30 Years In, SEL Is More Essential Than Ever—And the Field Is Ready to Meet the Moment

Key Points

• This year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of SEL! Founded at a small conference of researchers, educators, child advocates, and practitioners in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1994, SEL has since transformed the global education landscape.
• SEL was conceived as a proactive approach to interconnected challenges facing students in the ‘90s. Today, our young people grapple with both similar and new challenges—academic learning loss, mental health, chronic absenteeism, and preparing for an uncertain workforce as technology and AI advance.
• It’s clear that equipping students with social and emotional skills is even more critical now than it was 30 years ago. And the good news is that with increased awareness, support, research, and funding for SEL, we have more knowledge and resources to do this work effectively than ever before.

This year, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of social and emotional learning (SEL)! It’s been three decades of research, practice, and policy aimed at helping children develop the full range of skills needed for academic success, fulfilling careers, healthy relationships, and responsible citizenship.

In November, we marked the occasion as we hosted the 2024 SEL Exchange in Chicago, home to the CASEL offices since 1996. It was the perfect opportunity to reflect on where the field of SEL has come from, where we are now, and where we still have left to go.

SEL Beginnings

In the early 1990s, schools were struggling with increases in dropout rates, truancy, teen pregnancies, and a growing mental health crisis—about 20 percent of young people were dealing with depression.

Based in the science of learning and development, SEL was conceived as a proactive approach to these interconnected issues. It was a way to address children’s fundamental needs and support their healthy development—including essential life skills like communicating effectively, setting and achieving goals, staying motivated, and persisting through challenges—throughout their education.

It all started with a simple but bold idea: What if education fully supported the social, emotional, and academic development of all children? Founded at a small conference of researchers, educators, child advocates, and practitioners in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1994, SEL has since transformed the global education landscape.

SEL Today

As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of SEL, we find ourselves at a similar moment in time. Chronic absenteeism in schools has surged to nearly 30 percent, about 40 percent of young people report persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, and 92 percent of school leaders remain concerned about pandemic learning loss. We also face distinctly modern issues, like growing polarization and the rise of cell phones, social media, and AI.

When we look at the challenges facing young people today, it is clear that equipping students with social and emotional skills is even more urgent now than it was three decades ago. And as the urgency around social and emotional skills has increased, the field of SEL has grown to meet the moment. Over the last 30 years, we’ve learned much more about the “how” of SEL—from a greater focus on youth voice, to new research pointing us to effective practices, to collaborations across the country and around the globe yielding continuous insights and innovation. While the issues impacting our students and schools are pressing, the field of SEL is more prepared than ever before to address them.

Academic recovery

Students have made impressive gains since the pandemic. But there is still work to be done to catch up academically to pre-pandemic levels and close the achievement gap between high-poverty and low-poverty school districts, which is even higher now than before the pandemic.

Research across hundreds of studies involving more than one million PreK-12 students worldwide has consistently found that SEL positively impacts academic achievement.

As Arne Duncan, previously the CEO of Chicago Public Schools and U.S. Secretary of Education, said at our recent SEL Exchange, “SEL is the foundation for everything we want to do academically for students here in our country and around the world. … If we don’t build that base, we’ll never get to where we want to get academically. ”

Mental health

The latest data released by the CDC on youth mental health again shows some improvement since the pandemic. Still, 40 percent of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness over the last 12 months, including 53 percent of teen girls. Along with this data, the CDC released an action plan that recommends promoting social, emotional, and behavioral learning to help support students’ mental health.

While SEL does not replace the need for mental health interventions for students who need them, it cultivates important “protective factors”—caring relationships, safe and supportive environments, social and emotional skills—that buffer against mental health risks. Participation in SEL programs is linked to decreased emotional distress and more positive attitudes about self and others.

Chronic absenteeism

Increases in chronic absenteeism have occurred in every state since the pandemic, with some states seeing chronic absenteeism rates more than double.

Students who participate in SEL around the world report an increased sense of safety and support, better relationships with teachers, and stronger feelings of belonging and inclusiveness in schools. They also have higher levels of “school functioning,” including attendance, grades, and test scores.

Future readiness

According to the World Economic Forum, employers are saying that the top skills of the future include complex problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, leadership, and resilience—all social and emotional skills supported by SEL. As AI is further incorporated into the workforce, these distinctly human skills will keep us competitive at work.

SEL Tomorrow

These critical issues won’t be resolved by SEL alone. But SEL is a powerful starting point that can positively impact every child in a school building, with ripple effects extending to families and communities.

The good news is that the last 30 years have positioned the field to make an even greater impact. Today, there is far more widespread awareness of and support for SEL. Federal and state policies often equip school districts with funding and resources to invest in SEL initiatives. And with a significant body of research and data from thousands of schools, we know much more about how to do this work effectively.

Let’s come together to harness and apply the SEL support, knowledge, and resources we’ve gained since 1994. If we can do that, the future is bright for our schools, communities, and young people over the next 30 years and beyond.

Related Posts:

• 2024 Social and Emotional Learning Year in Review
• Highlights and Insights from the 2024 SEL Exchange
• Your SEL Questions…Answered!

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