Schools are asked to teach children to recognize their emotions, manage their reactions, build relationships, and make good decisions.
When social-emotional learning becomes part of a school's curriculum, does that necessarily mean it has become part of the school's culture?
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is fundamental to human development. It shapes how we understand ourselves, relate to others, and navigate daily experiences.
Exposure to these skills is one thing; learning to use them meaningfully is another—for children and adults alike.
What does the research tell us?
What happens when we give adults opportunities to develop the same social-emotional abilities we're asking children to learn?
A 2025 CASEL report examined research on how adults in education develop and use these abilities.
Studies of teachers participating in SEL programs found improvements in social-emotional competence, including recognizing and managing emotions. Some approaches were associated with reduced stress and improved well-being; others reported stronger educator–student relationships.
One study also found higher reading and mathematics achievement among elementary students whose teachers participated in an adult SEL program, compared with students whose teachers did not.
These findings are encouraging. They suggest that some approaches to adult social-emotional development can benefit educators—and, in certain circumstances, their students.
But improvements in individual abilities don't necessarily mean the surrounding environment changes.
Research on overall classroom climate has produced mixed results.
From introduction to integration
Schools regularly introduce new programs and professional learning opportunities. Some become meaningful parts of the educational environment; others prove difficult to sustain. Why is that?
Competing priorities, limited resources, staff turnover, and leadership changes can all complicate implementation. Providing educators with materials or professional development, however, does not necessarily create the conditions for meaningful use. Building shared understanding and realizing an initiative's potential benefits may also depend on opportunities for educators to explore its purpose, contribute their perspectives, and shape how it becomes part of their school community.
A school culture is something we cultivate, care for, and revisit. It is shaped not only by what children are taught, but by what adults and children experience together—the relationships, expectations, and support woven into everyday life.
Social-emotional learning extends beyond breathing exercises, movement breaks, or lessons about feelings. It concerns how people understand themselves, respond to challenges, build relationships, and make decisions—experiences that unfold throughout the day, in classrooms, hallways, offices, homes, and communities.
Knowing what matters doesn't always make it easy to practice. And if continued learning, reflection, and support are important, whose responsibility is it to make those opportunities possible?
If we expect children to develop these abilities, we should also examine the experiences and support available to the adults around them.
Something to Consider
Are we creating environments that truly reflect the social-emotional skills we ask children to develop? And what helps us, as educators, to create and sustain those environments?
Research source
Plate, R. C., Schwartz, H. N., Meyers, G., & Skoog-Hoffman, A. (2025). Educators' Social and Emotional Learning: A Landscape Analysis of Strategies and Outcomes for Thriving Schools. Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).
Relevant sections: pp. 9, 13–15, and 26–29.
