What is social-emotional skill development at school? 

Social-emotional skill development, sometimes called social-emotional learning or SEL, is the teaching, learning and practicing of social-emotional skills in the classroom.  

Social-emotional skills include the ability to:  

• identify and manage emotions 
• recognize sources of stress and cope with challenges 
• maintain positive motivation and perseverance 
• build relationships and communicate effectively  
• develop self-awareness and self-confidence 
• think critically and creatively 

Note that social-emotional skill development at school is meant to support a child’s psychological development, which is a lifelong process that follows predictable stages and can be enhanced through interaction and support. It is nurtured at home, at school and in the community.  

“Social-emotional learning skills help students foster overall health and well-being, good mental health, and support the ability to learn and thrive.” (PPM 169) 

What this looks like in schools and classrooms  

Social-emotional skill development can be offered in four main ways:   

• Implicit instruction – reinforcing and incorporating social-emotional practice into everyday instructional practice and interactions between students and educators/other staff.  
• Explicit instruction – free-standing lessons focusing on social-emotional skills or instruction integrated within academic content.  
• Teachable moments – everyday interactions that provide opportunities to discuss the use and application of various social-emotional skills.  
• Modelling – observing social-emotional skills in action through peers and staff. 

Social-emotional skill development at school is most effective when it is thoughtfully sequenced within and across grades, culturally-responsive, strength-based and actively embedded into a student’s school experience. There is a recent move towards frequent practice with social-emotional “kernels” that are relevant to the students served, rather than lengthy and more costly manualized programs (see caution section). Social-emotional skill development at school is designed to help students build on or develop skills to help them flourish throughout life.  

Why this is important

Mental health and learning are connected. Social-emotional skill development has been shown to enhance mental health outcomes as well as academic achievement. When schools embed culturally-responsive social-emotional skill development into daily learning, students are better able to manage stress, build healthy relationships, solve problems and approach challenges with confidence. 

What the research tells us 

• As mental health challenges among children and youth continue to rise, schools play an important role in helping students develop the skills to navigate stress, manage their emotions and maintain healthy relationships. 
• When social-emotional skill-building is offered explicitly in systematic ways, students are more likely to experience lasting positive impacts on their mental health and learning. 
• Social-emotional skill-building provides an opportunity for young people to develop agency, through selecting and practicing skills that work for them to manage stress, solve problems, help others and amplify their voices. 
• Research shows strong results. Social-emotional skill development is associated with a range of positive outcomes, as determined by global research. Young people who engage with high-quality social-emotional learning have better mental health and academic outcomes than matched students who do not. 

Important cautions about social-emotional learning (SEL) 

Significant and serious concerns have been raised about the impact of traditional SEL programs on students who are racialized, marginalized and underserved by the education system. To maintain the benefits of social-emotional skill development at school for every student while minimizing the risk of harm, the following recommendations should be considered: 

• Students need to see their identities, cultures, strengths, beliefs and values reflected in social-emotional learning to experience healthy identity development.  
• Incorporate diverse ways of knowing, being, coping and expressing emotion into social- emotional skill development at school. 
• Affirm who students are, and the strengths, experiences and strategies that students already bring. 
• Be attuned to the risk of unintentional harms associated with SEL programming that centres Eurocentric norms and overlooks diverse worldviews. 

School staff support best practices in social-emotional skill development at school by reflecting on their own identities and practices, building inclusive classroom environments and partnering with families and communities to reinforce these skills. 

SEL in Ontario schools

SEL has long been embedded in Ontario schools through everyday interactions and learning experiences. In 2020, the Ontario Ministry of Education updated the curriculum to include social-emotional learning as a distinct component, and in 2023 social-emotional learning was included as one of 11 requirements for student mental health in PPM 169: Student Mental Health. 

Ontario’s Ministry of Education identifies six key social-emotional learning skill areas that contribute to student well-being and success.  

In Ontario curriculum, the following broad skill categories are included: 

SEL Skill Categories
Students will learn skills to…	So that they can…
1. identify and manage emotions	express their feelings and understand the feelings of others
2. recognize sources of stress and coping with challenges	build onto their personal resilience skills and adapt to help them navigate their circumstances and thrive
3. maintain positive motivation and perseverance	foster a sense of optimism and hope and the will to keep trying to achieve their goals
4. build relationships and communicate effectively	continue to build healthy relationships and a respect for diversity
5. develop self-awareness and self-confidence	continue to build their sense of identity and feelings of belonging
6. think critically and creatively	make informed decisions and solve problems

Given the expectations outlined in PPM 169, advancing SEL best practices is a priority for school boards throughout the province. But it is important to be aware that not all approaches to SEL support students or lead to the intended outcomes. Traditional manualized SEL programs may not be representative or helpful for every student, particularly those from historically marginalized cultures or identities. In some cases, programs built on Eurocentric norms can undermine individuals’ sense of identity and sources of strength and support. Further, use of manualized programs, while shown to be broadly effective when delivered, can be costly to purchase, train on and sustain. The field is moving towards more contextualized, embedded social-emotional skill development that reinforces relevant “bite-sized” learning throughout the school day (sometimes called social-emotional skill “kernels”). 

Social-emotional learning resources 

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Webinar – Conversations about anxiety

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