Over time, we have learned that many risky behaviors can be prevented or reduced by strengthening Social Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL helps young people develop critical skills to manage emotions, build healthy relationships, cope with challenges, and make healthier decisions.
SEL supports a wide range of prevention efforts, including bullying prevention, mental health and wellness, healthy relationships, and substance use disorder prevention. Helping children understand and manage their emotions in healthy ways provides them with critical, lifelong coping skills that can strengthen protective factors and reduce risk across many areas of their lives.
Rather than addressing each risky behavior in isolation, SEL provides a foundation of skills that can support children and youth as they navigate challenges, make decisions, and develop into healthy, resilient adults.
CASEL serves as the guiding framework for Social Emotional Learning (SEL) work in our communities. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is committed to making evidence-based SEL an integral part of education from preschool through high school through research, support for implementation and partnerships with states and other education leaders.
SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to:
Develop healthy identities
Manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals
Feel and show empathy for others
Establish and maintain supportive relationships
Make responsible and caring decisions
Social & Emotional Learning
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.
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That’s one of the most common questions we hear! The environments, practices, mindsets, and relationships that encompass and promote SEL can be hard to sum up. SEL can be hard to sum up because it is connected to many practices, environments, and mindsets. But we have lots of examples what SEL looks like in classrooms, schools, workplaces, and elsewhere.
Does SEL Work?
In a word, yes! Decades of research on SEL programs and practices provide data showing its benefits and effectiveness in a range of areas including student well-being, academic performance, attendance, graduation rates, and future success. Learn more about the research that demonstrates SEL’s impact.
Putting SEL Into Practice
SEL is most effective when it’s woven into all students’ educational experiences. More than a single lesson or activity, SEL is integrated across key settings where students live and learn: classrooms, schools, homes, and communities. Learn more about implementing SEL systemwide.
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Social & Emotional Learning
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.