Summary
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human
development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
Schoolwide SEL is a systemic approach to infusing social and emotional learning into every part of students’ educational experience -- across all classrooms, during all parts of the school day and out-of-school time, and in partnership with families and communities. This involves cultivating caring, participatory, and equitable learning environments and using evidence-based practices that actively involve all students in their social, emotional, and academic growth.
SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.
The purpose of the CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL is to provide research-informed, field-tested guidance and tools that support schools in coordinating and building upon evidence-based SEL practices and programs to achieve systemic implementation. The CASEL School Guide is grounded in nearly 25 years of research and is composed of learnings from dozens of practitioners and content area experts in the fields of SEL and education.
