SEL in Context: Exploring the Relationship between School Changes and Social-Emotional Learning Trajectories in a Low-income, Urban School District

Background/Context Research has shown teachers’ expectations of students to be a powerful predictor of the racial opportunity gap. Yet, many teachers continue to profile White students and Students of Color very differently in schools when it comes to intellectual capacity and motivation to learn. One of the major ethical challenges of teachers’ expectations is how sympathy is constructed in the classroom. Too often, teachers exhibit sympathy through feeling pity for the life challenges facing low-income Students of Color, a dynamic that can result in the lowering of expectations via anticipation of school failure. Purpose/Objective Inspired by W. E. B. Du Bois's (1935) concept of sympathetic touch, the purpose of this article is to introduce asset-based instructional practices rooted in sympathy as a method for confronting systemic problems of pity and deficit thinking which perpetuate low teachers’ expectations. There is a pressing need for an antiracist framework within which teachers can communicate sympathy in an appropriate manner that still hold students to high expectations for learning. This study intends to fill the gaps in the literatures of teachers’ expectations of students, social context of education, urban education, and teacher education by reenvisioning a way to effectively meet the needs of America's diverse school populations. Participants The study was conducted with a sample of nine teachers from low-income, racially segregated neighborhoods in a large urban school district. These teachers were selected for the study based on the following criteria: (1) minimum of three years of teaching experience; (2) working with a majority of Students of Color; and (3) perceived by either their principals and/or counselors to have a positive impact in the classroom and positive relationships with their students. The participants were screened based on these criteria before their participation in the study. We then drew on the literature to inform the final selection of the teachers. Research Design This case study was conducted over the span of one year and included semistructured interviews, three rounds of teacher reflection prompts, informal observations, and a collection of archival data such as course syllabi, lesson plans, lists of ongoing activities related to content instruction, flyers or other materials related to these activities, examples of students’ assignments, and photographs of classroom activities. Data Collection and Analysis All the data from the interviews, journal responses, and documents were prepared, analyzed, and categorized into codes that were in alignment with the research questions. The coding process was done through both hand-coding techniques and the use of the NVivo qualitative data analysis software program. The codes were then analyzed for patterns and themes across the data to document the ways in which the teachers defined and fostered sympathy with students. In addition to using multiple sources of data for triangulation, we validated our findings by engaging teachers in continuous member-checking during the academic year and a debriefing session to enable them to provide feedback regarding the accuracy of the themes found in the data, as well as additional comments regarding their ethics of classroom expectations. Findings/Results Teachers reported that their expectations and awareness of Students of Color's racialized contexts, as well as their position and responsibilities within those contexts, were important factors in their perceived effectiveness. The study discovered that the ethics and practices of sympathetic touch manifested in the forms of equitable student-teacher relationships, empowering curriculum, and the centrality of students’ voices in the construction of knowledge. Specifically, teachers’ sympathetic touch was found to be an important mediating factor in how their expectations were communicated to students in the classroom. In the context of this school district, these teachers reportedly fostered sympathetic practices through high expectations focused on equity, community, and students’ cultural wealth as the basis to generate knowledge in the classroom. Conclusions The results of the present study underscore the importance of asset-based conceptions of sympathy as a mediator of teachers’ expectations in the classroom. Teachers and school administrators’ ability to reframe and redefine sympathetic practices with students is a key factor in improving the educational experiences of diverse populations.

Download Full-text

Views from the Classroom: Teachers on Food in a Low-Income Urban School District

The International Library of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Ethics - Food Justice in US and Global Contexts ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-57174-4_11 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 129-140

Author(s):

Sarah Riggs Stapleton ◽

Person Cole ◽

Melissa Washburn ◽

Matt Jason ◽

Tawny Alvarado

Keyword(s):

School District ◽

Low Income ◽

Urban School ◽

Urban School District ◽

Classroom Teachers

Download Full-text

Study Protocol of a Distance Learning Intervention to Support Social Emotional Learning and Identity Development for Adolescents Using Interactive Mobile Technology

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2021.623283 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Megan Cherewick ◽

Sarah Lebu ◽

Christine Su ◽

Lisa Richards ◽

Prosper F. Njau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distance Learning ◽

Identity Development ◽

Study Protocol ◽

Low Income ◽

Social Emotional Learning ◽

Well Being ◽

Emotional Learning ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Low Resource ◽

Learning Intervention

Background: The maturational period from age 10 to 14—often referred to as very young adolescents (VYAs)—represents a dynamic period of learning and neurobehavioral development as individuals transition from childhood to adolescence. This developmental period presents a window of opportunity for strategic investment to improve trajectories of health, education and well-being among young people. More specifically, neurodevelopmental changes during pubertal maturation influence neural circuitry involved in processing emotions, risks, rewards and social relationships. Technology can be leveraged to create social emotional learning experiences for VYAs and provide opportunities for flexible, distance learning in low-income countries. The aim of this study protocol is to detail how insights from developmental science can be used to inform the intervention design, implementation and evaluation of a distance learning, social emotional learning intervention for VYAs.Methods: This study will be delivered to 500 VYAs in Temeke District, Dar es salaam. Study participants will watch culturally-relevant, animated videos on social emotional mindsets and skills and content will be paired with experiential learning activities over a period of 10 weeks. A nested smart-phone based study will practice learning social emotional skills and mindsets through engagement with multi-media material via the WhatsApp messenger application. Surveys and in-depth interviews will be administered to adolescents, their parents/caregivers and teachers before and after the intervention to evaluate the effect of the intervention on study outcomes.Discussion: This study is among the first to provide results on how to effectively design a distance-learning intervention to promote social emotional learning and identity development within a low-resource context. The findings will provide substantial evidence to inform new intervention approaches that are effective in low-resource contexts and strategies to reach scale among similar programs invested in leveraging technology to support adolescent health and development.Clinical Trial registration: Study registered with ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier number NCT0445807.

Download Full-text

A Review of the Literature on the Relationship of Music Education to the Development of Socio-Emotional Learning

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/21582440211068501 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 215824402110685

Author(s):

Judit Váradi

Keyword(s):

Music Education ◽

Social Emotional Learning ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Well Being ◽

Emotional Learning ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Emotional Skills ◽

The World ◽

The Impact ◽

The Relationship

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a topic of increasing focus in the education sector. SEL is the process by which children acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to effectively recognize and manage emotions, to formulate positive goals, to feel empathy for others, to establish and maintain functioning social relationships. It develops to take responsible decisions, determine students’ successful academic performance, transformation into adulthood, useful work, a good quality of life, and well-being. By the end of the 20th century the educational role of music has come into the spotlight, and in addition to the impact of music on the development of general skills, its social and emotional effects are also the subject of research. This paper undertakes to explore the literature about the connections between music education and social-emotional skill development. For the collection and analysis of information, online sources of peer-reviewed scientific journals in addition to the university library were used. The study also examined the relationship between social-emotional learning and the world-wide well-known Kodály Concept and the effect of Kodály’s vision of music education as a forerunner of socio-emotional skills development. The relationship between social-emotional skills and music was explored by reviewing the international music-specific literature from music psychology, music education, music therapy, and music for health and wellbeing. In order to illuminate the problem and to develop a holistic approach, the 100 studies presented here summarize research findings made and presented in different countries around the world.

Download Full-text

Promoting Sustainable Social Emotional Learning at School through Relationship-Centered Learning Environment, Teaching Methods and Formative Assessment

Journal of Teacher Education for Sustainability ◽

10.2478/jtes-2020-0003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 21-36

Author(s):

Marco Ferreira ◽

Baiba Martinsone ◽

Sanela Talić

Keyword(s):

Formative Assessment ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Social Emotional Learning ◽

Emotional Learning ◽

Social Emotional ◽

Conceptual Approach ◽

Classroom Activities ◽

Development Goals ◽

Assessment Strategies ◽

The Relationship

AbstractHow to promote social emotional learning (SEL) at school depends largely on teachers. Mostly teachers implement specific programs, but they have difficulties in incorporating SEL into the regular curriculum. The main aim of the paper is to present the conceptual model of sustainable integration of SEL into everyday teaching practices in every subject. This approach has been developed in the project ìLearning to Be: Development of Practices and Methodologies for Assessing Social, Emotional and Health Skills within Education Systemsî. This initiative is based on the premise that the assessment of learning at school should go beyond grading studentsí knowledge and should include practices for observing young peopleís personal growth, social skills, attitudes and other general competences. The novelty of this conceptual approach is associated with integrating SEL standards, formative assessment and classroom instruction into a single sustainability-oriented model. The relationship between SEL standards (ISBE, 2003) and formative assessment strategies established by Wiliam (2011) is described, providing a detailed description of specific classroom activities. The objective of this approach is, therefore, towards building emotionally strong and flexible individuals who can deal with complex challenges through prosocial behavior that encourages human prospering and the attainment of the United Nationsí Sustainable Development Goals.

Download Full-text