Unintended lessons of SEL programs 

Recent years have seen a renewed interest in social and emotional learning (SEL) to promote well-rounded student success (e.g., Duckworth & Seligman, 2005; Seider, 2012; Tough, 2011, 2012). Indeed, the most recent issue of Phi Delta Kappan included a comprehensive examination of four SEL meta-analyses reporting on a host of positive outcomes for students, further validating the importance of social and emotional learning in schools (Mahoney, Durlak, & Weissberg, 2018). Programs may advertise certain outcome claims, many of them supported by research, and teachers may perceive initiatives as having notable outcomes, but how do students themselves experience these programs? If we do not genuinely listen to students, our picture of SEL’s value will be incomplete. 

From 2013 to 2017, I studied a large SEL organization that currently has programs in place in several thousand schools and that aspires to foster social and emotional learning and youth empowerment in participating students. The study involved nearly 1,000 4th and 5th graders attending 12 schools in urban, suburban, and rural districts across three states. Interestingly, interviews with teachers and students revealed very different perspectives. These differences are instructive in highlighting best practices for carrying out SEL initiatives beyond this particular program, and specifically in highlighting the importance of listening to students.