Student Well-Being & Movement Download

4 Steps to Combat Politicization and Win Buy-In for SEL (Download)

By Arianna Prothero & Liz Yap — January 31, 2024 1 min read
Conceptual image in blue of paper dolls
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Social-emotional learning has faced strong pushback recently as the term has been swept up in the divisive politics of the times. But some polling has found that parents—both liberal and conservative—are broadly supportive of students learning in school many of the skills that social-emotional learning teaches.

Providing students with the non-academic skills they need to be successful in school, careers, and life while being mindful of how touchy this once benign topic has become can be a difficult needle for schools to thread. Reference this downloadable guide for four steps on how to help temper—or avoid altogether—politicized pushback to SEL.

Download the Guide (PDF)

Events

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being & Movement ‘It Turns the School Community Around’: Teachers Reflect on Phone-Free Campuses
Teachers in states with cellphone bans say implementation means more than policy.
4 min read
Students use phones and other electronic devices in school on May 8, 2026. The school cellphone ban is one of the few policy agreements between Republicans and Democrats, and principals and teachers are big supporters.
Students use phones in school on May 8, 2026. The school cell phone ban is one of the few policy agreements between Republicans and Democrats, and principals and teachers are big supporters.
Lincoln Beddoe/Dreamstime via TNS
Student Well-Being & Movement Yes, Computer Science Can Teach Social-Emotional Skills. Here's How
Though seemingly disparate, computer science and student mindfulness can mutually reinforce one another.
2 min read
Education Teacher Appreciation Morale 24126158566435
Students work on computers at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla., on April 16, 2024. Strategies used in computer science can also help teach students social-emotional skills.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion How We Can End the Chicken-and-Egg Problem at the Heart of Student Misbehavior
As teachers manage classrooms filled with anxiety and impulsivity, this is how leaders can help.
5 min read
A teacher and students try to untangle complex emotional strings.
Chiara Vercesi for Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Can AI Help Students Learn Social-Emotional Skills?
Teachers are experimenting with ways to leverage the technology.
5 min read
Empathy02
Chris Cromwell, an instructional technology coordinator for the West Chester Area School District in Pennsylvania, speaks to attendees during his presentation at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., on July 1, 2026. Cromwell is one of a small but growing number of educators using AI to teach students social and emotional skills.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week