Social and Emotional Learning In Schools Nationally and in the Collaborating Districts Initiative: Selected Findings from the American Teacher Panel and American School Leader Panel Surveys

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schwartz, Heather L.

Contributor:

Bogan, Erin D.

Bongard, Michelle

Boyle, Alaina E.

Jagers, Robert J.

Meyers, Duncan C.

Language:

English

Other Title:

Social and Emotional Learning In Schools Nationally and in the Collaborating Districts Initiative

Place of Publication:

RAND Corporation 2022

Summary:

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) launched the Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI) with the goal of supporting school districts to build their capacities to promote social and emotional learning (SEL) for all students. Twenty large, urban districts across the country participate in the CDI. Although many approaches to support SEL start in the classroom, the CDI model takes an ecological approach and addresses the district-level systems, school-level practices, and classroom-level SEL instruction as three necessary components of effective implementation and sustainability. CASEL asked RAND researchers to explore whether the 20 school districts' participation in the CDI has resulted in more frequent implementation of SEL practices than in peer districts and to learn about SEL implementation nationally. The authors explain the CDI in greater detail and present nationally representative survey results to establish a benchmark for how common SEL strategies are in today's classrooms. Next, they explore ten indicators of schoolwide SEL implementation in CDI districts and in comparable non-CDI districts. The authors conclude with a discussion of the implications for districts nationally and, specifically, for CDI districts and CASEL.