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
Effects of Immigration Enforcement on Students in California
This study examines the associations between county-level immigration arrests and academic achievement, absenteeism, and measures of school climate and safety for students in the California CORE districts. We found consistent evidence that Latinx…
Assessing Voters’ and Parents’ Perspectives on Current Threats to Public Education
The 2022 PACE/USC Rossier Poll
The 2021–22 academic year was profoundly challenging for California schools. Eight critical issues emerged as serious threats to student learning, the operation of schools, and even  the very institution of public education: (1) gun violence, (…
In 2002 Congress passed the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA), authorizing the creation of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) as the research, evaluation, statistics, and assessment arm of the Department of Education, and crystallizing the federal government's commitment to providing national leadership in expanding fundamental knowledge and understanding of education from early childhood through postsecondary study. IES shares information on the condition and progress of education in the
Critical Actions for Recovery and the Role of Research in the Years Ahead
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recently issued a report providing guidance on the future of education research at the National Center for Education Research and the National Center for Special Education Research, two centers directed by…
Assessing Survey Satisficing: The Impact of Unmotivated Questionnaire Responding on Data Quality
The Impact of Unmotivated Questionnaire Responding on Data Quality
Education researchers use surveys widely. Yet critics question respondents’ ability to provide high-quality responses. As schools increasingly use student surveys to drive local policymaking, respondents’ (lack of) motivation to provide quality…