Not About Us, Without Us: Strategies to Build an Equitable SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) With, Rather Than for, Youth With Disabilities

• In Event: Promoting Inclusive Mindsets and Practices With Social and Emotional Learning

Abstract

The lack of research about and attention to students with disabilities in the field of SEL is significant, creating knowledge and practice gaps that disproportionately affect the mental health and wellness of these students (Cipriano et al., 2023). This is especially true for those who are also marginalized because of their race or ethnicity, a group that reports higher rates of anxiety, stress, feelings of stigmatization, social isolation, depression, low self-esteem, and academic disengagement, including low motivation for in-school learning and higher rates of skipping school and dropping out (Annamma et al., 2018; Artiles et al., 2016;). Given this lack of knowledge, it could be said that the most obtrusive and systemic barrier to inclusive and equitable SEL lies in the simple fact that most SEL programs have not been conceptualized, designed, developed, or tested with students who are marginalized by ability in mind.

To address this need it is our perspective that investing in the provision of systems of accommodation within existing SEL would further promote the deficit model of disability and perpetuate a guest-host model wherein learners are expected to follow the host’s dominant norms. Instead, we envision SEL as woven into the fabric of how teachers interact and work with students to make decisions about instruction and implementation of SEL on the ground. Building on Transformative SEL as an organizing framework, our approach centers on the idea that the best way for educators to design learning experiences for students is to design it with them.

In this paper we will present our approach to co-design, focusing on a protocol used to shed light on the needs, preferences and strengths of 4th and 5th grade youth with language-based learning disabilities in Tier 1 SEL. A co-design approach evens the playing field between adult and student, so that power is shared. Students and adults decide together the design, delivery, and evaluation of SEL learning experiences. We will address both the process of the development of the protocol completed in collaboration with youth from the Boys and Girls of Boston, as well as young adult leaders with learning differences from the advocacy and mentoring organization Eye-to-Eye. We will also present the outcomes of the use of the protocol in partnership with two schools in the north eastern United States. Key to the discussion will be a rich description of the experiences of youth who participate in this co-design for SEL process, through their own words and artifacts. We will illustrate how engagement in this kind of experience supports youth to build, practice, and deepen their social emotional skills, while also modeling a process for improving upon existing systems which can foster feelings of hope and self-efficacy, as well as strengthen self-advocacy skills. Further, we will discuss how this kind of experience supports educators to take the perspective of and better understand young people’s experiences in their learning, as well as the types of experiences that support their identities and wellbeing, and call attention to barriers that stand in their way.

Authors

• Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann, EdTogether, Inc.

• Amanda Cook, EdTogether, Inc.