Human Development Connection
Similar to other forms of human development, social and emotional development depends on both a person’s genetic makeup and the environment in which they live. In other words, each student’s development—cognitive, social, and emotional—as a learner is not a linear event but rather depends on the context in which students find themselves. Context encompasses multiple factors. Context includes those factors that are more immediate, such as the ways in which the home, school, or community are safe and supportive for the student, as well as the cultural responsiveness of the context the student is in. Context also is influenced by the culture of the student, in addition to a variety of characteristics of the student, including class, gender, age, sexual orientation, and ability status. All of these factors influence the development of a student’s social and emotional skills and the ways in which a student navigates his or her environment.
SEL Development
As we consider context and culture in the development of social and emotional skills, it also is important to consider the developmental nature of social and emotional skills. More recent research has demonstrated that certain social and emotional skills serve as building blocks for other skills and that these skills have the potential to change as students develop (in other words, we are not just talking about personality characteristics). For example, executive function skills, such as inhibitory control, working memory, and attention control, are initiated (3- to 4-year-olds) and developed (4- to 6-year-olds) in large part in early years of life but lay the foundation for more complex skills individuals need later in life, such as self-regulation, decision making, and self-care, which build on each other as individuals move through early elementary to middle school to high school.
In addition, research also has demonstrated that some social and emotional skills depend on the developmental stage and context an individual is in. In other words, the social and emotional skills individuals use depends on their needs within a given developmental stage and what the environment calls for. For example, a child living in an unstable social environment may develop highly attuned social awareness as a way to anticipate others’ behavior and keep herself safe.
Cultural Responsiveness
Cultural responsiveness is the ability to interact with others in ways that validate and build on their cultural background. It entails developing certain personal and interpersonal awareness and sensitivities, understanding certain bodies of cultural knowledge, and mastering a set of skills that, taken together, underlie effective culturally responsive teaching. In short, it is the skill and will to be self-aware about one’s own culture and foster the ability to learn from and relate respectfully with people from one’s own and others’ cultures
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References
Hecht, M. L., & Shin, Y. (2015). Culture and Social and Emotional Competencies. In J. A. Durlak, C. E. Domitrovich, R. P. Weissberg, and T. P. Gullotta (Eds.), Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning: Research and Practice. New York, NY: Guilfold Press
Jones, S., Brush, K., Bailey, R., Brion-Meisels, G., McIntyre, J., Kahn, J., Nelson, B., & Stickle, L. (2017). Navigating SEL from the inside out: Looking inside and across 25 leading SEL programs: A practical resource for schools and OST providers. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education. Retrieved from https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/Navigating-Social-and-Emotional-Learning-from-the-Inside-Out.pdf
Osher, D., Cantor, P, Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T., (2017). Science of learning and development: A synthesis. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.