SEL Competencies - Teacher Pathway [Read and Evaluate]

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CASEL’s framework promotes the belief that SEL can help all young people and adults thrive personally and academically, develop and maintain positive relationships, become lifelong learners, and contribute to a more caring, just world. 

CASEL’s 5 SEL Competencies

In the center of the framework lie the five social-emotional competencies. The first two competencies, Self-Awareness and Self-Management, support intrapersonal skills:

 

SELF-AWARENESS: The abilities to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose. Such as:

    • Integrating personal and social identities
    • Identifying personal, cultural, and linguistic assets
    • Identifying one’s emotions
    • Demonstrating honesty and integrity
    • Linking feelings, values, and thoughts
    • Examining prejudices and biases
    • Experiencing self-efficacy
    • Having a growth mindset
    • Developing interests and a sense of purpose

SELF-MANAGEMENT: The abilities to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations. This includes the capacities to delay gratification, manage stress, and feel motivation & agency to accomplish personal/collective goals. Such as:

    • Managing one’s emotions
    • Identifying and using stress-management strategies
    • Exhibiting self-discipline and self-motivation
    • Setting personal and collective goals
    • Using planning and organizational skills
    • Showing the courage to take initiative
    • Demonstrating personal and collective agency

The next two competencies, Social Awareness and Relationship Skills, support awareness outside of ourselves which focus on interpersonal skills:

 

SOCIAL AWARENESS: The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, & contexts. This includes the capacities to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports. Such as:

    • Taking others’ perspectives
    • Recognizing strengths in others

Demonstrating empathy and compassion

    • Showing concern for the feelings of others
    • Understanding and expressing gratitude
    • Identifying diverse social norms, including unjust ones
    • Recognizing situational demands and opportunities
    • Understanding the influences of organizations/systems on behavior

RELATIONSHIP SKILLS: The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups.This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed. Such as:

    • Communicating effectively
    • Developing positive relationships
    • Demonstrating cultural competency
    • Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving
    • Resolving conflicts constructively
    • Resisting negative social pressure
    • Showing leadership in groups
    • Seeking or offering support and help when needed
    • Standing up for the rights of others

CASEL Framework

image shows CASEL's Framework Links to an external site.

The final competency, Responsible Decision-Making, builds critical thinking and problem-solving skills that enable us to evaluate and reflect on situations we face. These skills involve:

 

RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING: The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. This includes the capacities to consider ethical standards and safety concerns, and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being. Such as:

  • Demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness
  • Identifying solutions for personal and social problems
  • Learning to make a reasoned judgment after analyzing information, data, facts
  • Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one’s actions
  • Recognizing how critical thinking skills are useful both inside & outside of school
  • Reflecting on one’s role to promote personal, family, and community well-being
  • Evaluating personal, interpersonal, community, and institutional impacts

The outer rings of the circle are the Key Settings which represent the sphere of influence people have on teaching and modeling the competencies and skills within the circle.

 

CLASSROOMS: (a) explicit instruction through which social and emotional skills and attitudes are taught and practiced in developmentally, contextually, and culturally responsive ways; (b) teaching practices such as cooperative learning and project-based learning; and (c) integration of SEL and academic curriculum such as language arts, math, science, social studies, health, and performing arts. 

SEL instruction is carried out most effectively in nurturing, safe environments characterized by positive, caring relationships among students and teachers. To facilitate age-appropriate and culturally responsive instruction, adults must understand and appreciate the unique strengths and needs of each student and support students’ identities. When adults incorporate students’ personal experiences and cultural backgrounds and seek their input, they create an inclusive classroom environment where students are partners in the educational process, elevating their own agency. Strong relationships between adults and students can facilitate co-learning, foster student and adult growth, and generate collaborative solutions to shared concerns.

 

SCHOOLS: Because the school setting includes many contexts—classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, playground, bus—fostering a healthy school climate and culture requires active engagement from all adults and students. A strong school culture is rooted in students’ sense of belonging, with evidence that suggests that it plays a crucial role in students’ engagement. 

 

FAMILIES/CAREGIVERS: When schools and families form authentic partnerships, they can build strong connections that reinforce students’ social and emotional development. Families and caregivers are children’s first teachers, and bring deep expertise about their development, experiences, culture, and learning needs. These insights and perspectives are critical to informing, supporting, and sustaining SEL efforts. Schools need inclusive decision-making processes that ensure that families—particularly those from historically marginalized groups—are part of planning, implementing, and continuously improving SEL.

 

COMMUNITIES: Community partners often provide safe and developmentally rich settings for learning and development, have deep understanding of community needs and assets, are seen as trusted partners by families and students, and have connections to additional supports and services that school and families need. Community programs also offer opportunities for young people to practice their social and emotional skills in settings that are both personally relevant and can open opportunities for their future. To integrate SEL efforts across the school day and out-of-school time, school staff and community partners should align on common language and coordinate strategies and communication around SEL-related efforts and initiatives.