The Power of Social and Emotional Learning 

There is a growing need for social and emotional learning (SEL) to be embraced and embedded throughout the school day and beyond.

What does SEL focus on?

There are five core competencies that CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) framework emphasizes. These are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and decision-making abilities.

SEL can aid students in better understanding and identifying their emotions as they grow and pursue their dreams. Developing empathy, increasing self-control, and managing stress, in addition to boosting their relationship and interpersonal skills will help them in school and beyond, helping them become successful adults.

As business and industry begin to name emotional intelligence and agility as the most desired workforce skills, explicit SEL instruction opens the door to empowerment for both students and their future economic opportunities.

SEL-inspired programming can be tremendously beneficial to our youth. Its programming can serve as a place of safety and enrichment by equipping youth with the tools to navigate their social and emotional worlds and enable them to fulfill their potential.

A significant element of SEL is the ability to model SEL skills to youth and in some learning environments, that might be through daily greetings, journaling, or organizing activities like yoga or dancing to help youth connect with themselves.

Guided breathing techniques help youth in self-regulation, centering them and improving their self-control within their environment.

Young people can use music to express and externalize their emotions by singing and playing an instrument. They are also often involved in art and creative activities that help them express what's going on inside themselves. A programme teaching social and emotional skills to IBDP students is being offered by organizations to address this issue.

Our youth can be better prepared to navigate the challenges they'll face throughout their lives with socially, emotionally, and physically literate instruction, practices, and curricula that embed SEL.

The movement is still growing, and organizations with programmes that serve youth have an opportunity to contribute. Including explicit SEL practices in your programmes and engaging youth can become a way to help affirm the change we are seeing toward valuing emotional and mental health.

Youth development organizations reinforce what our global educators are teaching in school settings by providing breathing exercises, creating spaces for breathing exercises, and ensuring curricula emphasize nurturing human connection. In addition to equipping them with the tools, they need to better understand themselves, their feelings, and their infinite worth, SEL can also enable them to realize how powerful they are.

In embracing SEL, educators can help youth discover new beliefs about themselves and their potential, even if the teachers and educators can't alter the circumstances they encounter outside their classrooms and schools.

Having a purpose that can motivate, inspire, and sustain young people has been studied and it has been found that it has the power to sustain a person while also providing significance to others. Young people flourish when they learn about the purpose and take action to fulfill it.

It is imperative that youth are motivated, inspired, and sustained by a meaningful purpose. SEL promotes purpose and service to come to the forefront of the minds of children and youth.

A critical component of trauma-sensitive IB schools is supporting social, emotional, and academic development. Skills such as self-regulation, strong coping skills, problem-solving skills, and strong social connections buffer the effects of trauma and enhance resilience.