Key Points
Back to top- Fact: SEL enhances academic success by helping students focus and stay motivated, creating more engaging and productive classrooms.
- Fact: SEL teaches knowledge, skills, and attitudes that support college, career, and life success. SEL is a collaborative effort between schools, families, and communities.
- Fact: SEL is about ensuring every child feels valued, engaged, and ready to learn, supporting them to reach their full potential.
- Fact: Data is used to support student growth, improve instructional practices, and enhance the overall school climate.
You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an essential part of today’s education and helps develop skills that students need to succeed in school and life. That’s why the vast majority of parents, teachers, and students themselves say SEL is important in schools! With more than 83 percent of U.S. schools implementing SEL, we want to share some of the common questions we’ve heard. Whether you’re curious about its impact on academics, the skills it teaches, or its role in creating supportive learning environments, these FAQs are here to help you learn what SEL is—and isn’t!
What’s the relationship between SEL and academics?
Back to top✅ Fact: SEL enhances academic success by helping students focus and stay motivated, creating more engaging and productive classrooms.
Research shows SEL contributes significantly to academic performance and readiness. Hundreds of studies involving more than 1 million students worldwide across PreK-12 showed that SEL has a positive impact on students’ achievement, and a 2017 study found that students who participated in SEL showed an average academic gain of 13 percentile points years later. Students participating in SEL programs also showed improved classroom behavior and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school.
SEL develops skills needed for academic success, such as demonstrating curiosity, managing stress, and persevering through challenging content. Brain science supports this connection, as social, emotional, and cognitive skills are deeply intertwined, leading to more effective learning and longer-term academic achievement. Based on this science, many schools integrate SEL directly into existing lessons, finding that it supports learning in subjects like math, science, language arts, and social studies.
What does SEL teach, and who determines what is taught?
Back to top✅ Fact: SEL teaches knowledge, skills, and attitudes that support college, career, and life success. SEL is a collaborative effort between schools, families, and communities.
SEL focuses on teaching five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These skills support academic success, goal achievement, and career readiness, making SEL valuable for personal and professional growth. Employers increasingly seek employees with strong SEL competencies, such as communication, cooperation, and effective decision-making.
SEL does not promote any specific ideology, religion, or set of values. Instead, SEL emphasizes universal skills and qualities—such as empathy, cooperation, and respect—that are essential for creating engaging and productive classrooms and communities. SEL also helps young people and adults to better understand and express their views, listen to and empathize with others who have different viewpoints and experiences, and talk through disagreements and conflict. These are skills that prepare students to navigate a diverse world and to appreciate different perspectives. CASEL’s SEL framework is intentionally flexible, encouraging local schools and districts to align SEL with their community values, priorities, and goals.
What does SEL have to do with a child’s race, gender, or any other aspect of their identity?
Back to top✅ Fact: SEL is about ensuring every child feels valued, engaged, and ready to learn, supporting them to reach their full potential.
Research shows that when students see themselves, families, and backgrounds reflected in the curriculum, it positively impacts their engagement, motivation, and academic performance. SEL promotes environments that respect and celebrate diversity, helping educators connect with students’ unique backgrounds and strengths.
Evidence-based SEL programs are designed to be developmentally appropriate, meaning they are tailored to match the age and maturity of students. These programs focus on building empathy, respect, and interpersonal skills, which help foster understanding among students from varied backgrounds. Importantly, SEL is a collaborative effort, driven by schools and families working together to identify shared goals and ensure that SEL practices are meaningful within the local context.
How is student data used in SEL?
Back to top✅Fact: Data is used to support student growth, improve instructional practices, and enhance the overall school climate.
In education, data is often used to help continuously improve efforts, and SEL data can help students reflect on their own strengths and help teachers look for trends to inform their instruction. One important source of SEL-related data comes from school climate assessments, which ask students about their perspectives on their learning environment. These data gather insights into how safe, supported, and engaged students feel at school—factors that are essential for creating a positive school climate. By understanding students’ perspectives, educators can identify areas for improvement and create more inclusive, welcoming, and productive classrooms.
School climate assessments may complement other SEL data, such as students’ self-reflection on their progress in areas like communication and empathy. Together, these data sources allow schools to understand trends, celebrate strengths, and address any gaps in student support. This information is not used to diagnose individual behavioral or mental health issues but rather to guide schoolwide strategies that enhance the learning environment. With SEL, schools partner with families and communities to choose the right data tools, ensuring transparency and alignment with shared goals for student success and well-being.
Related Posts:
- SEL 101: What to Expect from CASEL’s New Course
- SEL Quick Start: The SEL 3 Signature Practices
- A Relationship-Fueled Learning Community: Teachers and Students in California Share the Impact of SEL
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