A growing body of evidence shows that
social-emotional skills predict the long-term outcomes of students, even
after controlling for differences in academic achievement. Despite the
evidence that social-emotional learning (SEL) contributes to student
success, few studies have investigated the extent to which educators
promote SEL among their students. This American Educator Panels Data Note details the extent to which a nationally representative sample of
teachers and school leaders report setting goals for the
social-emotional growth of their students.
Results indicated that about
60 percent of teachers and principals report setting goals for student
SEL growth. However, teachers were less likely to report that their
school leadership set these goals compared with principals'
self-reports. These results indicate that SEL goal setting is
substantial but by no means universal. Further, the gap in perceptions
of school leader goal setting indicates that as principals begin or
continue to develop goals, they should aim to create a schoolwide
strategy that is communicated to teachers and take into account efforts
that are already underway in classrooms. One barrier to these efforts
may be the lack of schoolwide systems for assessing SEL skills.
Key Findings
Educators implement social-emotional learning, but principals and teachers have different views
- About 60 percent of teachers and principals reported setting goals for growth in student SEL.
- Teachers were less likely to report that school leadership set SEL goals than principals were to self-report goal setting.
- Nonurban teachers were less likely to report that their school leaders are setting goals for SEL growth, and nonurban principals were less likely to report that district leaders are setting goals for SEL growth.
Recommendations
- As principals begin or continue to set goals for SEL growth, they must be sure to create a coherent schoolwide strategy and communicate that strategy more effectively to teachers.
- School leaders must take into account efforts already underway in their classrooms as they create schoolwide strategies.
- Setting schoolwide goals requires understanding students' strengths and weaknesses, so schoolwide systems for assessing social-emotional skills can help in that endeavor.
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