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CASEL in the News:

“Good grades depend not just on brains, but on hearts” is the theme of an op-ed piece in the August 16, 2005, New York Times, written by Timothy Shriver, Chair of CASEL’s Leadership Team, and Roger P. Weissberg, CASEL’s President. The column highlights the largest-ever quantitative analysis of research studies on the impact of SEL on academic success. This research, which will be published later this year, shows that SEL programming may increase students’ achievement scores by as much as 10%. See http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/16/opinion/16shriver.html?th&emc=th.

On August 18, Joseph Durlak, Roger Weissberg, and colleagues will present this research at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association. Also at the APA, Weissberg will be honored by the Society for Community Research and Action with its Award for Distinguished Contributions to Theory and Research in Community Research and Action.

In This Issue:    

• Spotlight on Research: Change is good, but no one says it’s easy; bridging the research-practice divide; funding implementation; research on positive youth development
• Spotlight on Practice: Implementing change collaboratively; you win some, you lose some
• Spotlight on Policy: State-by-state supports for the whole child; Illinois Children’s Mental Health Plan submitted to the governor
• Resources You Can Use:  What Works Clearinghouse; C.A.R.E.: Guide to instructional strategies to help close the achievement gaps;
• Conferences

From CASEL's Leadership  

Putting the pieces together through effective implementation

Just as the elevator door closes, the school board member sharing that small space turns to you and asks, “I keep hearing this term SEL. What is it anyway? And what does it have to do with our school’s academic mission?” This is one of the exercises CASEL staff proposed to participants in our four summer workshops on SEL school-wide implementation. Here are a few of their terrific responses:

  * Social Emotional Learning is more than a program, it’s a philosophy.  It’s about setting up a classroom of respect and responsibility where students are freed up to take risks with their learning.  It’s about intentionally modeling and teaching behaviors that we expect anyway.  It’s about being proactive rather than reactive.  It’s about freeing kids to learn and teachers to teach.

  * SEL is the set of skills we all need to be successful in life.  They include social skills, problem-solving and self-advocacy skills.  They are critical to using content knowledge wisely.  Lack of SEL skills keeps students from realizing their potential by limiting their ability to succeed in a world based on human social contexts.

  * SEL is the foundational framework of a school by which we help students to learn and adopt positive life skills.  Students whose learning is supported by SEL philosophies are not only more likely to retain the information they learn but are also more well-rounded, caring, responsible, and healthy individuals.  Instills acceptance of diversity; provides safe learning environment; focuses on whole child – what kind of people do we want our kids to be; teaches and promotes good decision-making skills; creates atmosphere that promotes teacher retention.

Having a clear vision to engage all stakeholders is just a piece of the implementation puzzle. One of CASEL’s goals is to help schools implement SEL programming successfully school-wide in a way that is sustainable. At the workshops, almost 200 participants from over 50 school teams have engaged in an interactive “unpacking” of the SEL Implementation Action Guide, CASEL’s forthcoming implementation guide and toolkit. Participant feedback has been outstanding, and we are now crafting ways to follow up with the teams. Our implementation framework incorporates the best work from SAMHSA and the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, as well as our own research on SEL sustainability. To get a glimpse of the framework and the rubric we have developed to help schools steer their course, visit our website (http://www.casel.org/downloads/implementationrubric.doc).

Then share with us your answer to the school board member. What is SEL anyway? (Email Jeanne Osgood, jsosgood@uic.edu with your vision; we’ll include some replies in future issues.)

In coming months we’ll focus on two essential factors in sustainable SEL implementation: school leadership and assessment. These are CASEL’s priority work areas for the years ahead, and we will keep you posted on the latest scientific and practice advances in these areas. 

Mary Utne O’Brien
Executive Director                                   

Spotlight on Research 

Change is good, but no one says it’s easy….

The SEL Implementation Action Guide was inspired by a “new classic” by CASEL Leadership Team Vice Chair Maurice Elias and colleagues. Appearing in School Psychology Review, this article describes the challenges of implementing and sustaining schoolwide SEL and strategies for success. Challenges range from staff turnover, rigid systems, and internal politics to the inevitable bumps involved in adapting any new program. On the flipside, implementation is more likely to be sustained when schools can show a commitment to continuous improvement, the development of action plans, and the capacity to monitor change and adjust plans. Elias et al. advocate for a coordinator for such a process--a professional with a combination of school psychology and education training. Read Implementation, Sustainability, and Scaling Up of Social-Emotional and Academic Innovations in Public Schools
(2003). Elias, M. J., Zins, J. E., Graczyk, P. A., & Weissberg, R. P. School Psychology Review 32(3), 303-319.

Bridging the Research-Practice Divide

Researchers and practitioners have such different perspectives and methods that applications of methodical science to pressing community problems often have disappointing results. Because crossing the research-practice divide is tough, many schools undertaking prevention work do not use evidence-based programs; others choose a research-based curriculum but fail to implement it with fidelity to its intended design.

In the June 2005 issue of the American Journal of Community Psychology, CASEL Leadership Team Member Mark Greenberg and colleague Richard Spoth describe a strategic solution to this systemic dilemma. In the context of a massive 28-community field experiment, they examine the effects of combining the best of university-based knowledge with practice delivery by county extension agents—known and trusted sources of innovative science-based practices in rural communities. 

Source: Spoth, R. L., Greenberg, M. T. (2005). Toward a comprehensive strategy for effective practitioner-scientist partnerships and larger-scale community health and well-being. American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 35 (3/4), 107-126.  

Funding Implementation

A key ingredient of sustainable SEL implementation is identifying dedicated funding. Foundation Funding for Children’s Health, An Overview of Recent Trends, at http://fdncenter.org/research/trends_analysis/pdf/childhealth.pdf, analyzes foundation support for children’s health from 1999 to 2003 and contains some heartening findings for those who seek to support SEL initiatives:

• Support for children’s health increased to more than one-fifth of overall health giving between 1999 and 2003.
• Four foundations dominate children’s health funding, but others are joining them.

• Health funders are paying increasing attention to the mental health needs of children.

• Promotion of healthy behavior at earlier ages is valued by more funders as a means to prevent unhealthy lifestyles and reduce the costs of chronic disease later in life.

• A number of health funders use a broad definition of health from the  World Health Organization: “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”  This definition supports strategies that include efforts to strengthen families and communities, build resiliency in children, and “act on the connections between social, environmental, and economic conditions and health outcomes.”

The report, which includes profiles of foundations that support children’s health, is a valuable tool for schools researching financial resources for SEL and mental health programming.

Research on Positive Youth Development 

Expanding research on resilience underscores the value of strong relationships in the lives of children and the influence of family and school connectedness on many domains (emotional, violence, substance use, and sexuality). Resilience Research for Prevention Programs:  Protective Factors in Individuals, Families, and Schools: National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health Findings, by Bonnie Benard and Kathy Marshall, National Resilience Resource Center, University of Minnesota, and the Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (2001), http://www.ccapt.org/res_papers/protective.pdf, is a concise reporting of the variables in the environments of adolescents that effectively promote resilience. 

What Do Children Need to Flourish? Conceptualizing and Measuring Indicators of Positive Development (2005), edited by Kristin Moore and Lara Lippman of Child Trends, adds substantially to the knowledge base of how to measure positive outcomes for youth. This is a valuable contribution to a field that has traditionally measured only problem behaviors in impact evaluations. Indicators include hope, healthy habits, connection to school, positive social behaviors, and participation in organized activities, among others. Order it at www.search-institute.org by clicking on “Catalog” and typing in the search field “What do Children Need to Flourish?”.

Spotlight on Practice

Implementing Change Collaboratively

Once school leaders have committed to change, how can they support the process? According to Robert Garmston, the key ingredients are putting new learning upfront, actively supporting teacher collaboration, and fostering self-reflection. Among Garmston’s provocative observations, backed up by change research: “It is a myth that feedback improves team effectiveness….Contrary to popular belief, we do not learn from experience, only from reflecting on experience….Any group that is too busy to reflect is too busy to improve.”  Read “Group Wise: Create a Culture of Inquiry and Develop Productive Groups,” Journal of Staff Development, Vol. 26., No. 2, (Spring 2005), at http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/garmston262.cfm.

You win some, you lose some. . .

And that’s the problem.  If we believe that all children can learn, to brand some as winners in competitive learning environments implies that others are, well … losers. In the July 2005 issue of the American School Board Journal, Susan Black proposes that schools take a look at the unintended negative consequences of some of their practices. How many writing contests are there? Awards for the best artwork, or even just recognition for the best work?  Black reviews research that suggests that, while there is a place for competition in after school activities, the classroom should be a place for cooperation and sharing, activities that establish social skills, group processing, positive interdependence, and individual accountability. Cooperative learning also promotes higher-level reasoning and better problem-solving, and most importantly, it can pique students’ desire to learn.  See “And the Winner Is…” at http://www.asbj.com/2005/07/0705research.html.  

Spotlight on Policy 

State-by-State Supports for the Whole Child

More and more states are establishing policies that require schools to teach children social and emotional learning, life skills, relationship skills, and problem-solving skills. In some states, policy encourages the teaching of specific learning in this area; in others, policy establishes a comprehensive structure within which this learning is mandated as a preventive asset in coordination with mental health services, so that a continuum of learning and care is formed.

Concern over divorce rates has prompted numerous states to legislate the teaching of relationship skills.  Washington, New Jersey, Florida, and Utah encourage schools to provide conflict resolution skills and violence prevention in public schools.  See Dean Patton, “States Prod Schools to Teach Relationships,” Christian Science Monitor, (June 13, 2005), http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0613/p02s01-uspo.html.

Legislation passed this spring in South Carolina seeks to redesign career planning and preparation to provide students with both strong academics and real-world problem-solving skills.  Character education incorporating specific character traits, as identified by the local school board with input from the community, is also prescribed.

See http://www.scstatehouse.net/sess116_2005-2006/prever/3155_20050519.htm, for the legislation.

Districts around the country are also addressing SEL in their strategic planning and district improvement goals.  Anchorage, Alaska, for example, has done exactly this by developing SEL learning standards (informed by those goals in Illinois).  Next they will develop curriculum guides in all subject areas that incorporate SEL standards, pacing, and model lessons, and develop assessment methods.  To read about the Anchorage School District’s 6-Year SEL Plan, go to: http://www.asdk12.org/depts/cei/download/6_soc_emo_lrn.pdf.

This state- and district-level activity is echoed on the national level. For example, the summer 2005 U.S. Department of Education’s Foundations for Learning Grants Request for Proposals states:  “For children to succeed in the transition to school, they must be able to: accurately identify emotions in themselves and others, relate to teachers and peers in positive ways, manage feelings of anger, frustration, and distress when faced with emotionally charged situations, enjoy academic learning and approach it enthusiastically, and work attentively, independently, and cooperatively in a structured classroom environment.”  CASEL is pleased to see this acknowledgment of the foundational nature of social and emotional development to children’s health and well-being.

Illinois Children’s Mental Health Plan Submitted to the Governor

CASEL’s home state of Illinois has been one of the most active in the area of SEL and mental health legislation. The Children’s Mental Health Plan is a strategic ”roadmap” to promote children’s social and emotional development and improve the child mental health system in a comprehensive way, so that prevention, early intervention, and treatment are well designed, accessible, and coordinated.  Read the plan at:http://www.voices4kids.org/ICMHP_Plan_063005.pdf.  It follows the passage of the Children’s Mental Health Act of 2003 and the adoption of student SEL learning standards by the State Board of Education in December 2004.  Read the Illinois state standards in social emotional learning at: http://www.isbe.net/ils/social_emotional/standards.htm.

Resources You Can Use  

What Works Clearinghouse

A new feature of the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse is a registry of outcome evaluators who conduct research on the effects of educational interventions.   Evaluators are listed by name, geographic region, content area, and target population.  http://www.ecs.org/00CN2604.

C.A.R.E:  Guide to Instructional Strategies to Help Close the Achievement Gaps

The National Education Association (NEA) has produced a resource to help schools address the achievement gap  by focusing on Culture, Abilities, Resilience, and Effort (C.A.R.E.). Designed for use with both elementary and secondary students, it can stand alone as a lesson book or be used with an evidence-based SEL program. Download a copy of Culture, Abilities, Resilience, Effort (C.A.R.E.): Strategies for Closing the Achievement Gaps (2005) at http://www.nea.org/teachexperience/careguide.html.

Conferences

Character Education Partnership, 12^th National Forum: Building Cultures of Character
Oct. 20-22, 2005
Atlanta Hilton, Atlanta, Georgia  
www.character.org

ASCD, Conference on Teaching and Learning – Student Achievement:  The Broader Picture. 
Oct. 23-25, 2005. 
San Francisco Marriott, San Francisco, California. Included in the outstanding lineup of presenters are CASEL leaders Roger Weissberg and Mary Utne O’Brien.
http://www.ascd.org/portal/site/ascd/menuitem.4bf962cfeb89d92abfb3ffdb62108a0c/

What Is CASEL?  

CASEL—the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning—is dedicated to the development of children’s social and emotional competencies and the capacity of schools, parents, and communities to support that development. Based at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), CASEL is working to create a world in which young people will have the academic knowledge and skills they need to achieve their goals and will also be caring, engaged citizens prepared to participate fully in society. CASEL’s mission is to establish integrated, evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) from preschool through high school.

What Is SEL?

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process of developing fundamental social and emotional competencies or skills in children and creating a caring and supportive school climate. A large number of school-based programs and practices are designed to do this. Many evidence-based school programs that focus on positive youth development, problem prevention, service-learning, and character education can be considered SEL. They work to develop students’ social and emotional competencies and create ways to nurture and support students. The resources in this e-newsletter cover a wide range of topics under the umbrella of school-based SEL programming.

About This Listserv

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Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
Department of Psychology (M/C 285)
University of Illinois at Chicago
1007 West Harrison St.
Chicago, IL 60607
312-413-1008
Fax 312-355-4480 
CASEL@uic.edu 
www.CASEL.org