Resources

Drawing on data and guiding frameworks of SEL competencies, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have championed the development and evaluation of evidence-informed SEL programs across grades PreK-12 in both in-school and out-of-school time learning environments. There is significant interest in harnessing the power of SEL skills to transform educational environments. In this cross-project summary, the authors share key insights from interviews with five teams of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Education Innovation Research (EIR) Project Directors and Evaluators  regarding what they have learned about SEL innovation through designing, implementing, and evaluating such programs.

Five key insights emerged throughout conversations with the EIR grantee teams. These insights offer lessons to advance our theoretical understanding of SEL and the practice of developing and evaluating SEL programs in the field:

• Theory can set the stage, but the needs and strengths of the local community drive innovation.
• Grantees embrace and focus on the adaptability of SEL competencies.
• Expanding adult SEL skills and changing school culture is essential for effectively building students’ SEL capacities.
• There is a clear need for additional metrics of success to understand the impact of SEL programs and to advance our measurement of SEL.
• Decision-makers must set tailored and community-driven SEL as a priority.