Social-emotional learning refers to social and emotional abilities such as the ability to detect and control emotions, develop empathy and a healthy mentality, make responsible decisions, form strong relationships, and cope well with adversities. Implementing social-emotional learning as early as possible is essential to help children in their overall development, as it helps promote social relationships, the ability to empathize and make responsible decisions
What are the social emotional learning skills
Man is a social being, and skills or, in other words, social competences influence who we will become, what way of thinking we will have and what goals we will set for ourselves in life.
Teaching these basic skills is based on the premise that teaching social-emotional learning will lead to academic success. When children feel loved and safe, they are better prepared and able to reach their full potential. Here are some of the social emotional learning skills.
Self-awareness refers to the basic social and emotional skills that contribute to learning, including the following three main aspects:
The ability to accurately recognize emotions and their effects on one’s behavior
The ability to assess each person’s strengths and limitations
The ability to maintain confidence and think positively
Social awareness is the broadest socio-emotional skill of all. Unlike other skills, this ability does not apply to oneself, but to the relationship with the environment. Here are its three main areas:
The ability to put oneself in other people’s shoes and show empathy
The ability to recognize and respect differences between people: culture, preferences, physique, origin, among others
The ability to understand and follow social and ethical norms of behavior
Decision making is the ability to make constructive and respectful decisions regarding personal behavior and social interaction in matters of:
Ethics and social norms
Assessing the consequences of decisions made by yourself and third parties
Self-control can be defined as the ability to effectively manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, for example:
Stress management
Impulse control
Self-esteem
The ability to set and achieve personal goals
Why is learning social-emotional skills important
Children who develop social skills are able to establish relationships with other people. They can communicate, listen to others and express their emotions in an appropriate way. This makes it easier for them to make friends and maintain good relationships with other people.
Social and emotional skills allow children to deal with conflicts and negotiate their needs. They know how to communicate their needs and listen to others to find a common solution. Thanks to this, these skills help children avoid aggression and violence.
Children who develop social and emotional skills are able to cope better in new social situations. They are able to establish contacts and learn from other people. This makes it easier for them to adapt to new situations and change
Schools are emphasizing social-emotional learning (SEL) for a variety of reasons, including the importance of social and emotional skills in students’ overall growth and success. According to research, students with good social and emotional skills outperform their peers academically.
Social and emotional skills contribute to a healthy and supportive learning environment, increasing students’ capacity to focus, study, and participate in the educational process. Another advantage that schools perceive when they prioritize social and emotional skills is that it fosters a pleasant school climate by encouraging empathy, respect, and cooperation among students, as well as between students and teachers. This promotes a more inclusive and supportive learning environment.
Why is it important to implement SEL
Social-emotional learning is extremely important in schools because it is when young people are developing the most and it is the optimal time to teach good habits. From elementary school to high school, this is when children learn the skills that will serve them throughout their lives.
Implementing SEL as early as possible gives children the best chance of developing a high level of skills in areas such as self-awareness, social awareness, and decision-making.It is clear that SEL contributes to creating safer learning environments. These learning environments also translate into better academic performance.
Using technology to assess social-emotional learning (SEL) offers numerous advantages. Technology allows for the scalable and efficient collection and analysis of data on people’s social and emotional skills. big-scale evaluations are made possible by digital tools, allowing educators to get insight into the emotional well-being and skill development of big groups of people.
Social-emotional Learning improves students’ mental health and attitude, as well as their academic success. As previously said, a good learning atmosphere is established, providing children with a safe location to expand their learning.
Conclusion
The harmonious development of a child is one of the most important goals of every parent and teacher. In order for a child to develop properly, they need a lot of love, care, support and positive stimuli. Meanwhile, in order for a child to develop their abilities and skills based on those they will need in adult life, social and emotional competences are also important. In today’s world, when a child is faced with many different stimuli, stresses and challenges, it is important for them to be able to deal with all of this in a positive way.
