TOPIC

Supporting students’ social-emotional, mental & physical health

Social Emotional Health

There is increasing recognition among educators, researchers, policymakers, and the broader public that schools should play a role in students’ mental, physical, and social-emotional health.

This “whole child” approach is designed to ensure that all students in California, particularly those who are historically underserved, have the opportunities and supports they need to thrive academically, socially and emotionally, and in college, career, and life.

A key part of PACE’s research in this area is driven by the CORE Districts’ surveys of students in grades 4-12 on their school’s culture and climate (CC) and their own social-emotional learning (SEL), including growth mindset, self-management, self-efficacy, and social awareness. Our work aimed to better understand SEL/CC measurement and to provide guidance for how schools can better serve students needs in this area. 

Recent Topic Publications
SEL School Effects May 2018
Findings from the First Large-Scale Panel Survey of Students
Measures of school-level growth in student outcomes are common tools used to assess the impacts of schools. The vast majority of these measures are based on standardized tests, even though emerging evidence demonstrates the importance of social-…
Practices and Supports Employed in CORE Districts and Schools
Social-emotional learning refers to the beliefs, attitudes, personality traits, and behaviors that students need to succeed in school and life. Our study looks closely at ten “outlier schools” in California’s CORE districts whose students report…
Development and implementation of student social-emotional surveys in the CORE Districts
States and school districts across the U.S. are seeking to expand their definition of student success to include social-emotional learning. The CORE Districts, a collaborative of California districts that has developed a system of school…
SEL CC Report
This report and accompanying policy brief show that there is good reason to pursue the measurement of social-emotional learning (SEL) and school culture/climate (CC) as a way to better understand student and school performance. Using data from…