Social-Emotional Learning

How schools can help children learn to understand and manage their emotions, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions

See also: Life Skills

Explainer

Social-Emotional Learning, Explained
What is social-emotional learning?
Student Well-Being & Movement K-12 Essentials Forum How Schools Are Teaching Students Life Skills
Join this free virtual event to explore creative ways schools have found to seamlessly integrate teaching life skills into the school day.
February 17, 2026
Achieving equilibrium between positive and negative emotions, they counterbalance each other to cultivate a serene state of mind
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement How Do Teachers Rate Their Students' Self-Regulation Skills?
Students’ poor self-regulation skills hurt their ability to learn.
Lauraine Langreo, January 21, 2026
1 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Spotlight Spotlight on The Science of Self-Regulation: The Missing Foundation of Academic Success
This Spotlight focuses on ways to build students’ self-management skills, a foundational predictor of academic success.
January 21, 2026
Phil Dreste provides roaches, beetles, isotopes and other insects for his students to study at Kenwood Elementary in Champaign, Ill., on Jan. 12, 2026.
Phil Dreste's 4th graders handle a giant African millipede, part of a rotating cast of class pets. Dreste also provides exotic roaches, spiders, and isopods for his students to study at Kenwood Elementary in Champaign, Ill., on Jan. 12, 2026. Invertebrates can make great pets that cost less and require less attention than more common class animals.
Kaiti Sullivan for Education Week
Teaching Forget About Hamsters. Make Bugs Your Classroom Pet
Beetles, spiders, and millipedes? These nontraditional class pets may ease students' stress.
Sarah D. Sparks, January 13, 2026
5 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Opinion If Students Understand Their Emotions, They Learn Better
Equipped with the right skills, students can navigate tough situations in and outside school.
Larry Ferlazzo, November 19, 2025
11 min read
Special Education Spotlight Spotlight on Unlocking Potential: Building Resilience and Support for Students with Dyslexia
This Spotlight examines dyslexia, the need for social-emotional support, the value of early screening, and the key role teachers and schools play.
November 17, 2025
Digital drawing of person meditating. Concept of busy life, busy mind and finding peace in all of that. SEL education emotional regulation.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion SEL Doesn't Need a Rebrand. It Needs Something Else
Everyone in K-12 plays a role in ensuring social-emotional learning prospers, says Marc Brackett.
Marc Brackett, October 31, 2025
6 min read
Illustration of people climbing stacks of books. There are 3 stacks of books at different heights with people helping people climb up.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Social-Emotional Learning Linked to Higher Math and Reading Test Scores
A Yale study finds that explicitly teaching students SEL skills can have big academic payoffs.
Arianna Prothero, October 21, 2025
5 min read
Illustration of the acronym SEL with alternative names behind it.
F. Sheehan for Education Week
School & District Management From Our Research Center SEL by Another Name? Political Pushback Prompts Rebranding
Some districts are still teaching social-emotional learning, but they are calling it something else.
Arianna Prothero, October 1, 2025
8 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Well-Being
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.
September 18, 2025
Students play during recess at Whittier Elementary School on Oct. 18, 2022, in Mesa, Ariz.
Students play during recess at Whittier Elementary School on Oct. 18, 2022, in Mesa, Ariz. A recess expert shares best practices for structuring recess—and calls for more opportunities for students to get outside and play.
Matt York/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A Getting Recess Right: A Researcher Shares Best Practices
Well-structured recess can improve student learning and well-being, Rebecca London says.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 18, 2025
9 min read
Students interact with Waffles at Alaqua Animal Rescue in Freeport, Fla., on Aug. 23, 2025. The rescue incorporates lessons on respecting the animals' autonomy with students so the animals only interact with humans when they choose to do so.
Students interact with Waffles the pig at Alaqua Animal Refuge in Freeport, Fla., on Aug. 23, 2025. The animal sanctuary teaches students to empathize with animals—which, in turn, has helped many children draw connections to their own feelings.
Micah Green for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement How Rescue Animals Are Teaching Students Emotional Awareness
Field trips to a Florida animal sanctuary have helped students learn compassion.
Madeline Will & Olina Banerji, August 29, 2025
4 min read
Kindergarten students practice greeting each other in a dual-language immersion class.
Kindergarten students practice greeting each other in a dual-language immersion class. Teachers report that more kindergartners are coming to class unable to effectively manage their emotions.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Early Childhood Download 7 Ways to Help Kindergartners Regulate Their Emotions (DOWNLOADABLE)
Teachers report a surge in kindergartners struggling to regulate their emotions. This tip sheet has steps on how to respond.
1 min read
A kindergartener in a play-based learning class prepares for outdoor forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
A kindergartner in a play-based learning class prepares for outdoor forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024. Across the country, kindergartners are struggling with self-regulation.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Early Childhood ‘Crying, Yelling, Shutting Down’: There’s a Surge in Kindergarten Tantrums. Why?
Educators are reporting a surge in the number of kindergartners coming to school unable to regulate their emotions. What's going on?
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 25, 2025
6 min read