There is a missing piece to America’s education agenda, and children will continue to be left behind until that piece is addressed. Furthermore, children are not being systematically prepared for their complex roles as citizens in our democracy. A growing body of evidence from research and practice suggests reconceptualizing education as an integration of social-emotional and character development (SECD) and academic learning. This article reviews skills children need for effective social and academic participation, characteristics of schools that effectively integrate these forms of learning, and key reasons to adopt this integration. It concludes with examples of, and suggestions for, bringing SECD to prominence in educational policy making.
Apple, M. W., & Beane, J. A. (Eds.). (1995). Democratic schools. Alexandria VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
2.
Berman, S. ( 1990). Educating for social responsibility. Educational Leadership, 48 (3), 75-80.
3.
Berman, S., & McCarthy, M.H. (2006). The connection between character, service, and social-emotional learning. In M. Elias & H. Arnold, (Eds.), The educator’s guide to emotional intelligence and academic achievement (pp. 46-57). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
4.
Brown, J., D’Emidio-Caston, M., & Benard, B. ( 2000). Resilience education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
5.
Cohen, J. ( 2006). Social, emotional, ethical, and academic education: Creating a climate for learning, participation in democracy, and well-being. Harvard Education Review, 76(2), 201-237.
6.
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). (2003). Safe and sound: An educational leader’s guide to evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. Chicago: CASEL.
7.
Comer, J. ( 2003). Transforming the lives of children. In M. J. Elias, H. Arnold , & C. Steiger-Hussey (Eds.), EQ + IQ: Best practices in leadership for caring and successful schools (pp. 11-22). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
8.
Dalton, J.H., Elias, M.J., & Wandersman, A. (2007). Community psychology: Linking individuals and communities (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
9.
Davidson, R. ( 2007). The neuroscience of social, emotional, and academic learning . Keynote address, Forum of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, New York. Retrieved May 11, 2008, from http://www.casel.org/downloads/forumreport2008.pdf
10.
Dewey, J. ( 1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: Macmillan .
11.
Durlak, J.A., & Weissberg, R.P. (2007). Meta-analysis of youth intervention programs. Retrieved December 20, 2006, from Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning: http://Www.Casel.Org/About_Casel/Meta.Php#Schoolbased
12.
Elias, M.J. ( 2001). Prepare children for the tests of life, not a life of tests. Education Week, 21 (4), 40.
13.
Elias, M.J. ( 2003). Academic and social-emotional learning, Educational Practices Booklet #11. Geneva: International Academy of Education and the International Bureau of Education (UNESCO).
14.
Elias, M.J. ( 2008). The other side of the report card. School Leader, November/December . Retrieved December 24, 2008 from http://www.njsba.org/school-leader/archives.html
15.
Elias, M. J., & Arnold, H. A. (Eds.) (2006). The educator’s guide to emotional intelligence and academic achievement: Social-emotional learning in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
16.
Elias, M.J., Tobias, S., & Friedlander, B. (2000). Emotionally intelligent parenting. New York: Random House /Three Rivers Press.
17.
Elias, M.J., Tobias, S., & Friedlander, B. (2002). Raising emotionally intelligent teenagers: Guiding the way to compassionate, committed, courageous adults . New York: Random House/ Three Rivers Press.
18.
Elias, M.J., Utne-O’Brien, M.U., & Weissberg, R.P. (2006). Transformative leadership for social-emotional learning. Principal Leadership, 12 (4), 10-13.
19.
Elias, M.J., Zins, J.E., Weissberg, R.P., Frey, K.S., Greenberg, M.T., Haynes, N.M., Kessler, R., Schwab-Stone, M.E., & Shriver, T.P. ( 1997). Promoting social and emotional learning: Guidelines for educators. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
20.
Gardner, H. ( 1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.
21.
Goleman, D. ( 2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships . New York: Bantam.
22.
Hackbarth, S. ( 1997). Reflections on confluent education as discipline-based inquiry. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago . (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED409322)
23.
Kozol, J. ( 2005). Apartheid in America? Phi Delta Kappan , 87(4), 264-275.
24.
Kusche, C., & Greenberg, M. ( 2006). Brain development and social-emotional learning: An introduction for educators. In M. J. Elias & H. A. Arnold (Eds.), The educator’s guide to emotional intelligence and academic achievement: Social-emotional learning in the classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
25.
Lickona, T., & Davidson, M. ( 2005). Smart & good high schools: Integrating excellence and ethics for success in school, work, and beyond. Cortland, NY: Center for the 4th and 5th Rs (Respect and Responsibility)/ Washington, DC: Character Education Partnership.
26.
Marshall, S.P., & Price, H.B. ( 2007). The learning compact redefined: A call to action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Commission on the Whole Child.
27.
New Jersey Department of Education (2003). DOE Releases Character Education Report. Retrieved December 23, 2008 from http://www.nj.gov/education/news/2003/0523char.htm
28.
O’Neil, J. ( 1997). Building schools as communities: A conversation with James Comer. Educational Leadership, 54, 6-10.
29.
Nucci, L., & Narvaez, D. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of moral and character education. New York: Taylor & Francis.
30.
Patrikakou, E. N., Weissberg, R. P., Manning, J., Walberg, H. J., & Redding, S. (Eds.). (2005). School-family partnerships for children’s success. New York: Teachers College Press.
31.
Price, H.B. ( 2008). Mobilizing the community to help students succeed. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
32.
Postman, N. ( 1994). The disappearance of childhood. New York: Vintage.
33.
Postman, N. ( 2005). Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business. New York: Penguin .
34.
Schwab, Y., & Elias, M.J. ( 2006, November). Raising test scores: Using social-emotional learning and cognitive-behavioral techniques to increase math test performance . Symposium at 40st Annual Convention of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Chicago, IL.
35.
Sherblom, S., Marshall, J., & Sherblom, J. ( 2006). The relationship between school climate and math and reading achievement. Journal of Research in Character Education , 4 (1-2), 19-32.
36.
Spring, J. ( 2004). American education (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
37.
Sylwester, R. ( 1995). A celebration of neurons. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development .
38.
Truesdale, V. ( 2008). Partnership for 21st century success. Education Update, 50(7), 2.
39.
Watson, M. ( 2006). Long-term effects of moral/character education in elementary school: In pursuit of mechanisms. Journal of Research in Character Education, 4(1-2), 1-18.
40.
Waxman, H.C., Gray, J.P., & Padron, Y.N. ( 2003). Review of research on educational resilience (Research Reports, Paper rr_11). Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence. Retrieved May 11, 2008, from http://repositories.cdlib.org/crede/rsrchrpts/rr_11I
41.
Wilczenski, F., & Coomey, S. ( 2007). A practical guide to service learning: Strategies for positive social development in schools. New York: Springer.
42.
Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Wang, M. C., & Walberg, H. J. (Eds.). (2004). Building academic success on social and emotional learning: What does the research say?New York: Teachers College Press.
