Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Creating Systemic Change in Schools

Just because a school has adopted a social and emotional learning (SEL) program does not mean it will work. This book explores the conditions needed to implement, strengthen, and sustain effective SEL, and identifies paths that schools, districts, and states have taken to create those conditions. Major themes include equity of access to high-quality SEL, promoting interracial understanding in all school interactions, and enhancing the well-being and SEL skills of teachers and school leaders as well as students. Chapters describe exemplary initiatives that infuse SEL into classroom instruction, administrative decision making, school–family–community partnerships, and teacher training. End-of-chapter discussion questions enhance the book’s value for professional learning and course use.

Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, PhD, is the Commonwealth Professor at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. Since 2000, she and her team have conducted research on schools with the goal of using evidence to improve the quality and equity of learning experiences. Dr. Rimm-Kaufman has studied a range of programs, including Connect Science, EL Education, Leading Together, Responsive Classroom, RULER, and Valor Collegiate and Compass, among others. She has authored more than 100 chapters, articles, and blog posts, yet she wrestles with the reality that researchers’ extensive knowledge about social and emotional learning is rarely made accessible to educators.

Michael J. Strambler, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine and Director of Child Wellbeing and Education Research at The Consultation Center at Yale, where he is also Senior Evaluation Consultant for YaleEval. Dr. Strambler’s work focuses on the role of social environments in the academic, psychological, social, and behavioral well-being of children and youth. Much of his work occurs in the context of partnerships between researchers and practitioners, such as the Partnership for Early Education Research, which he directs among three Connecticut communities. Dr. Strambler is a recipient of the Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark Early Career Grant from the American Psychological Foundation and the Postdoctoral Award from the Ford Foundation.

Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, PhD, is the NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair in Social and Emotional Learning and Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. Prior to her graduate work, she worked as a middle school teacher and as a teacher at an alternative high school for adolescents at risk. Dr. Schonert-Reichl is a recipient of the Janusz Korczak Medal for Children’s Rights Advocacy; the EdTech Postsecondary Leader of the Year Award from MindShare Learning Technology; the Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning; and the Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award from the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia.