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Social and Emotional Learning

Research shows that children and young people’s learning is influenced by a range of social and emotional factors.

How well individuals do in their learning environment is affected by things such as how:

confident they feel about their abilities
effectively they’re able to manage their own behaviour
well they can concentrate and organise themselves
effectively they can solve problems
positively they can get on with educators and their peers
effectively they consider others’ needs
well they can understand and accept responsibilities.

Therefore, SEL and success within the learning environment go hand in hand.

Self-awareness

This is the ability to recognise and understand your own emotions, thoughts and values, and understand how they affect your behaviour. It’s about understanding and assessing your personal strengths, and understanding that abilities and intelligence can be developed and improved. The main skills include:

identifying emotions
self-perception
understanding strengths
self-confidence
self-efficacy.

Self-management

This is the ability to manage and regulate your emotions and behaviour, including managing stress, controlling impulses and keeping yourself motivated. The main skills include:

impulse control
stress management
self-discipline
self-motivation
goal-setting
organisational skills.

Social awareness

This is the ability to understand and empathise with people from a range of diverse backgrounds, and to understand social and ethical norms of behaviour. The main skills include:

perspective-taking
empathy
appreciating diversity
respect for others.

Relationship skills

These involve the ability to develop and maintain healthy and positive relationships with others. They include the ability to communicate clearly, listen, cooperate, resist peer pressure and negotiate conflict. The main skills include:

communication
social engagement
relationship building
teamwork.

Responsible decision-making

This is the ability to make informed and responsible decisions about personal behaviour and social interactions with others, based on adherence to ethical standards, safety concerns and social norms. The main skills include:

identifying problems
analysing situations
solving problems
self-evaluation
self-reflection
ethical responsibility.

Children and young people’s social and emotional learning skills are developing all the time.

Skills may develop differently and at varying rates for different individuals. Children and young people benefit from having ongoing learning opportunities.