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

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Social-Emotional Learning, Explained
What is social-emotional learning?
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Kindergarten students work in class at Munger Elementary-Middle School on May 7, 2026, in Detroit. Some educators believe it is easier to teach social-emotional learning skills to elementary school youngsters than older middle or high school kids.
Paul Sancya/AP Photo
Student Well-Being & Movement From Our Research Center Support for Teaching SEL Skills Remains Steady Despite Political Pushback
Survey tracks how educators rate SEL’s effect on students’ academic performance and social skills.
Arianna Prothero, July 20, 2026
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6 min read
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Katrina Fernandez, lower school principal at Capital City Public Charter School, helps organize these preschoolers as they practice along with high school seniors during a graduation rehearsal at Capital City Public Charter School in Washington, DC on June 11, 2026. The school's pre-K classes practice "looping," in which 3- and 4-year-olds share a classroom and stay with the same teacher for two years.
Marvin Joseph/Education Week
Early Childhood Why 'Looping' in Pre-K Helps Kids
As states seek to expand pre-K and teachers report students' lack of readiness, looping may help.
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 20, 2026
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5 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 ‘It Turns the School Community Around’: Teachers Reflect on Phone-Free Campuses
Teachers in states with cellphone bans say implementation means more than policy.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 13, 2026
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4 min read
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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 Yes, Computer Science Can Teach Social-Emotional Skills. Here's How
Though seemingly disparate, computer science and student mindfulness can mutually reinforce one another.
Arianna Prothero, July 10, 2026
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2 min read
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Nintendo Switches, like the one the teenage boy is using above, are being used in the Denver Public Schools in an esports program designed to improve student engagement. Education Week recently talked to one of the educators involved in that program, who gave a presentation about it at the ISTELive 26 + ASCD Annual Conference in Orlando, Fla., June 28 to July 1.
Lindsey Wasson/AP Photo
Classroom Technology Q&A How This District Is Using Esports to Increase Student Engagement
An education technology specialist discusses an esports development program she created.
Lauraine Langreo, July 9, 2026
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4 min read
A teacher and students try to untangle complex emotional strings.
Chiara Vercesi for Education Week
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.
Marc Brackett, July 8, 2026
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5 min read
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Artificial Intelligence Opinion In the Race to Build Smarter AI, We Forgot to Build Smarter Humans
AI is accelerating. What schools must do to support student attention and judgment now.
Laura BaKosh, July 6, 2026
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3 min read
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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
Student Well-Being & Movement Can AI Help Students Learn Social-Emotional Skills?
Teachers are experimenting with ways to leverage the technology.
Arianna Prothero, July 2, 2026
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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 How You Can Teach Students to Be More Grateful
When students learn to look for the good, they’re building far-reaching habits.
Larry Ferlazzo, July 2, 2026
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10 min read
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A student washes her hands at a school in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Feb. 12, 2026. Emotional regulation tops teachers’ kindergarten readiness lists.
Kevin Mohatt for Education Week
Early Childhood What Teachers Really Want From Kindergartners Isn’t Academic
Reading readiness barely registers on teachers' wish list. Here's what counts.
Elizabeth Heubeck, June 25, 2026
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3 min read
Students embrace Sage, a therapy dog, at Valley View Elementary on April 29, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minn.
Students embrace a therapy dog at an elementary school in Columbia Heights, Minn., on April 29, 2026. Efforts to help kids improve their social and emotional well-being need to be combined with schools taking a hard look at how they are contributing to high levels of student stress, experts say.
Ellen Schmidt/MinnPost via AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A Is SEL a Band-Aid Patching Over Schools' Systemic Problems?
Why schools need to take a hard look at how their decisions heighten student stress.
Arianna Prothero, June 24, 2026
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3 min read
A student types a prompt into ChatGPT on a Chromebook during Casey Cuny's English class at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Aug. 27, 2025.
A student types a prompt into ChatGPT on a Chromebook during an English class at a high school in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Aug. 27, 2025.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Classroom Technology Are Ed Tech's Academic Benefits at Odds With Its Social-Emotional Downsides?
An EdWeek Research Center survey asked educators how tech is shaping students' school experiences.
Kevin Bushweller, June 15, 2026
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1 min read
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Emily Torres speaks with her creative writing students at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 4, 2025. Students in the class have experienced significant trauma, mental health challenges, or both.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Q&A 'The Most Authentic English Class I've Ever Taught'
Emily Torres said the class has been the most meaningful teaching experience of her career.
Alyson Klein, June 15, 2026
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3 min read
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Emily Torres teaches a creative writing class at Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 4, 2025. All the students in the class have experienced significant trauma, mental health challenges, or both.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Student Well-Being & Movement Inside a School Where Creative Writing Helps Teens Cope With Trauma
Students in a class taught by Emily Torres have significant trauma, mental health challenges, or both.
Alyson Klein, June 15, 2026
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15 min read