Social and Emotional Learning: A Key Component of Education

Dr. Joseph E. Colford, Ph.D.

Professionals in the fields of education and mental health have recognized for some time the importance of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), a critical adjunct to academic learning in our schools.  SEL is a process through which children and adults acquire skills to enable them to manage their emotions, take responsibility for their own behaviors, maintain positive relationships with others, and communicate effectively.  There are many evidence-based programs available to impart these skills.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) provides evidence that SEL can boost children’s academic performance by 11 percentile points, improve their classroom behavior, and increase their ability to manage stress and emotions.  Even long after their school years are over, SEL will provide them with skills critical to their employability and their success in the workplace.

Other organizations have weighed in on this topic over the years.  According to the U.S. Public Health Service, “Fostering social and emotional health in children as part of healthy child development must therefore be a national priority.”  The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), signed into law by President Obama in 2015, allows for funds to be utilized for SEL activities, and it requires schools to use more than just academic performance as a measure of student success.  Finally, the National Association of State Boards of Education provided guidelines for measuring children’s social and emotional competencies.

The Urban League and the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for the United States underscored further the importance of SEL in declaring this past March 27th as the inaugural International Social Emotional Learning Day (#SELday) whose aim is to create an annual global campaign designed to recognize and promote the importance of SEL in schools and communities.  On each SELday, educators and community groups are encouraged to create activities and events that raise awareness of SEL and its positive impact in the lives of children.  SEL resources and other ideas for celebrating it can be found at www.selday.org. You can also visit our ChildWIN page for free resources and products.

New Jersey’s own Governor Philip Murphy and Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver also declared March 27, 2020, as Social and Emotional Learning Day in the state.  Among the several Proclamations made was one that declared: “supporting the implementation of evidence-based SEL is a wise use of public resources, as there is strong evidence that SEL skills are linked to beneficial, long-term social and economic outcomes, including cultural competency and employability.”

While academic performance is indeed one measure of student success, there are other non-academic factors which are predictors of lifelong success beyond the classroom.  Measures of IQ and standardized test scores have something to add to the mix, but the ability of a child to maneuver the intricacies of a sometimes confusing social and work world require more than what scores may indicate.  Maybe SEL can be the difference-maker. 

Why else do some employers conduct group interviews for a job opening besides just a paper screening of an applicant’s high school or college transcript?  Perhaps the need for team-building social and interpersonal skills is more important than the numbers on a transcript.

Joseph E. Colford, Ph.D., NJ Licensed Psychologist

Professor Emeritus, Georgian Court University

For schools looking to bring SEL to their students, the ChildWIN Wellness Walk is ideal. It helps with self awareness & self management!

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Victoria Spera

Victoria Spera-Ballesteros has over 10 years of experience in violence prevention and awareness, social justice education, community development, and public policy. She joined Prevent Child Abuse – New Jersey in 2017 and serves as a Program Coordinator within the PCA-NJ’s Community Engagement department. In her role, she engages with youth-serving professionals and community organizations with education, trainings, and technical assistance related to human trafficking prevention and youth resilience programming. She enjoys using her expertise to help partners build their capacity to serve and empower the youth and families of New Jersey.

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Michael Peralta

Michael works at Prevent Child Abuse NJ as a Technical Assistance Specialist for Grow NJ Kids, our state’s initiative to raise the quality of child care and early learning throughout New Jersey. Before joining PCA-NJ, Michael was the School Age Services Unit Manager at La Casa de Don Pedro responsible for the implementation of La Casa’s Enrichment Program and 21st Century Community Learning Center, serving children between the ages of 5 to 12 years old. Prior to working at La Casa de Don Pedro, he worked at the National Institute for Early Education Research as an Assistant Project Coordinator. At NIEER, he assisted with the coordination of data collection and training for various research/evaluation projects that included preschool, infant/toddler and family child care programs throughout the country and abroad (Colombia and Ecuador). Prior to working at NIEER, Michael volunteered at a Head Start Center in New Brunswick and at Rutgers Developmental Disability Center in which he worked with children with Autism. Michael is passionate about children’s rights and being the voice that they do not have. His goal in life is to help ensure children have opportunities for a great childhood.

Elizabeth Paterno-Culp

Elizabeth Paterno-Culp joined the Prevent Child Abuse-NJ team in 2015 as a Home Visitation Program Specialist. She provides ongoing technical assistance to several Healthy Families and Parents As Teachers programs across the state of New Jersey. Along with her day-to-day role at PCA-NJ, Elizabeth is a Child Wellness Institute (ChildWIN) team member. She serves as the Trauma Transformation Initiative trainer and liaison. She also conducts training on topic areas such as child abuse and neglect prevention, intimate partner violence and child exposure, trauma 101, trauma informed-care, self-care, and resilience.

Prior to her work at PCA-NJ, Elizabeth worked at Wynona’s House Child Advocacy Center as a Program Specialist. She worked closely with the Family Advocate to support the children and families. In addition, she continued to volunteer as a Sexual Assault Response Team advocate and a Domestic Violence Response Team advocate.

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Vasu Nacha

Vasu Nacha has been working in the field of child and family wellness for more than 10 years. She has a Masters in Psychology, and certifications as a Trauma Professional, Cultural Competence Trainer and Reflective Consultation provider. In addition to taking a leadership role in the development and delivery of the Trauma Transformation Initiative, she has conceptualized and led the development of the C.A.R.E model of peer reflection. Aside from her regular day time job, Vasu works as the director of the SCOPE program with SKN Foundation, where she leads the delivery of programming for South Asian families of children with special needs.

Kelly McGlasson

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Gina Hernandez, MA, LPC was appointed by the Board to the position of Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey and the Child Wellness Institute in April 2021. Gina has extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, clinical services and program evaluation.

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Robin Happonen

Robin Happonen has been in the Early Childhood field for 20 years. She joined PCA-NJ in 2017 and is currently the Senior Technical Assistance Specialist with the Grow NJ Kids Northeast TA Center working in Hudson County. She is also a member of ChildWIN and assisted with the development of both the Trauma Team Initiative and the Peaceful Practices Guidebook. Prior to joining Grow NJ Kids, Robin worked as an elementary school teacher and preschool teacher. She has a BA in Elementary Education and a MA in Child Advocacy.

Kim Haigh

Kimberly Haigh has been serving the Early Care and Education field for over 25 years. Her work for various organizations and agencies include the Department of Defense, Bright Horizons Family Solutions and Duke University where she has developed and presented trainings for early childhood educators. Kim joined PCA-NJ and ChildWIN in 2015 and has since delivered Trauma Informed trainings to Early Childhood staff, elementary teachers, after school staff, and administrators, while also developing a training is Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for educators. Kim earned her BA in Education and Psychology and her MA in Child and Family Studies; she has also completed a 20-month intensive fellowship for Infant and Toddler Mental Health at Montclair State University.