Evidence-Based SECD Curriculum

If you’re here, you’re probably already a believer in the importance of social/emotional learning.

However, some of your colleagues may not be quite so enthusiastic; they tend to like an important-looking study or two in order to validate your methodology and feel reassured that your proposed lessons meet a real student need. Never fear! I have combed the research database at my local university for some data-driven studies and have used that research as the basis for the class structure and the lessons contained here.

My students have experienced greater success than many of their EBD peers who do not receive explicit social/emotional learning instruction—moving into less restrictive learning settings, experiencing improved relationships with peers and adults, reducing office referrals and suspensions significantly, and increasing academic performance and task completion. I often remind the students to “be normative!” Over time, they do learn more normative behaviors, and that change improves many aspects of their lives at home, at school, and in the community. I have been able to consistently replicate these results qualitatively in my own classroom, but I don’t have a large enough sample size for a quantitative recreation of the data. Nevertheless, research tells us:

  • Explicit instruction in social and emotional learning is benefits all students and is essential for students with EBD and/or ASD.
  • Students are more successful, both academically and behaviorally, when social/emotional instruction is a component of a district’s curriculum.
  • Students with EBD and/or ASD require specialized social/emotional support in order to be successful in the general education curriculum.

In my own experience working in schools, I’ve noted two typical scenarios related to the implementation of social/emotional learning curriculum. The first is the complete absence of any attempt to address social/emotional instructional needs. The second, equally-problematic scenario occurs when a school acknowledges the need for explicit social/emotional instruction, carves out time in the school day for this instruction, then falls apart at the implementation phase when tired, overburdened general education teachers are tasked with developing lessons in this area in addition to their subject area planning. It doesn’t happen, and the time so carefully planned-for becomes a free period or a study hall. This is not the fault of the teachers; teachers must be provided with the tools and guidance to teach interpersonal skills. This program seeks to address the concerning lack of planning seen in so many well-intentioned schools.

Your own results will vary depending upon the needs and unique qualities of your student population; data can inform our choices, not produce a guarantee. You can stack the deck in your favor, but there aren’t any promises you’ll win the game.

Once your colleagues feel confident that the methodology is sound, please refer them to my website, enraged2engaged.com, and to my materials on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Here are some of the pieces of literature that have informed my lesson design, classroom structure, and methodology:

Anderson, Sarah, and Kari Chiasson. “Ecological Factors in Social Skill Acquisition: High School Students with Emotional And/or Behavioral Disorders.” Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship. Journal of Special Education Apprenticeship. Upland, CA . 31 Mar. 2012.

Buchanan, Rohanna, Rhonda Nese, and Miriam Clark. “Stakeholders’ Voices: Defining Needs of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Transitioning between School Settings.” Behavioral Disorders. SAGE Journals, 1 May 2016. Web. <http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.17988/BD-15-73.1>.

Cook, Clayton R., Frank M. Gresham, Lee Kern, Ramon B. Barreras, Sage Thornton, S. Dean Crews. “Social Skills Training for Secondary Students With Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders: A Review and Analysis of the Meta-Analytical Literature.”Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. March 25, 2008.

Kendziora, Kimberly, and Nick Yoder. “When Districts Support and Implement Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).” American Institutes for Research (2016): 17-35.

Lambros, Katina M., Shirley K. Culver, Aidee Angulo, and Pamela Hosmer. “Mental Health Intervention Teams: A Collaborative Model to Promote Positive Behavioral Support for Youth with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders.” The California School Psychologist 12.1 (2007): 59-71.

Malow, Micheline S., and Vance L. Austin. “Mindfulness for Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders.”

Insights into Learning Disabilities 13.N1 (2016): 81-93.

Marchesi, Antonio G., Ph.D., and Kimberly Cook. “Social and Emotional Learning as a Catalyst for Academic Excellence.” ICF International (2012).

Rao, Patricia A., Deborah C. Beidel, Michael J. Murray.“Social Skills Interventions for Children with Asperger’s Syndrome or High-Functioning Autism: A Review and Recommendation.”Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. February 2008, Volume 38, Issue 2, pp 353-361.

Zins, Joseph E., Michelle R. Bloodworth, Roger P. Weissberg, Herbert J. Walberg. “The Scientific Base Linking Social and Emotional Learning to School Success.”Journal of Educational and Psychological School Consultation. Volume 17, Issue 2-3, 2007, p.191-210.