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There is widespread acceptance of the benefits of social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum in the educational context. However, the assessment of learning outcomes is not so clearly documented. This review compares SEL and the related constructs in three international settings, namely Australia, UK and USA, and then focuses on the assessment tools and practices used to examine SEL learning outcomes. To identify the assessment approaches used, multiple database searches were conducted. Boolean searches were conducted using the following terms: <i>student, learning, assessment, resilience, perseverance, self</i>-<i>management, social emotional learning, personal, social capability, psychology of learning</i> and <i>learning outcomes</i>. The database searches were limited to English-language scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals published from January 1990 onwards. Eight key studies were examined in depth, which collectively reported on over 120 tools/instruments. Lessons learnt from these studies are detailed in the chapter. From the review, it is clear that there is no magic bullet for assessing SEL across all age groups. The choice of measures differs depending on the purpose of the assessment. In building an approach to assessment, there are eight key considerations that may be distilled from the literature. A number of suggestions are offered for future definition and assessment of SEL.
During the early preschool years, children are learning more about social emotional competencies such as self-awareness, self-regulation, and social awareness. Nurturing these skills is important for positive developmental outcomes. In this chapter, we outline a body of research which identified age-appropriate use of children’s coping language in the early learning setting, the development and validation of tools to measure the coping construct, and its relationship with indicators of children’s anxiety, strengths, and difficulties. An early years coping based social emotional program, COPE-R, was developed to teach preschoolers about caring, open communication, politeness, and empathic sharing. The program, its implementation and evaluation using multiple approaches, is described. This exploratory research found that participation in the program assisted children’s social emotional competencies. Collectively, the chapter highlights how social emotional skills can be assessed and taught in an early learning setting of three to five year old children.
Over three years, Catholic Education Melbourne introduced an Initiative to alter the way social and emotional learning (SEL) was incorporated into Melbourne’s Catholic systemic schools. The Initiative was subjected to a process of formative evaluation by the authors of this chapter. The process of formative evaluation influenced the development of the Initiative over the three years and provides a case study in how it can be used to yield contemporaneous data on the implementation of a new policy in a way that allows the implementation to be continually improved. This chapter recounts how formative evaluation was carried out and its effects on the implementation of the SEL Initiative. Additionally, it highlights key elements of successful SEL implementation.
Social and emotional learning (SEL) involves instructional approaches that endeavour to foster individuals’ social and emotional competence and promote classroom and school cultures that are safe, caring, and encourage participation. Over the past two decades, there has been growing interest in schooling that attends not only to students’ academic development, but also their social and emotional development. SEL has been recognised as one way to achieve this. The current chapter provides an overview of SEL, including important conceptual underpinnings for the area, key definitions of the five well-accepted social and emotional competencies that are promoted in SEL, and positive student and teacher outcomes associated with effective SEL implementation. The chapter also provides important contextual characteristics relevant to SEL implementation and research in Australia and the Asia-Pacific. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of important research implications for the region, as well as for the world more broadly. In sum, it is hoped that this chapter will help to extend awareness of and effective practice in SEL to best promote social and emotional competence and healthy school and community climates.