Social and emotional learning is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

This definition identifies SEL as a two-part process: acquisition and application. It is essential to understand simply acquiring a skill does not guarantee it will be used at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner. Explicit teaching and continual rehearsal of these skills, across environments, allow students the opportunity to apply what they have learned. Social and emotional learning does not mean simply following a curriculum.

A comprehensive approach to SEL, in which all staff are implementing, rehearsing, modeling, and providing feedback will create the environment needed for students to apply and generalize these skills. 

The Importance of Social and Emotional Learning

Making SEL part of the learning equation helps children succeed in school and life. According to the Office of Adolescent Health, SEL skills are a protective factor against risk-taking behavior such as drug and alcohol use and violence. These skills enable individuals to more successfully access educational opportunities and utilize academic skills and knowledge. Moreover, with the acquisition and application of SEL skills, children can manage their feelings, build healthy relationships, and navigate social environments. 

Challenges with the SEL adoption

Implementing SEL into the school curriculum can be potentially faced with various challenges
considering the complexity of the whole process. Socio-Emotional Learning is still a new concept for many educators as well as students in the country. The incompatibility between the current curriculum and teacher’s pedagogical capacity, limited focus on understanding the student’s need, and perceived difficulties in integrating SEL into educational activities are some of the hurdles that the educational community has to overcome together.

According to the report by UNESCO and MGIEP, some of the major challenges in SEL adoption could be:-
1) Educational policies are not being designed to include the explicit teaching of social and emotional learning. Our policies need to ensure to take into account social, economic, and cultural context while designing education policies that include SEL.

2) SEL programs and practices may vary across cultures, assessment tools for monitoring and evaluating student’s social and emotional competencies need to be designed to be flexible and adaptive so that they can be seen as relevant across cultures.

3) Inadequate time for teachers’ professional learning and not recognizing the importance of teacher’s social and emotional competence to successfully promoting social and emotional learning in schools.

4) Current education systems are designed to encourage competition whereas research and evidence show that collaboration is key to building peaceful and sustainable societies.

5) A key challenge recognized in the use of technology is access to reliable technology is inconsistent across schools and student’s homes, presenting challenges to the equitable deployment of technology-supported SEL. Moreover, the fact that successful implementation
technology-supported SEL efforts require significant time investment on the part of already educators and remain a significant barrier to adoption.
In the Indian context, the lack of understanding of SEL and lack of necessary levers contextualizes SEL to the diverse environments is possibly the biggest challenge in adopting SEL practices.

Shortage of reliable and relevant instruments for assessing SEL, making it difficult to generate conclusive evidence on the ground. The current work on SEL needs to be scaled up with the contribution of various big players together and channelize the latest technological advancement in the same domain.

If schools exist to prepare students for their future by developing the skills necessary to be successful adults, then helping students develop social and emotional competence is an essential part of that preparation. Over 20 years of research indicates that the acquisition and application of these skills results in better academic and social outcomes.

While families prepare students and help them develop SEL skills, schools provide an environment rich with opportunities to teach and practice these skills in ways that many families are not able to access. Students will encounter people throughout life who are different from themselves, and who think and perceive the world differently from them. Instructional formats utilized in schools provide excellent environments for students to engage with one another. Managing conflicts between individuals with varying perspectives and backgrounds is possible in classrooms. 

The positive climate resulting from adults and students demonstrating social and emotional competence provides a more engaging learning environment that sets students up for academic success. Social and emotional learning occurs all the time, whether it is explicitly taught or not. Children and youth learn these skills and behaviors by watching peers and adults in their families, schools, and communities. The goal of SEL instruction is to be intentional in helping students acquire and apply these skills.

SEL as a way forward

Social-Emotional Learning is a core competency in the coming future as mankind has created and invented a gadget, device, or app for almost most technical and knowledge-based needs. Advancing SEL will require a sustained effort from a multifaceted group of stakeholders—including

policymakers, educators, parents, researchers, businesses, technology developers, and investors. They must overcome the challenges that slow the development of SEL and related educational technologies Policymakers, in particular, must stand at the forefront of setting the agenda for policy change, prioritizing efforts that foster SEL and related assessments and measurements in education, as well as providing funding and other resources for the research and adoption of SEL and related educational technologies. The development of standards processes should be a top priority. Parents and educators also play a vital role, collaborating to capitalize on what works to foster SEL at home and school. If stakeholders work together, particularly at the all-important stage of setting the policy agenda, they can change perceptions and behaviors about SEL. Some of the recommendations by the UNESCO

report are:-

1) Education policies should adhere to the principles of the learning sciences and their social and emotional facets for social and emotional skills to be imparted effectively. Thus, becomes necessary that social and emotional competencies be systematically and sustainably integrated and mainstreamed into the education system.

2) Teachers’ training and professional development should include an introduction to the basics of brain development, the social brain, and the social and emotional factors, promoting the cognitive, social, and emotional development of children and adolescents.

3) In addition to the creation and implementation of SEL assessments, there needs to be a mechanism put in place to allow key stakeholders to be involved in making meaning of those data and using them for making positive changes that promote social and emotional competence and well-being of all students.

4) School and teachers training budgets should be revised to allow for SEL interventions to be integrated into classrooms and this should be done from Grade 1 onwards. Continuous investment in this should be an integral part of all education budgets. Investments should be made in professional development opportunities for educators to support them to design and implement high-quality instruction that fully integrates SEL with digital tools and academic content.

5) Enable systemic and sustained implementation of SEL programs by developing consistent policy settings, curriculum standards, and effective implementation support, including expert

guidance for schools Together, such collective actions towards integrating SEL into our education system will witness a new era of digital learning. It will be able to address all the core values which make us most human.