Social Emotional Learning in High School: What We Can Learn and Why It Matters

• In Event: Learning From Successful Practice: Social Emotional Learning in Three Diverse Urban High Schools

Abstract

Purpose
This paper presents the theoretical framework guiding the project featured in this session, which investigates how school-wide social emotional learning (SEL) is practiced at three diverse, urban high schools: El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice (New York, NY), International School of the Americas (San Antonio, TX), and Fenway High School (Boston, MA). It will also discuss key findings from a survey designed to gauge student experiences at each school.

Framework
While research across multiple fields demonstrates the powerful ways in which SEL fosters academic and personal success among students, there is a gap in the literature around what effective SEL practice looks like at the high school level (Durlak et al., 2011; Farrington et al., 2012; Zins et al., 2004). Research on a wide array of psychosocial factors—from resilience to mindset to engagement—demonstrates the power of SEL to improve student achievement, yet more work is needed to understand how to develop psychosocial skills for adolescents in practice (Farrington et al., 2012). Further, studies reveal that gaps in educational opportunity experienced by students in high-poverty contexts and by students of color can be mitigated by SEL through attending to these psychosocial factors (cf. Becker & Luthar, 2002; Darling-Hammond et al., 2002; Steele, 2011).

We draw on an ecological or sociocultural approach (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1994; Cohen & Geier, 2010, Darling-Hammond et al., 2002; Eccles & Roser, 2011; Markus & Conner, 2013) to reveal how each school’s culture and climate, design features and structures, and formal and informal practices are informed by SEL, support students’ psychosocial needs, and foster students’ personal and academic success. In particular, we study schools that ground their educational approach in an expanded vision of SEL that highlights social responsibility and social justice.

Methods and Data Sources
Using a multi-method, embedded case study design (Yin, 1989), we investigate how three socioeconomically and racially diverse urban high schools support student success and achievement through a school-wide focus on SEL. Selection criteria included: expert nomination, a comprehensive implementation of SEL, and high academic performance and attainment outcomes for students.

Turning to the survey, students in 10th and 12th grade (N = 380) responded to items primarily drawn from the Educational Longitudinal Survey of 2002. Constructs measured included: perceptions of school climate and culture; student engagement, motivation, resilience, mindset, and future goals; and views on social responsibility, community, and relationships. Responses were contrasted with a nationally representative sample of students from ELS 2002.

Results and Significance
Looking across the three school sites, students overall reported positive views of school climate and culture; strong relationships among teachers and students; community-mindedness and a commitment to social responsibility; high levels of motivation, engagement, and resilience; a growth mindset; and support for future goals—frequently at higher rates than the ELS sample. While Papers 2 – 4 will provide an in-depth look at how each school conceptualizes and practices SEL, these findings suggest that these schools are able to positively impact students’ school experiences, motivate and engage students, and foster success in school.

Authors

• MarYam Hamedani, Stanford University

• Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University