Programming Trends: Integrating Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Academics

Key Points

• There’s no need to choose between academics and social and emotional learning (SEL)! Integrating SEL with academic instruction is a powerful way to support academic learning and achievement while continuing to prioritize students’ social and emotional development.
• This blog explores trends in the integration of academic instruction with SEL through an analysis of two CASEL projects.
• As SEL integration continues to gain traction across schools, practitioners will need to continue refining implementation strategies and assessing long-term impact in order to maximize the effects of academic integration of SEL.

Teachers today face twin challenges. On the one hand, there is growing pressure to improve academic achievement. On the other, they recognize the importance of SEL to support overall student development.

But, as the research tells us, it isn’t an either/or situation. Instead of choosing between them, we should integrate SEL into academic instruction by embedding SEL objectives into academic content and leveraging SEL teaching strategies in academic instruction.

This result is a win-win:

• During academic instruction, students can practice the SEL skills—like self-management and collaborative problem-solving—they’ll need to thrive in school and in their futures.
• SEL practices encourage engagement and a growth mindset, resulting in more impactful learning, resilience, and a “lifelong learner” mindset.

SEL practices can be embedded into any subject, from core subjects like English Language Arts (ELA) and math to enrichment subjects like art and health. It’s a powerful way to support academic learning and achievement while continuing to prioritize students’ social and emotional development. Here, I’m sharing insights about trends in integrating SEL into academic instruction reflected in the data from two CASEL projects.

What Are the Data Sources?

Here are the projects I used to explore these trends

Social and Emotional Learning in U.S. Schools

This report is a mixed-method research project designed to offer a better understanding of SEL’s influence and impact across the country. You can find some exciting results from this study in a report co-authored by CASEL and published by Rand. We surveyed over 1,000 principals and nearly 4,000 teachers, finding approximately 62 percent of principals and 54% of teachers implement SEL “in core content area classes to support students’ academic success.”

The Program Guide

CASEL’s Guide to Evidence-Based Programming, better known as the Program Guide, is a catalogue of CASEL-approved SEL programs and approaches. To get into the Program Guide, all providers must share at least one evaluation that shows that their approach is effective. One in nine of the programs included in the Program Guide list academic integration as a programmatic approach.

Together, these data offer us the chance to answer a number of questions about integrating SEL into academic instruction, including:

Which Academic Subjects?

Teachers can integrate SEL into any subject, from art or physical education to math or science. However, integration with ELA is most common.

• The Social and Emotional Learning in U.S. Schools survey showed that teachers of core subjects are more likely to integrate SEL compared to teachers of enrichment subjects. And ELA teachers are more likely to integrate SEL into their curriculum than math teachers (55 percent vs. 40 percent).
• Out of the 11 programs in the Program Guide, the most common subject for integration is literacy or ELA, though there are also programs for science, social studies, and health.

Which Grade Levels?

The CASEL and RAND survey data shows that overall SEL implementation and integration of SEL into academics is more likely to occur in elementary schools than in middle or high schools.

In the Program Guide, the most common grades for academic integration were 6 through 8, with eight of the programs offering programming for middle schoolers. Elementary-level programs were a close second, with seven offerings.

How?

In terms of tools provided by schools, the CASEL and RAND survey found that 33 percent of respondents agreed that their schools have “model lesson plans that include social and emotional learning content integrated into the academic goals of the lesson.” Of these respondents, 41 percent were elementary school teachers, 31 percent were middle school teachers, and 21 percent were high school teachers.

We also learned about the support schools offer for this kind of integration. When asked whether their schools provided “support for central office staff for embedding social and emotional learning language and practices into academic instruction and curriculum,” roughly 14 percent of teachers felt this described their district very or fairly well. Digging a bit deeper:

• Math teachers (14 percent) were slightly more likely to agree with this description than ELA teachers (13 percent).
• Teachers of enrichment subjects (16 percent) were more likely to agree with this description than teachers of core subjects (13 percent).
• The percentage of elementary school teachers (19 percent) that agreed with this description was higher than that of middle (16 percent) or high school teachers (13 percent).

The Program Guide shows that there are programs available to provide this support. These programs incorporate a number of approaches to weave SEL into academic instruction, including lessons, activities and resources for home, and service learning (activities that engage students in community service projects that incorporate SEL through guidelines on practicing these skills, including a post-project reflection). This graph drills down into specific approaches programs use in classrooms, schools, at home, and in the community:

Many programs also include equity strategies that engage SEL skills, such as youth action projects, in which students address issues they care about in their communities, and customizing for context, in which teachers adjust their lessons and approaches to meet the needs of their students and the communities they come from.

Other Insights?

Here are some other interesting findings:

CASEL and RAND survey data:

• Academic integration implementation was slightly higher for principals in suburban schools (vs. urban or rural) and for teachers in urban schools (vs. suburban or rural).
• More than half of the teachers at public, magnet, charter, and private schools reported moderate to great implementation of academic integration. (We had a much greater rate of response from public schools, so our data is more representative for them.)

Program Guide data:

• Most programs evaluated their effectiveness in elementary school, with five showcasing their effectiveness in elementary or middle school.
• The most common student outcomes measured were  improved SEL skills and improved social behaviors. Two of these programs also showed evidence for improved academic performance.

Where Do We Go From Here?

We can learn a lot about the integration of SEL into academic instruction by synthesizing different sources of information.

As we’ve seen, the results from the Social and Emotional Learning in U.S. Schools survey show that principals and teachers are already implementing academic integration, but could use more concrete resources (e.g., model lesson plans) and support from central offices.

The programs in the Program Guide show how some providers have conceptualized academic integration in the classroom, implemented in a way that has improved both students’ social and emotional competencies as well as their academic performance.Given that less than 10 percent of the programs in the Program Guide and over a quarter of educators still don’t use academic integration, there is work to do in incorporating this important strategy in classrooms and in schools.

As SEL integration continues to gain traction across schools, practitioners will need to continue refining implementation strategies and assessing long-term impact in order to maximize the effects of academic integration of SEL.

Related Posts:

• 2024 SEL Exchange Sneak Peek: Powerful Ways to Integrate SEL With Academics
• What Policies and Conditions Support SEL and Academic Integration?
• What Strategies Can We Use to Integrate SEL and Academic Learning?

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