Implementation » Research and Literature

• Guidelines for Effective SEL Implementation
• Voices of Experience: Factors Influencing SEL Implementation and Sustainability
• SEL Implementation Research

Additional readings on Implementation and Sustainability can be found in our Searchable SEL Database

Guidelines for Effective SEL Implementation

CASEL Guidelines

CASEL Practice Rubric for School-Wide SEL Implementation: In this rubric, the steps, phases, and ongoing sustainability factors are explained and charted so that progress can be assessed throughout the process of implementation.

Ten Guidelines for SEL Programming: CASEL’s original articulation of 10 components of effective SEL practice, from which the rubric and text developed. Short and comprehensive.

CASEL Guides and Books

Sustainable schoolwide social and emotional learning (SEL): Implementation guide and toolkit: CASEL’s step-by-step guide and 40 tools take school leaders and stakeholder teams through the process of planning for and accomplishing the changes needed for sustainable SEL including creating a vision, assessing needs, choosing programs, integrating SEL into academic subjects, evaluating outcomes, conducting professional development, and communicating with families and the community.

Safe and sound: An educational leader’s guide to SEL programs: Chapter IV in CASEL’s review of SEL programs also discusses common implementation pitfalls, and how to avoid them.

Patti, J., & Tobin, J. (2003). Smart school leaders: Leading with emotional intelligence. Iowa: Kendall Hunt. CASEL Founding Leader Janet Patti and her colleague describe what leaders must do to lead and model social and emotional learning-focused schools.

Elias, M.J., Arnold, H., & Steiger C. (Eds.) (2002). EQ+IQ: Best leadership practices for caring and successful schools. Corwin Press: Thousand Oaks, CA. CASEL Founding Leader Maurice Elias and colleagues provide a variety of examples of schools that work with SEL.

Novick, B., Kress, J.S, Elias, M.J. (2002). Building learning communities with character: How to integrate academic, social, and emotional learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. The chapters in this book ingeniously reflect and model the form of a typical SEL meta-cognitive problem-solving model, e.g., Ch.3: Recognize feelings: Know when to start problem solving; Ch.4: Identify problems: Look at the current situation; Ch.5: Set goals: Focus the change efforts; Ch. 6: Generate options: Think of many things to do; and so on

Elias, M. J., Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Frey, K. S., Greenberg, M. T., Haynes, N. M., Kessler, R., Schwab-Stone, M. E., & Shriver, T. P. (1997). Promoting social and emotional learning: Guidelines for educators. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. The original CASEL book that started the field of SEL, this ASCD publication is filled with implementation advice and case-study examples.

Other Implementation Guides

Safe, supportive, and successful schools: Step by step builds on two previous guides sent out to schools nationwide, Early Warning, Timely Response and Safeguarding Our Children. The book stresses the importance of addressing the social and emotional needs of all students in a school, as well as the additional needs of children who require more support, and it provides specific guidance for doing so in a coordinated way. It uses a pyramid with three tiers to describe student populations with different social and emotional needs. The bottom or foundation-level tier represents  the general population of all students; their major need is for primary prevention--basic SEL programs. The second or middle tier is that subset of the first group that has behavioral problems; they need more targeted early intervention. The third or top tier is the small subset of students with significant emotional and behavioral disorders who require intensive interventions. The book leads schools through the process of planning and funding to address the needs of all three groups of students. The guide contains numerous checklists, surveys, and tools to aid schools with each step in the process (including a school climate survey and student problem-solving skills assessment). For example, click here to see the "Schoolwide Prevention Program Checklist." A matrix of programs for each of the three student groups, found to be effective by the federal government, is also included, along with detailed descriptions of each program.

Getting to outcomes 2004: Promoting accountability through methods and tools for planning, implementation, and evaluation This freely downloadable manual (GTO) presents a ten-step process that enhances practitioners' prevention skills while empowering them to plan, implement, and evaluate their own programs. It was designed to help any school, agency, or community coalition interested in improving the impact  of the  programs they use to  prevent or reduce drug and tobacco use among youth. GTO can also be useful for prevention efforts targeted at other youth behavior problems such as crime, teen pregnancy, or delinquency. This manual includes a variety of student, parent, and teacher surveys in addition to planning tools. GTO is organized around ten accountability questions that address:

• Needs and resources assessment; Goals and objectives; Choosing best practice programs; Ensuring program "fit" to local needs and circumstances; Capacity, planning, process, and outcome evaluation;
• Continuous quality improvement and sustainability.

Voices of Experience: Factors Influencing SEL Implementation and Sustainability

A model for implementing and sustaining schoolwide social and emotional learning (2008). Ji, P., Axelrod, J., Foster, C., Keister, S., O'Brien, M.U., Ogren, K., and Weissberg, R.P. The Community Psychologist, 41(2), 39-42.
This paper presents data from a pilot sample of 84 schools who used the CASEL rubric to assess their current level of SEL implementation. Schools rated themselves on each of the ten steps and six sustainability factors specified in the CASEL model. The paper then describes how schools can use the rubric to advance the implementation of their schoolwide SEL programming.

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.
Based on experiences of CASEL and reviews of literature, the reasons why some schools fail to expand and sustain their SEL efforts are discussed, along with steps schools can take to help avoid these common pitfalls.

Current and future challenges in school-based prevention: A researchers perspective
Greenberg, M.T. (2004). Prevention Science, 5(1).
The paper presents six future directions for research in the field of school-based prevention and health promotion. The directions include developing new programs and models, developing standards and accountability systems related to school success, moving from efficacy to effectiveness research, understanding factors influencing program integration, broad dissemination of programs and policies, and the sustainability of programs, policies, and community partnerships.

Voices from the field: Identifying and overcoming roadblocks to carrying out programs in social and emotional learning/emotional intelligence Elias, M.J., Bruene-Butler, L., Blum, L., & Schuyler, T. (2000). Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 11(2), 253-272.

How to launch a social and emotional learning program Elias, M.J., Bruene-Butler, L., Blum, L., and Schuyler, T. (1997). Educational Leadership, 54(8), 15-19.
The attitudinal and logistical roadblocks that educators initiating SEL programs commonly face—and how they can be overcome.

Schoolwide and District SEL Case Studies:

• Cossitt School (pdf): PreK-6 school in an Chicago suburb
• New Haven Public Schools (pdf): Districtwide SEL initiative in New Haven, CT.
• Hudson, MA (pdf):Districtwide Service-Learning/SEL initiative in Hudson.
• Monroe, LA (pdf): Lexington Elementary case study.

SEL Implementation Research

The study of implementation in school-based preventive interventions: Theory, research, and practice (Draft Final Report, 2005) Greenberg, Domitrovich, Graczyk, & Zins, Center for Mental Health Services. This report introduces a broad conceptual model of implementation for school-based prevention programs that includes discussion of both the factors that affect implementation and the need for implementation quality monitoring; reviews barriers and suggest strategies that practitioners and researchers can use to improve implementation quality; and discusses the implications of implementation issues for program developers, researchers, trainers, practitioners, and policymakers.

Examining the role of implementation quality in school-based prevention Using the PATHS curriculum. Kam, C., Greenberg, M. & Walls, C. (2003). Prevention Science. 4(1): 55-63.
Describes a study of six inner-city schools which found that schools with high levels of principal support were more than twice as likely to see improvements in students' socio-emotional competence, aggressive behavior, and behavioral dysregulation than schools with low principal support when implementing a delinquency prevention program. A good report on how principal support and implementation quality are intertwined and equally important in successful SEL implementation.

The study of implementation: Current findings from effective programs that prevent mental disorders in school-aged children Domitrovich, C.E., & Greenberg, M.T. (2000). Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 11(2), 173-296.

See also two special issues of the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 11(1&2) on the Implementation of Prevention Programs:

• Implementation of prevention programs 11(1)
  For a short overview of the articles in this issue, read: Increasing implementation success in prevention programs (Zins, J.E., Elias, M.J., Greenberg, M.T. & Pruett, M.K.)
• Measurement of quality of implementation of prevention programs 11(2)
  For a short overview of the articles in this issue, read: Promoting quality implementation in prevention programs (Zins, J.E., Elias, M.J., Greenberg, M.T., & Pruett, M.K.)

Online Resources

• The National Implementation Research Network: The Network is comprised of researchers, program developers and stakeholders interested in or engaged in the development, research, implementation and replication of evidence-based programs and practices.
• UCLA Center for Mental Health in Schools: This organization provides a variety of resources for implementing programs and practices that address barriers to learning and promote healthy development. Be sure to check out their free quarterly newsletter.