Chapter 4

Benefits of TSEL Programming in Schools

All children have within them the potential to be great kids. It's our job to create a great world where this potential can flourish

—Stanley Greenspan, MD

An effective twenty-first-century school that focuses on developing the whole student to become career and college ready will invest in TSEL (transformative social emotional learning) for all students. There are significant benefits for students, faculty, administrators, community members, and overall school performance when schools implement TSEL curriculum and school practices are embedded with TSEL. TSEL cannot be implemented by the school counselor or classroom teacher alone but must be fully supported and integrated by the entire school.

DATA, DATA, DATA

Data outcomes drive all school programs. Campus improvement committees meet every year to adapt goals based on an accumulation of data from the previous year. TSEL implementation outcomes should be no different. Often, social emotional skill-building is seen as a waste of time because it is seemingly unmeasurable. However, the research heavily supports TSEL contributions to significant academic gains, improved social and emotional skills, and attitudes. A major meta-analysis of 213 school-based TSEL programs involving 270,034 kindergartens through twelfth-grade students demonstrated an undeniable correlation between increased school success and TSEL integration. The study found a 9% increase in prosocial behavior and positive attitudes and a 9% reduction in problem behaviors and occurrences of emotional distress. While this data is impressive and increases the overall positive climate of schools, it does not justify a considerable overhaul in the way a school functions. The biggest driver in schoolwide, systemic change is based on academic achievement. When TSEL programming can affect test scores and academic growth, administrators are eager to listen and learn about how their campus can benefit from TSEL initiatives. Alarmingly, the meta-analysis of TSEL-integrated schools found an 11% increase in academic achievement on standardized tests. Increased academic achievement proves to school leaders that TSEL is not another fad to add to the myriad of educational strategies. Instead, it shows that TSEL implementation helps students achieve at higher levels and creates equity so all students can succeed. When schools take the time to invest in the whole student through TSEL, students are more likely to invest in their education and will increase achievement (Durlak et al. 2011).

The resistance to TSEL integration is that it is just another thing to add to the plate of overloaded educators. The fact is that there is not enough time or resources, and educators are overworked and underpaid. When TSEL programming is offered as just another tool in the tool belt of five million tools, teachers will feel overwhelmed and will not know where to begin. Because of this, the outcome data will not be significant. The fact that social emotional skill-building is as essential as academics must be a value the entire school adopts. The mindset must change from a traditional, academically based model to a model where TSEL integration is seamlessly woven through classroom curriculum, values, expectations, and climate of the whole school. If a school needs to decrease office referrals, increase student achievement, increase positive attitudes, and increase prosocial behavior, the research shows that investment in the social emotional health of students can have a large impact and lead to the most substantial gains.

THRIVING ADULTS

Effective schoolwide TSEL integration can help students become thriving adults. Every school district and the departments within the school district create vision statements that look far beyond the data of the current school year. Educators are focused on students' reaching their potential and becoming successful adults who impact the world. If the impact of an educational entity is lifelong, the school district must focus on TSEL and its effects on emotional intelligence. The meta-analysis of 213 schools examined five primary social and emotional skills: open-mindedness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, extraversion, and agreeableness. The study found that the lack of these skills correlated with adverse outcomes such as poor health, an increased chance of unemployment, divorce, and criminal behavior. School systems should have a long-term goal of helping students reach their full potential as adults and care about the impact they will have on society. Learning social and emotional skills helps students have the tools it takes to reach goals and become thriving adults who care about bettering their community.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS KEY TO SUCCESS

Researchers have found that Emotional Quotient (EQ) is as or sometimes more important than Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in determining professional and academic success (Dirgas 2018). Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer coined the term "Emotional Intelligence" in 1990, and there is an increasing amount of research about the impact EQ has on success. Today, there are a plethora of definitions of emotional intelligence. Psychologist Daniel Goleman defines it in four components: self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and skilled relationship (Durlak et al. 2011).

Self-awareness is when an individual can identify emotions and know what they are feeling and why they are feeling it. It is the ability to assess emotional feelings and name them. It also contributes to self-esteem. Students who lack social awareness may not make friends easily and may lack perseverance. They may lose their sense of belonging and significance at school and may seem apathetic. When a school starts teaching students at a very young age to be self-aware, they are helping the students understand how they fit into the world around them and are important in that world. Students who feel seen will see school as a place where they can belong and thrive.

Self-management is when an individual can regulate distressing emotions and control actions. It is the ability to understand that every emotion has a purpose. It is the ability to recognize that we must think before we act on an emotional feeling and adapt to meet our needs to help control our behavior. A student who lacks self-management may be labeled as ADHD or impulsive. They are often sent out of the classroom for disciplinary action and miss valuable instruction. When a student has an emotional outburst, the protector part of the brain, the amygdala, is activated, and the prefrontal cortex, the learning and focus center of the brain, cannot fully engage. Students who lack emotional regulation have not learned to identify their emotions. They can learn techniques to get in control and become calm so that their prefrontal cortex can take over. When students can identify emotions and use strategies to calm their amygdala and re-engage their prefrontal cortex, they stay in class for instruction and can learn more effectively. They are also able to stop and think before making a decision. Self-management EQ also affects an individual's ability to take the initiative and have the perseverance to achieve. When students have a sense of control, they are more willing to take risks and will overcome obstacles because they will not see challenges as defeat. A school that recognizes that teaching emotional skills is just as crucial as math will see these misunderstood students excel.

Social awareness or empathy is knowing and understanding what others are feeling and reflecting on the impact on others when making decisions. When people possess this skill, they have an awareness of the effect on the whole group and not just personal satisfaction. When a student lacks empathy, the entire classroom can suffer because the actions of the student might disrupt learning or hurt others. One of the main goals of a classroom teacher is to have a safe learning environment for all students. When a student does not feel safe, the child is not able to learn at optimal levels. A positive classroom environment embodies students who have a sense of belonging, the trust of others, and feel encouraged to tackle challenges, take risks, and ask questions. Often, classroom teachers will say that one student can disrupt their entire classroom's aura. Often a student who lacks respect and care for others also lacks the skill of understanding and sharing the feelings of others. Focusing on teaching this skill is just as important as teaching children phonics before reading. Students will not learn to interact in groups or create meaningful relationships until they can empathize. If a teacher invests in teaching the skill of empathy, his or her classroom will be a safe and positive environment for students to grow and learn.

Relationship management or skilled relationship building is weaving self-awareness, self-management, and empathy together. It is the ability to communicate, build connections, and work together. Humans desire connection with others, which leads to a higher purpose. When students can use emotional intelligence to build relationships at school by working and playing together, they become more invested and engaged in learning and care about the school's success. They will work to make the school a positive, productive learning environment.

Investing in EQ is beneficial not only for the everyday function and success of the school but also way beyond a student's school years. It recognizes that people who have high EQs are visionary leaders who influence and develop others and effect change in our world. Emotional intelligence was named as one of the top ten employment skills needed for 2020 by the World Economic Forum. It is one of the critical components of a school system and used as a measure of college and career readiness. To prepare students for our evolving world, schools must develop emotional intelligence in all students through schoolwide TSEL.

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE CHANGING WORKFORCE

In today's world, people change jobs five to seven times in their lifetimes. The expertise one needs for career success is not in career-specific skills but emotional intelligence skills. Employers are looking for effective leaders and creative visionaries. They recruit individuals who have a high EQ and can rally others for a cause. Our world is changing, and job opportunities look very different than they did in the twentieth century. Schools must equip students for success by teaching social skills and emotional regulation in our ever-changing economy.

Understanding the development of left- and right-brain thinking and how these people fit into the future economy is essential for a school. A person who is left-brain dominant thinks analytically and methodically. A person who is a right-brain dominant may be more creative and artistic. In the informational era, which began in the 1970s, students were encouraged to use left-brain skills to prepare for success in the workforce. School curriculum was developed to focus on preparing individuals for computer programming, accounting, and other jobs that catered to the strengths of left-brain individuals. With advancements in technology, fewer and fewer jobs are purely left-brained. A computer can compute data without errors at a fraction of the time a human brain can compute. Jobs that paved the way for left-brained dominant thinkers are being taken over by computer systems. In his book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Daniel Pink writes about career success in the twenty-first century. He wrote that the future belongs to the people who have right-brain qualities. Right-brain qualities can include creativity, empathy, and innovative thinking. People who can connect with others and create art are in higher demand in this century. A school system that primarily focuses on developing left-brain skills is not doing justice to its students.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

The 2011 meta-analysis from 213 TSEL-integrated schools proved to achieve significantly higher levels of achievement as compared to schools without TSEL programming. They are highly effective because experts in TSEL understand the brain and the impact our emotions play on focus and learning. A student's prefrontal cortex, which is still developing through young adulthood, is the main center for learning and focus. If a student's emotions are not regulated, the prefrontal cortex cannot function properly. Many times, teachers are focused on achievement and data-based results and do not feel as though they have time to invest in emotional regulation activities such as breathing and mindfulness. When teachers understand that teaching students to regulate their emotions is the key to engagement and learning, they learn that taking time out to invest in a two-minute breathing activity makes their lessons more effective. A meta-analysis of 213 schools found that academic achievement was 11% higher in schools that incorporated TSEL.

ENGAGING STUDENTS

Students often lack social emotional skills and become less engaged in school as they progress from elementary to middle and middle to high school. Some predict that the lack of school engagement is correlated to an increase in technology usage. On average, a child under the age of eight spends over two hours on a screen. Children ages eight to twelve spend four and a half hours on electronics (Rideout 2016). The lack of engagement and connection to school negatively affects their academic achievement, behavior, and overall health. Engaging students in the curriculum for an eight-hour school day seems nearly impossible because their brains are used to constant stimulation from electronics. For students to invest in school and in their learning, they must have a reason to invest. TSEL asks educators to invest in the student's heart. When a student's heart is engaged, the student's mind will engage. TSEL helps the students build relationships and provides an opportunity for teachers to get to know their students on a deeper level. Once the student invests in the relationship and feels a connection, the student starts to engage in the subject. Every student desires significance and purpose. A school centered around TSEL provides a safe place for students to learn this skill.

ACHIEVEMENT GAPS

The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that research shows that developing TSEL skills in kindergarten students can have long-term academic benefits on students' reading and vocabulary. This suggests that TSEL may assist in closing the achievement gaps (OECD 2015). The achievement gap shows up in grades, standardized tests, dropout rates, and college attendance. In the United States, there are significant gaps between subpopulations, and it is a school's obligation to help close the gaps so that opportunities are more equitable for all students. Taking time to teach social emotional skills to every student from an early age helps develop skills such as resiliency and problem-solving. As a student gets older and schoolwork gets more challenging, these skills prove crucial in a student's school achievements.

UNDERPERFORMING AND AT-RISK STUDENTS

Federal law requires all school districts to identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school. It is federally mandated that at-risk students are monitored throughout their school career, and interventions are put in place to prevent school dropouts. When a campus is effectively incorporating TSEL programming, students learn self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. These skills are crucial in students' perseverance to work for their diploma, especially amid obstacles that make the student at risk (housing insecure, pregnancy, failing state assessments, and more). When students are taught how to get through life's challenges with perseverance, they do not put limits on their goals.

Schools that invest in TSEL programming help underperforming students push through and overcome obstacles to achieve goals. Many school districts track the progress a student is making from year to year. If a student fails to meet their grade-level standards, but makes growth from the previous year, the student's teacher feels a sense of accomplishment because the student is making progress. Teachers become perplexed when a student does not make progress. It is perplexing because the student is receiving the same instruction as the other students. Often the lack of growth cannot be explained by outside factors but could be internal obstacles such as emotional health. When schools equip students to manage stress and regulate emotions, they grow in their self-management and self-awareness and are more likely to focus on academic growth. It is very difficult for a teacher to teach a student's mind if they have not tapped into the student's heart. Once the teacher can tap into the issues of the heart, the student is able to open up to learning and will make academic progress.

BEHAVIORAL MANAGEMENT

Schools that fully embrace TSEL in all areas will see a decrease in student office referrals and an increase in teacher classroom management skills. When teachers understand how the brain works and have a common language about emotions to communicate with students, teachers can face behavioral challenges the same way they would face an academic challenge: through interventions that target the underdeveloped skill. When a teacher integrates fully in TSEL, they understand that beneath the surface of an outburst is a cry for help or that shutting down on an assignment could be the amygdala's fight-flight-freeze response trying to protect the student. When a teacher understands this, they look at challenging behaviors as opportunities for growth and learning.

Schools that incorporate TSEL acknowledge that the brain is still growing and developing. They acknowledge just like academic knowledge, a student's emotional intelligence is in the prime of development, and there is an exciting opportunity for the brain to adapt and grow through learning experiences. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to shape itself according to experience. It is similar to the concept of language development in early childhood. The earlier exposure a child has to another language, the more likely the child is to learn this language. Even if a student grows up with adverse childhood experiences, understanding the brain's ability to adapt and change builds hope in the educator that the brain can be rewired and make new, healthy connections. It helps an educator understand that a student is not "bad" but still learning and often having to relearn and practice newly learned skills. Traditionally, schools have taken the approach of consequence-based discipline for behavioral challenges. If a student yells out in class, the student is reprimanded and often receives a consequence. This approach shuts down students and impedes the development of their EQ. Furthermore, it is exhausting for the teacher to constantly reprimand and punish. TSEL-integrated schools take on a teaching-learning approach to changing behavior. If a student yells out, the student can have a redo to try the expected behavior again. The teacher positively walks the student through an appropriate way to get attention. The student is not reprimanded but taught the skill and is given the opportunity to practice.

If teachers know that a student's emotional intelligence is still developing in the brain, they are more likely to treat behaviors with the same approach as academics. Some students need interventions to learn an academic concept, while others naturally grasp the information. This changes from subject to subject. The same is true of emotional intelligence. Some students might have angry outbursts when someone bumps into them, while other students may have no outward reaction. Another student might freeze when overwhelmed by an assignment. When a student has unexpected behavior, instead of getting angry at the student for not knowing better and imposing discipline, the teacher takes this as a teaching opportunity to help develop emotional intelligence in the brain.

TEACHER RETENTION

Eight percent of the teachers are leaving their education career every year. The United States constantly has teacher shortages and low retention rates. Teachers are overwhelmed by unreasonable academic expectations and have had little to no resources to achieve these unrealistic expectations. Teachers juggle the responsibility of differentiating for every student's needs while neglecting their own and cannot live a health-balanced life while teaching. If a school would focus less on the academic data, which will take care of itself, and more on implementing time for teachers to build relationships and foster gratitude and empathy in their classroom, the teacher might feel less overwhelmed and more purpose in a future job. They might be able to practice the art of balance. When a teacher is able to enjoy the freedom that comes with permission to have a classroom that focuses on a student's heart, the teacher may decide the impossible job of teaching is worth it.

Response to intervention is mandated for all public schools to ensure all students have what they need to be successful. Often, behavioral responses to intervention include creating break cards, incentive plans, creating calming areas, using visuals such as a five-point scale for identifying emotions, and using breathing cards to calm down and center. These self-regulation strategies seem taxing if they are offered as extra accommodations for a specific student rather than an exciting, everyday strategy for all students. If teachers are implementing these practices in their classroom for the entire class, not only will it help the climate of the whole classroom, teachers will spend less time in meetings responding to behavioral concerns.

When a teacher is juggling three different behavior plans and trying to modify and accommodate all the needs in the classroom, it can become overwhelming, and classroom management can fall by the wayside. If a teacher uses TSEL strategies in the classroom, has a calming area for all students, and uses breathing techniques to focus students, this becomes standard practice in the classroom, and every student will benefit. Not only does it become more natural for the teacher to manage the class but also the students start to take ownership and begin managing themselves.

SIMPLE IMPLEMENTATION

The implementation of TSEL can be simple. There are some very practical strategies that every single classroom teacher can implement with ease if granted permission from their administrator. It is simple ideas like having time for a group circle to check-in on students or creating a gratitude jar for the class. It includes things that seem like "fluff" but are the cornerstone of student achievement. For most teachers, implementing these things does not seem like work, but investment into something greater because it is an investment in the student. A district does not need to spend thousands of dollars on a new curriculum and software to derive data. The administrators simply need to grant permission for teachers to take the time to care about their students as whole beings.

SCHOOL CLIMATE

Affecting the climate of a campus can lead to significant, systemic changes for the school. School climate is one of the leading factors in determining student learning and achievement. School climate is defined as "the quality and character of the school" (Cohen et al. 2009, 182). A positive school climate can add value to students' achievement and directly affect their motivation to work hard. Teaching and learning in a school that has a favorable climate can be transformative. Emotional education extends far beyond the classroom and can help build a positive school climate for students, teachers, and support staff.

Implementing change in the classroom alone is not enough to affect the climate of the school. If students are asked about their favorite part of the day, a large percentage will say recess or lunch. These areas are just as crucial in the social emotional development of students. In this unstructured time, students have conflicts, make friends, face problem-solving, and have to adapt. All school personnel should be equipped with the same emotional identification language and approach to regulation as a classroom teacher. They need to know tools that help the student regulate and control actions in a way that teaches and gives the student control.

CONCLUSION

The future of education rides on TSEL. The benefits of school success and student growth and development are profound. The outcome data of schools that have implemented TSEL programs show only positive results in school climate and culture and prove that taking the time to invest in the whole student through content, social skills, and emotional skills, leads to higher levels of achievement. More important, through TSEL, students are equipped to face the world with the skills they need to succeed. Schools that focus on emotional intelligence as equal in importance to academic knowledge recognize that the economy is changing and help students prepare for what it will take to thrive. If a school district strives to become better at serving their students, they will invest in the heart of the student through TSEL.

REFERENCES

Cohen, Jonathan, et al. 2009. "Assessing School Climate." Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review 74 (4): 45–48.

Drigas, Athanasios, and Chara Papoutsi. 2018. "A New Layered Model on Emotional Intelligence." Behavioral Sciences 8 (5): 45.

Durlak, Joseph A., et al. 2011. "The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions." Child Development 82 (1): 405–432.

OECD. 2015. "Skills That Foster Lifetime Success." Skills for Social Progress OECD Skills Studies, 45–72.

Rideout, Vicky. 2016. "Measuring Time Spent with Media: The Common Sense Census of Media Use by US 8- to 18-Year-Olds." Journal of Children and Media 10 (1): 138–144.