meets that threshold yet.
You mention Cipriano 2023 as a reference pertaining to consensus about what SEL should nurture. I am not seeing a reference for it at the end of the article. Could you share? Thank you!
Thanks Amelia, our apologies for the omission. This is the article we were referring to:
Cipriano, C., Strambler, M., Naples, L., Ha, C. et al (2023). The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta-analysis of universal school-based SEL interventions, Child Development, 94(5), 1181-1204. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13968.
The Cipriano paper offers a nice summary of the current state of the SEL literature. Overall, the early results of SEL research have been quite promising. However, much is still unknown because: i) SEL is not a homogeneous, well-defined construct; and ii) there is a need for more evidence of its benefits.
Cipriano et al. (2023) write: "Despite the momentum and perceived progress USB SEL intervention design, implementation, and evaluation over the past decade, the reports of effectiveness of these interventions do not reflect such progress. The complete articulation of the benefits of USB SEL interventions requires increased collection and reporting of outcomes that are most meaningful in their practical implications, including contextual measures that are both macro structural and proximal to the interactions and experiences in SEL programs that contribute to what are statistically discerned as impacts so that more sophisticated meta-analyses can be conducted (Durlak et al., 2022; Greenberg, 2023; Osher, Pittman, et al., 2020)."
Thanks for writing this. It crystallizes some of my skepticism about SEL instruction in schools. I think it's important to note that spending time on SEL instruction means that educators are not engaging in stronger instructional practices. Educators should be spending as much time as possible teaching using high impact instructional practices based in evidence! I'm not sure that SEL instruction meets that threshold yet.
“Overall, the evidence for SEL having a positive impact on academic achievement remains uncertain.”
I’m fascinated by this and will keep reading because I dream of educational setups that cater to multiple - even all - needs concurrently.
You mention Cipriano 2023 as a reference pertaining to consensus about what SEL should nurture. I am not seeing a reference for it at the end of the article. Could you share? Thank you!
Thanks Amelia, our apologies for the omission. This is the article we were referring to:
Cipriano, C., Strambler, M., Naples, L., Ha, C. et al (2023). The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta-analysis of universal school-based SEL interventions, Child Development, 94(5), 1181-1204. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13968.
The Cipriano paper offers a nice summary of the current state of the SEL literature. Overall, the early results of SEL research have been quite promising. However, much is still unknown because: i) SEL is not a homogeneous, well-defined construct; and ii) there is a need for more evidence of its benefits.
Cipriano et al. (2023) write: "Despite the momentum and perceived progress USB SEL intervention design, implementation, and evaluation over the past decade, the reports of effectiveness of these interventions do not reflect such progress. The complete articulation of the benefits of USB SEL interventions requires increased collection and reporting of outcomes that are most meaningful in their practical implications, including contextual measures that are both macro structural and proximal to the interactions and experiences in SEL programs that contribute to what are statistically discerned as impacts so that more sophisticated meta-analyses can be conducted (Durlak et al., 2022; Greenberg, 2023; Osher, Pittman, et al., 2020)."
Appreciate this, thanks!