Developing Safe and Civil Schools (DSACS) Initiative

Putting the Pieces Together:Improving Academic Outcomes and School Climate,

Safety and Civility

Presented by Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. Rutgers University and CASEL,

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

and Members of the DSACS TeamA Program of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab

(www.rci.rutgers.edu/~melias/) and the Center for Applied Psychology,

Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology

Vision for Students’ Success

That every student live a satisfying life and meet life’s challenges by:

• Achieving personal goals• Fulfilling family responsibilities• Enjoying good health• Producing high-quality work• Contributing to their community

the new challenges facing children

• Increased pace of life • Greater economic demands on parents• Alterations in family composition and stability• Breakdown of neighborhoods and extended families• Weakening of community institutions• Unraveling of parent-child bonds due to work, school

demands, time, drugs, mental health, and economic burdens

• Ongoing exposure to an array of digital media and pervasive advertising that encourage violence as a problem-solving tool and other health-damaging behaviors and unrealistic lifestyles

If You Had a Magic Wand, What Values Would You Wish for

Children?

• Friendship

• Peace

• Wisdom

• Beauty

• Long Life

• Riches

• Popularity

• Family

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL):A Coordinated Framework Provides Synergy

Prevention Programs without a Common Framework

A Common Framework Provides Synergy

SEL

Health Ed

Drug

Ed

Violence

Ed

Character EdService Learning

Sex Ed

Academic Skills

SCHOOL-FAMILY-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Sex Ed

Service LearningHealth Ed

Charact

er Ed

Violence

Ed

Drug

Ed

Academic Skills Families

Community Involvement

School-Wide Efforts

Much is Already Being Done

• Schools are already engaged in a variety of SEL-related efforts, including character education, bully/violence prevention, substance abuse prevention, counseling and related services, SEL curriculum programs such as Social Decision Making/Social Problem Solving, Responsive Classroom, Second Step, Quest, or Resolving Conflicts Creatively, positive behavior supports and similar efforts at school-wide positive recognition of students, and service learning.

Most Efforts Are Not Coordinated

• This has two major results, especially in low-performing settings:1. The whole is less than the sum of its parts; you do not get benefit in proportion to effort and expenditure.2. Students’ emotional, behavioral, and attitudinal skills are not affected to the point where they can direct sufficient energy to academic learning to make real progress. Therefore, you also do not get benefit in proportion to your effort in academics.

What SEL Facilitates• SEL refers to the skills, structure, and

content necessary for all children to optimize their potential to be caring, competent, committed individuals.

• SEL is necessary because it promotes success behaviors, reduces safety concerns, positively impacts on academics, builds caring communities, prepares students to be ethical leaders, and provides resources and political capital in the community.

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL):

Scope and Fundamental Principles• Successful academic performance by students

depends on: students’ social-emotional skills, their approaching education with a sense of positive

purpose, and the presence of a safe, supportive school climate that

fosters a respectful, challenging, and engaging learning community

• These conditions are referred to collectively as social-emotional learning, or SEL

Fragmented,Uncoordinated

Services

AcrossGrades

WithinGrades

Students•Inconsistent messages with little reinforcement of them•Confusion about expectations•Decreased sense of common purpose•Fewer connections to one another, to teachers, to school—less bonding

Teachers•Decreased sense of common purpose•Frustration w/ inconsistent messages and eroded quality of teaching•Decreased communication, less connected to staff and students•Less holistic teaching

School•No unified mission•Little sense of community•Decreased cooperation and competition for resources•Inefficient use of resources•Duplication of services

AcrossSchools

Outcomes of Fragmented, Uncoordinated Services

• Less engagement and attachment to school; lower participation in class and activities

• Higher disciplinary, drop-out, suspension, and expulsion rates; lower academic achievement

• Less satisfaction with teaching and higher levels of stress

• More confrontational means of resolving disputes; less empathy and caring behaviors

• Fewer student-teacher interactions

Teach SEL Competencies

Teach SEL Competencies

ProvideOpportunities for

Positive Contributions, Recognition, and

A Sense of PurposeAnd Pride in BeingPart of the School

ProvideOpportunities for

Positive Contributions, Recognition, and

A Sense of PurposeAnd Pride in BeingPart of the School

Less Risky Behavior, More

Assets, &Positive

Development

Less Risky Behavior, More

Assets, &Positive

Development

GreaterAttachment,

Engagement, & Commitment

to School

GreaterAttachment,

Engagement, & Commitment

to School

Better Academic

Performanceand Success

in School and Life

Better Academic

Performanceand Success

in School and Life

Evidence-Based SEL

Programming

Evidence-Based SEL

Programming

Safe, Caring, Cooperative,

Well-Managed Learning

Environments

Safe, Caring, Cooperative,

Well-Managed Learning

Environments

Paths to Success in School and in Life:

Role of Evidence-Based SEL Programming

Fundamental Principles of SELCaring relationships provide the foundation for all lasting learning.Emotions affect how and what we learn.Goal setting and problem solving provide direction and energy for learning.

SEL Skill Competencies

• Recognize and manage own emotions

• Be aware of feelings and circumstances of others• Organize and manage oneself and one’s time effectively• Develop positive relationships in school, family,

community, team, and leadership roles• Communicate appropriately and effectively• Make responsible decisions, solve problems thoughtfully,

and resolve conflicts non-violently

• Show empathy, active caring and compassion for others

• Behave ethically, responsibly, and respectfully

• Avoid negative, high-risk, unhealthy behaviors

Examples of Research Support for Effectiveness of SEL

• School Preventive Intervention Studies

• Mental Health and Positive Youth Development Studies

• Substance Abuse Prevention Studies

• Academic Performance and Learning Studies

Academic Performance and Learning Studies

Wang et al. (1997) examined 28 categories of influences on learning based on 179 handbook chapters, 91 research syntheses, and surveys of 61 national experts

Findings

• Among top 11 most influential categories, 8 involved SEL (e.g., student-teacher social interactions, classroom climate, peer group)

• Conclusion: “direct intervention in the psychological determinants of learning promise the most effective avenues of reform” (p. 210)

CASEL at UIC

Durlak, Weissberg et al. (2005) Meta-analysis: Inclusion Criteria

School, family, or community programs that promote SEL assets and influence behavior

Target a school-aged population (5 – 18 years old) Promotion or prevention, but not treatment Employ a control group design Report by the end of 2004 & in English Present sufficient data to calculate effect sizes

Excluded: Interventions whose exclusive purpose was to prevent drug use,

pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS or promote physical health Interventions whose exclusive purpose was to improve academic

functioning

Durlak, Weissberg et al (2005): Meta-analysis of 665 School, Family, and

Community PYD Interventions

Universal IndicatedSchool FamilyCommunity

n = 486

Universal Interventionsn =

179

n = 65

n = 42

n = 379

Total Interventions = 665

School Universal:Overall Findings

Post: n=379 Follow-up: n=93

n ES n ESSEL Assets 223 0.29* 52 .18*

Environmental Influences

36 0.47* 8 0.17

Positive Outcomes

184 0.43* 38 0.28*

Negative Outcomes

187 0.23* 52 0.19*

School Universal:Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Assets

SEL Assets Post n

Post ES

Follow-up n

Follow-up ES

Socio-emotional-cognitive Skills

97 0.41* 29 0.20*

Self-perception 131 0.22* 30 0.11*

School Bonding 25 0.27* 7 0.10

Social Norms 52 0.21* 15 0.07

School Universal: School Outcomes

Outcomes Post n Post ES

Follow-up n

Follow-up ES

Pos. Behav-School 129 0.47* 26 0.30*

Academic Achievement Tests

37 0.39* 9 0.22*

Grades 34 0.28* 8 0.21*

Peer Acceptance 8 0.06 3 0.07

Neg. Behav-School 134 0.21* 42 0.16*

Violence/Aggression in School

62 0.22* 14 0.17*

School Discipline/ Suspension

40 0.28* 13 0.10

Peer Rejection 26 0.27* 6 0.25*

Outcomes of Integrated and Coordinated Services

• More empathy and social awareness• Higher engagement and participation in

classroom and school activities including community service

• Better attendance, fewer drop-outs; increased requests for assistance; higher achievement

• Higher teacher retention and satisfaction• Greater attachment and commitment; improved

care for facilities• Fewer disruptive behaviors; greater sense of

safety

Short-Term, Measurable Outcomes of SEL

Interventions• Fewer decreases in student academic performance• More interactions/more inclusion among diverse groups

including special education• Improved understanding on the part of students of

expectations and of their value as members of the community• More involvement in community service efforts (e.g., Katrina) • Better care of the building and books• Additional volunteering by parents• Fewer teacher absences• Reduced time spent on correcting negative behaviors• More class time devoted to academic tasks

www.CASEL.org

“Working to put the pieces of the puzzle together to reduce fragmentation, increase synergy, and enhance social, emotional, and academic learning for all children.”

Integrated,Coordinated

Services

AcrossGrades

WithinGrades

Students•Improved climate; view school as supportive and safe•Closer connections to students, teachers, school; greater bonding•Consistent messages and common purpose; mutual support

Teachers•Common sense of purpose, higher morale and mutual support •More efficient use of classroom time•Better communication among staff and with students and families•Address needs of whole child

School•Commitment to unified mission•Greater sense of community, higher morale, increased cooperation•More efficient use of resources and expanded roles•Fewer marginalized services

AcrossSchools

Value Added by Coordination of SEL

• SEL Coordination adds value to schools by building success skills, developing character, and preventing harmful and hurtful behavior in young people

Success Skills

• Builds academic, career, and relationship skills

• Meets NCLB mandates• Builds caring communities of learners with

connections to adults in the building to peers, and to the school as a valued place to which to belong

Character

• Fosters good citizenship, teaches how to make sound choices, and develops purpose and sense of optimism about the future

• Increases likelihood of students’ making realistic means-ends connections

• Builds skills and values through community service and service learning in and out of school

Prevention

• Provides a safe environment free from bullying, intimidation, peer harassment, and victimization

• Reduces likelihood of problem behaviors such as violence, bullying, substance abuse, truancy, school dropout, depression, apathy, disaffection

Our Vision for Safe and Civil Schools Through SEL

• We envision a time when all students entering schools in New Jersey will feel they have a positive purpose in being there. They will feel engaged, attached, and connected and see the schools as a place they can learn and do things to contribute to the world around them, advance their sense of purpose, and become more literate in academic, media, artistic, technology, and civic areas. This will be accomplished in part because the students will experience coordinated and continuous efforts to build their social-emotional skills, positive character, service-learning contributions, and health, and to prevent substance abuse and violent/bullying behavior in a safe, caring, supportive, healthy, and ethical environment.

How will fragmentation get reduced?

• Ask yourself what efforts are being made in your schools and districts to reduce fragmentation

• Consider the financial costs of programs, personnel involved-- is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?

• Are some of your professional colleagues operating heroically to try to solve these problems?

Coordination Requires Coordinators

•How will coordination take place if no one is qualified, competent, supported, and, ultimately, certified to lead it and take responsibility for it on an everyday basis?