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Children and families in todays society are faced with many varied challenges and

to deal with this, need a range of social, emotional, cognitive and behavioural
skills to ensure positive rather than negative outcomes. This has led to the de
velopment of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs (Merrell & Gueldner, 2
010). SEL involves the processes through which children and adults acquire and ef
fectively apply the knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to understand and
manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for other
s, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions
(The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), 2012, p4
). The social component of SEL is concerned with fostering positive relationshi
ps or interpersonal development with others such as peers, teachers and family.
The emotional component of SEL is about fostering self-awareness, especially emo
tions and feelings, and also includes the thoughts associated with the emotion,
and reflects intrapersonal development. The learning part of SEL implies that so
cial and emotional components can be learned through instruction or teaching and
feedback. The learning aspect implies a natural association with schools and th
e idea that lessons and activities in the curriculum may promote SEL (Merrell &
Gueldner, 2010). CASEL identifies five main competencies for students: self-awar
eness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible de
cision making (CASEL, 2012). These five competencies and how they relate to SEL
in the primary years will be discussed below.
Self-awareness is recognising your own emotions, values, personal qualities and
how they affect your choices and behaviour (Zins, Payton, Weissberg and OBrien, 2
007). Self-awareness includes being able to accurately assess your own strengths
and limitations, having confidence and being optimistic (CASEL, 2012). Self-awa
reness skills develop rapidly in the early to mid-primary years as children deve
lop the idea of how you go about learning and that practice can make you perform
better. Children become better at reflecting on what they are doing and what th
ey want to achieve. In kindergarten and year one, when asked children typically
believe they are capable of a given task even if they have recently failed at a
similar task, they show overconfidence (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010). In the middle
childhood years (6-10years) children have an increasing awareness of their own a
bilities and begin to compare their performance to their peers. So by age ten mo
st children are less optimistic and are more capable of determining their actual
ability having been exposed to more experiences and the feedback received. This
may lead in higher primary years, for students to become pessimistic about thei
r ability and then hesitant to try new things (Eccles, 1999). Self-awareness can
be seen in an extreme for in early adolescence (late primary) where children th
ink they are unlike anyone else and believe their feelings are unique. They will
insist no-one can possibly know how they feel and they may also believe they ha
ve special powers and are invulnerable to harm (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).
Self-management is the ability to manage your own stress, control impulses, moti
vate yourself and work towards goals through co-ordinating and regulating emotio
ns, thoughts and behaviour (Zins et al, 2007). As a childs language skills develo
p they use self-talk to talk themselves through challenges. Children gradually i
nternalise this self-talk as they get older. As a child gets older they are able
to take external rules and make them internal. They increasingly keep themselve
s on track by an increase in self-evaluation and self-judgement (McDevitt & Ormrod
, 2010). As children become aware of their own abilities they are better able to
control and motivate themselves. In kindergarten a child may act impulsively an
d show little self-control, but as they progress through school they learn that
you shouldnt call out in class for example, they are better at managing to follow
the rules and able to understand basic moral principles. Younger students may n
eed to be extrinsically motivated to complete tasks whereas as children get olde
r they take on some of the values of people around them and become better at int
rinsic motivation. Younger children may work towards short-term goals but as the
y get older and motivation increases, longer term goals are pursued. Emotional c
ontrol also develops as children progress through school. Kindergarten children
will begin to display self-conscious emotions, children in mid-primary develop a
n increasing ability to regulate emotions and by later primary, children can car
efully regulate their emotions to the point they may hide their emotions from ot
hers (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).
Social awareness is the ability to see others perspective and empathising with ot
hers that are from diverse backgrounds (Zins et al, 2007). Social awareness incl
udes the ability to understand what normal behaviour is and to recognise the res
ources and support available from family, school and community (CASEL, 2012). Du
ring the primary years childrens ability to understand other peoples perspective
increases. They become able to understand that differing points of view have con
sequences for their interaction with others (Eccles, 1999). As they get older ch
ildren are increasingly able to make more sophisticated inferences about peoples
mental states. They understand that peoples actions are not always indicative of
their thoughts and feelings. They also begin to see that peoples thoughts and fe
elings are closely related. With their increased awareness of other peoples opini
ons, most children become eager to behave socially acceptably (McDevitt & Ormrod
, 2010). Beginning school exposes children to new rules and regulations about w
hat is expected from them. As they move from kindergarten to year six they are i
ncreasingly able to take ownership of societys rules. It starts with the introjec
tion phase where children feel internal pressure to comply with rules. It progre
sses into the identification phase where children understand rules to be valuabl
e or important to them. By year six rules and regulations are well understood an
d become part of the childs normal behaviour. From early primary (6-10years) a ch
ilds sense of distributive justice increases, taking into account different peopl
es needs and those in special circumstances who might require differential treatm
ent. There is also an increasing empathy for people who are suffering and a desi
re to help those in need. By the time children are in the upper primary years th
is has sometimes developed into believing people are responsible for their own f
ate (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).
Relationship skills encompass listening reflectively to and communicating clearl
y with others; being able to resist social pressure to take part in destructive
or risky behaviour; managing conflict and establishing positive relationships wi
th others (Zins et al, 2007). Relationship skills become more important as child
ren progress through school. As they get older, children spend more time in peer
groups and the relationship dynamics of the group require growing skills to ens
ure good relationships (Eccles, 1999). All children start school with ability to
form relationships with others. To maintain these relationships children develo
p their skills when dealing with their peers. In kindergarten children may not h
ave the communication skills necessary to maintain friendships however through l
earning social skills and being able to see other childrens points of view, they
are able to form closer relationships with their peer group. By the time they ar
e in mid to upper primary, children have developed their communication skills an
d desire relationships with others. They are now able to understand they have a
role and responsibility in maintaining these relationships (NSW Board of Studies
, 2007). As children get older they become more aware of other peoples opinions,
how to resolve conflicts and maintain and preserve friendships (Hartup, 1996; Ne
wcomb & Bagwell, 1995 as cited in McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).
Responsible decision making is being able to make ethical decisions through unde
rstanding the problem faced. It requires the ability to consider the consequence
s of alternative solutions and being able to monitor the implementation of choic
es made (Zins et al, 2007). Responsible decision making becomes more important t
hrough the primary years, as students typically spend less time with adults and
more time with their peers. In kindergarten children are capable of making simpl
e decision. As they learn through being able to recall outcomes from past expe
riences in making decisions in the early to mid-primary years, children move on
to make informed decisions and being capable of accepting responsibility for the
consequences of these decisions by the time they reach years five or six ( NSW
Board of Studies, 2007). As children have more diverse social interactions, they
will learn through practice and reflection and fine tune their ability to think
through consequences and the effects of their own choices and actions. Also inc
reasingly, as children get older, they are asked by parents, peers and teachers
to make more decisions for themselves. Kindergarten children may not be making m
any decisions but certainly upper primary children would be faced with many deci
sions every day. This helps them fine tune their ability to make responsible dec
isions.
The aim of SEL programs is to promote students self-awareness, self-management, s
ocial-awareness, relationships and responsible decision-making skills and to imp
rove student attitudes and beliefs about themselves, others and school. (CASEL,
2012) Through this a better foundation is laid for increased academic performanc
e and better adjustment which is then reflected in more positive social behaviou
rs and peer relationships, fewer conduct problems and less emotional distress (D
urlak et al, 2011; Greenberg et al, 2003 as cited in CASEL 2012).
An important area that a SEL curriculum can address is anger and aggression in c
hildren. In order to avoid anger and aggression preventative measures such as SE
L should be used (Lambert, 2002). SEL competencies are preventative measures tha
t if employed will enable children to use coping strategies to deal with their e
motions and angry feelings. If a child is self-aware they will identify their em
otion and then use self-management skills to control these emotions. If a child
is socially aware they will understand the point of view of another that may hav
e made them angry may make responsible decisions about the way they act as a res
ult. A child displaying good SEL skills will also have the relationship skills t
o resolve the issue with another person or talk out the problem with a teacher.
SEL programs have been shown to be effective in increasing prosocial behaviour a
nd reducing aggressive behaviour (Merrel & Gueldner, 2010). CASEL provides rubri
cs to help schools choose which evidence-based SEL program is most appropriate f
or their school (CASEL, 2012). For a SEL program to have the maximum effect, it
is important that it is used through the childs entire schooling (Merrel & Gueldn
er, 2010).
For the SEL program to be useful in the management of anger and aggression, teac
hers must think about how they deal with the children they are teaching. Prevent
ative approaches to managing difficult behaviour in the classroom have the most
success and prevent disruption to the class. Teachers should use techniques such
as establishing close relationships with students, treating students with respe
ct and encouraging responsible behaviour. Teachers should not intimidate, harass
or insult children, or attack a childs personality or character as this will onl
y antagonise anger and aggression. Teachers must model good anger management ski
lls and express their anger appropriately. By empowering children through allowi
ng them to make choices and voice their opinions, teachers can enable children t
o become more independent and children can then extend this into regulating thei
r own behaviour Lambert (2002).
Through the implementation of a SEL program, activities can be used to help chil
dren learn to manage anger through calming down and learning ways to express ang
ry feelings assertively. There are many evidence-based SEL programs available fo
r use; two examples are RULER and Stop, Think, Do. The way these programs are im
plemented will depend on the age of the children being taught as there is a grea
t difference in the developmental level of a kindergarten student compared to a
year five or six student.
RULER is a universal SEL program that targets five emotional skills: recognisin
g emotions, understanding the causes of and consequences emotions, labelling emo
tions, and expressing and regulating emotions (Rivers and Brackett cited in (Hag
elskamp, Brackett, Rivers, & Salovey, 2013). A good activity from the RULER prog
ram is the evidence-based tool Meta-Moment. The Meta-Moment activity helps stude
nts handle strong emotions such as anger and aggression and thereby make better
decisions about their behaviour. The Meta-Moment is learning to take a brief ste
p back from the situation to pause and think before acting. Children are taught
to ask themselves how their best self would react to the situation and what strate
gies could they use so their actions reflect their best self. This would be done a
s a drawing activity with Kindergarten children where they are given a worksheet
with two boxes to do drawings. The first box has the sentence When I feel .. and t
he second box has This is what I do.. The activity would be discussed with students
to brainstorm ideas as they would need scaffolding to complete the task. The st
udents then discuss each childs work and discuss the correct way to act when we f
eel angry. For older students in year six, this task would be more complex, a wo
rksheet with different questions asked. First the teacher would discuss and ask
the children to think of a time when they could have taken a Meta-Moment and to
have a bit of a think about it. Then they would be asked to write down answers t
o questions such as: What happened to make you upset? How did you react? What we
re you thinking? What was your body doing? Then they would be asked what if they
employed some SEL competencies and took a deep breath to stop the reaction, how
might they have then acted? What could I have done differently? By this age, ch
ildren are able to process their thoughts and feelings, they are more socially a
nd emotionally competent and can have proper discussion. By teaching children to
employ Meta-Moments they will learn over time and with practice to replace inef
fective responses with empowering and productive responses to challenging situat
ions. This will enable them to make better choices, be better at self-management
and prevent anger and aggression from affecting their relationships with others
.
STOP THINK DO is an Australian social skills training program for children with
social/behavioural problems and has been shown to significantly reduce social- b
ehavioural problems in the classroom (Andary 1990 as cited in (Petersen & France
, 1992). The STOP THINK DO program uses a set of traffic lights as a visual cue
to children. Aggressive children are usually stuck at the DO stage and will need
to be assisted to work through the other steps to improve their behaviour. The
STOP tells children to not react but look and listen. In kindergarten the child
ren are asked How are you feeling then the teacher would help clarify the problem
with questions such as what can you do to calm down? as such young children will
need assistance in communicating the issue. Most kindergarten children will be s
tuck at this step and will need assistance to work through the next steps. They
can then be asked to THINK, consider solutions with children and evaluate what t
hey could do. The children then choose the best solution and DO it. Kindergarten
children will need encouragement to act and then will need follow up. Young chi
ldren will need reminders on the procedure and a visible set of traffic lights i
n the classroom will give then the visual cue to use the system. Children in yea
r six can also benefit from this program but the process should be quicker as th
ey are more self-aware and better at self-management. The process for them shoul
d be as simple as STOP you feelbecause, THINK what you could try, DO it. They can
be further questioned to help them work out the problem by asking what happened,
what is the problem, what were you thinking about when it happened, how did it
make you feel, did you make a good choice (explain), then listen to the other si
de. Next what do we want to DO? Do we have ideas on how to solve the problem, ca
n we agree on one, lets do it, if this problem happens again what do we want to d
o, do we understand our part, can we picture what this solution will look like?
Social and emotional learning involves processes through which children learn an
d apply the skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve
goals, have empathy for others, make responsible decisions and maintain relation
ships. Through the use of high-quality evidence-based programs schools can enabl
e students to develop their social and emotional skills. Having good SEL skills
correlates to students doing better academically and socially (CASEL, 2012) and
therefore is an approach that should be employed by all teachers and schools.
REFERENCES
NSW Board of Studies (2007). Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
K-6 Syllabus. Sydney: Author
The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learn (CASEL) (2012). 2013
CASEL Guide: Effective Social and Emotional Learning ProgramsPreschool and Elemen
tary School Edition. Retrieved March 29th 2014, from http://www.casel.org
Eccles, J. S. (1999). The development of children ages 6 to 14. Future of Childr
en, 9(2), 30-44.
Hagelskamp, C., Brackett, M., Rivers, S., & Salovey, P. (2013). Improving Classr
oom Quality with The RULER Approach to Social and Emotional Learning: Proximal a
nd Distal Outcomes. American Journal of Community Psychology, 51(3-4), 530-543.
doi: 10.1007/s10464-013-9570-x
Lambert, B. (2002). Different approaches to setting limits and managing difficul
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McDevitt, T. M. & Ormrod, J. E., (2010). Child development and education (4th ed
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sroom: Promoting mental health and academic success. Retrieved from EBook Librar
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Petersen, L., & France, M. H. (1992). STOP-THINK-DO: A Systems Based Pro-Social
Skills Training Program. Guidance & Counseling, 8(2), 24-35.
Zins, J.E., Payton, J.W., Weissberg, R.P & OBrien, M.U. (2007). Social and emotio
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