By Jess Brandler, SNS Managing Director
At our inaugural Teachers’ Conference for the Olive Branch Award this July, the topic that received the most attention and discussion from the teachers attending was Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). How did we get to SEL from Israel-Palestine? At SNS we were first introduced to the concept by an academic who pointed out that a lot of what we do is focused on SEL, especially when thinking about Israel-Palestine and how to create spaces to talk about the issue in schools, the big focus of our conference. So, what is it? How do we integrate it into schools? What is it good for?
SEL is concerned with learning about emotions, regulating emotions, and understanding others’ emotions.
The five core components of SEL are:
- self-awareness
- self-management
- social awareness
- relationship skills
- responsible decision-making.
Looking at these, we can think of dozens of examples in which school students practise these on a daily basis. However, some students find it harder than others, and creating structures, discussions, and programmes in which to practise these skills is incredibly beneficial for young people. The teachers we work with for our Olive Branch Award noted that even before SEL became integrated into the school, they were already doing various things which contributed towards SEL, simply because they already cared deeply about the students’ social and emotional development. Therefore, they could build on what they were already practising and make those learning outcomes more explicit for young people.
There is very good evidence to show that Social and Emotional Learning within the school environment, from as young as primary school age, can improve academic performance, attendance, and longer term positive life outcomes (OECD, 2015). We know that it matters, but with everything else that teachers and schools are dealing with at the moment, how can they find the time to integrate it into the school curriculum or school ethos? Here are some of the takeaways from our discussion with our OBA schools:
1. Work with external organisations. No teacher can be an expert on everything. Ask for recommendations from other schools, look at conferences, read blogs, and ask other organisations who they can recommend for SEL. Empathy Lab, for example, is a great organisation for focusing on empathy and has a website full of free resources.
2. Give students responsibility for decision-making. Getting students involved in events big and small, whether x or y, gives them the chance to practise teamwork and take on new responsibilities. The resulting sense of pride and accomplishment does wonders for confidence building.
3. Start simple: If integrating SEL is new to the school, it can seem like an overwhelming new responsibility. However, you can start simple through an assembly focusing on self-awareness and mental health, a focus on SEL related books in the library, and teacher training to help teachers understand what SEL is and how they can integrate it through what they are already doing. What’s more, you may look at the SEL wheel and see that the school is already doing it, and you can therefore build on it.
4. Find role models: Find role models to demonstrate to students how to interact with others, disagree respectfully, manage emotions, overcome challenges,and make decisions. Our Palestinian & Israeli speakers are good examples of this, as are some of your school alumni, and other inspirational famous people.
5. The whole school approach: Look at SEL as something that can exist within the school structure as a whole; the culture, the teachers, the parents, the ethos, and the activities. Contact us about our Olive Branch Award if you want to know more about how we use the Whole School Approach within the Award.
You can read much more about SEL with organisations such as:
Centre for Education And Youth