There are persistent and growing inequities in education, health, and economic opportunities and outcomes that continue to significantly reduce the quality of life for a substantial portion of the U.S. population. They undermine opportunities to learn in deep and meaningful ways and the chance for every person to achieve excellence in school, career, and other life pursuits. CASEL believes SEL instruction and experiences are essential to an effective and sound education for all.
While SEL alone will not solve longstanding and deep-seated inequities in the education system, it can help schools promote understanding, examine biases, reflect on and address the impact of racism, build cross-cultural relationships, and cultivate adult and student practices that close opportunity gaps and create a more inclusive school community. In doing so, schools can promote high-quality educational opportunities and outcomes for all students, irrespective of race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and other differences.This requires that SEL is implemented with an explicit goal of promoting educational equity.
A basic intention of the SEL 3 Signature Practices, when effectively implemented as part of a comprehensive SEL plan, is to promote these essential elements of an equitable learning and working environment:
- Equity of voice: All participants are encouraged to speak and are respectfully heard. The signature practices strengthen skills in communication and empathetic listening, and position participants as experts of their own experience.
- Inclusion: All degrees of participation are welcomed and acknowledged. The signature practices invite participants to exercise a variety of strengths by including movement, visual or auditory elements, individual reflection, partner processing, or larger group engagement.
- Community collaboration: Build authentic community, to learn together and collaboratively surface and solve problems. The signature practices strengthen connections within a group and elevate the knowledge, strengths, and lived experiences of each participant, setting the stage for respectful, equitable collaboration. The practices create space in the schedule to prioritize collaborative thinking and planning.