SEL Is Still “The Missing Piece”: Making the Case for Social and Emotional Learning Three Decades Later

Key Points

• In 1997, Dr. Maurice Elias published a commentary in Education Week called The Missing Piece, which asked, “Can there be any true academic or social success without the skills associated with social and emotional learning (SEL)?
• He argues that, although the SEL field has flourished since those early days, in many ways, SEL is still a missing piece in academic and life success.
• Dr. Elias enumerates the signs and factors that contribute to this perception, and stresses the importance of continuing to call for SEL in schools.

On December 3, 1997, Education Week published my commentary, The Missing Piece. In it, I asked:

That is, I argued, SEL was the “the missing piece” of education, the element that helps ensure that students “feel that they can contribute to the school and the community, to their families and to their future workplace.” 

This is an idea that has since become central to education: that a powerful motivator for learning and development is the student’s own feeling that they have a contribution to make to their classroom, school, or community. That is, SEL skills are central to learning how to function as part of a democracy.

In the nearly 30 years since that commentary was published, the SEL field has become a central movement in education. And yet, in so many ways, there is still work to be done.

SEL Is Still the Missing Piece

Why do I think SEL continues to be the “missing piece” in academic and life success? I draw upon two sources that, taken together, highlight where we must focus our efforts going forward.

First, an abundance of research, summarized most recently in the second edition of The Handbook of SEL, shows unequivocally the link between SEL and academic success, positive classroom and school behavior, student mental health, and civic engagement.  

Second, which may seem paradoxical, are the continued reports of lagging academic performance in U.S. students. So much research has been done on instruction. So much funding has been devoted to new academic programs and pedagogical approaches. But they have not succeeded in creating a broad and necessary turnaround in student success. 

The reasons for this have been widely discussed. Structural inequities in resources and opportunities play a large role. But their impact can be moderated by ensuring all students are being systematically, developmentally engaged in building their social-emotional and character development, in classrooms and schools that are supportive, caring, challenging, inspiring, and kind.

Every Word About SEL Implementation Matters

Despite what you might have read, including in the pages of Education Week, SEL—carried out properly—is still missing in most schools. The last sentence in the prior paragraph contains the formula for identifying and replacing what is missing with what is effective. Specifically, “all students.” As veteran educator and mission warrior Larry Leverett has taught us, “all means all.” Students who are struggling academically, students with special education classifications, students for whom English is not their primary language—ALL students must be involved.

Also from that paragraph: “systematically, developmentally engaged.” Systematic means planfully organized for each year a student is in a school. There must be developmental sequencing, whether through an evidence-based curriculum or through a threaded set of instructional strategies, so that students are not getting repeat materials or lesson plans that are not advancing with students’ capabilities. 

Engaged is a place-saving term for the need for an active pedagogy, connecting to students’ personal and cultural identities, with classwide, small-group, and pair-share learning opportunities; frequent and regular reflection; and the use of service-learning. What John Dewey said about democracy—that it must be learned through living it in school (“Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife.”)—is true of social-emotional competence and character. It must emerge through a set of social-interactional instructional processes.

Another phrase: “Classrooms and schools that are supportive, caring, challenging, inspiring, and kind.” When SEL is thought of as a “program” that acts like some form of medicine or vaccination (i.e., success will follow from administering the required dosage), SEL does not add much to classroom success. For social-emotional instruction to find its way to the mind, heart, and soul of a student, it must occur in places that invite ALL students to join and be valued. 

Every word matters: supportive, caring, challenging, inspiring, and kind. It takes intentionality for this to happen in EVERY classroom, and then in the school as a whole. We have seen what almost looks like a magical spell cast over students once their classroom and schools take on these features. They become enthused, invested, curious, collaborative, and animated. They begin to see a purpose in developing their subject-area skills.

SEL Is Like Rocket Science

It’s common for those of us in education to say something like, “It’s not as if what we are trying to do is like rocket science.” The reality is, “rocket science” is a good analogy for what educators are trying to do, and this applies to promoting students’ social-emotional competencies and character, in particular. 

For success, there needs to be a deliberate, coordinated, and seamless flow of SEL pedagogy from grade level to grade level, along with full participation and constant review of status to ensure all lights are “green” and those not being adequately served are accommodated. 

As with rocket flight, weak links can spell doom. Too many students are still encountering weak links in their SEL experiences, and this will put a damper on how far and well they can soar in the future. As with most other outcomes in education, these troubling encounters are not equitably distributed.

Our Democracy Is at Stake

It is no exaggeration to recall John Dewey’s insight in Democracy and Education, when he said that students’ experiences with democratic processes in schools will transfer to their commitment to and engagement in democratic processes in civic life. But this is not solely a matter of dispositions. Skills and context matter. On this, we can give The Missing Piece from three decades ago the last word:

The views in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of CASEL.

Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychology at Rutgers University, Director, Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab, on the Leadership Team of SEL4US.org, writes a blog for Edutopia and most recently published Reinvigorating Classroom Climate:  Everyday Strategies to Inspire Teachers and Students. He can be reached at Maurice.Elias@rutgers.edu.

Related

• CASEL’s video “The Missing Piece”
• CASEL Report: The Missing Piece: A National Teacher Survey on How Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Transform Schools (2013)
• Also by Dr. Elias: From Dreams to Aspirations: Exercising Critical Thinking, SEL, and Civic Engagement By Revisiting Dr. King’s Words

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