socioemotional
education
Since we are born, we develop social and emotional skills. We learn with our families, at school, at work and in different situations to communicate, to make friends, to work in groups, to have empathy, to solve problems, to understand what we feel and how to act, to have perseverance, among others things.
Social and emotional skills encompass emotional, cognitive and behavioral variables that, like any other, can be learned throughout life through formal and informal processes of research and through interactions with others, and are important aspects for a healthy development of human beings.
The relevance of developing each skill will depend on each culture, on what is more or less valued and desirable for social coexistence. Social-emotional skills are not innate and fixed. These are skills we can and should learn and develop, they are skills we can practice, and they are skills we can teach. The development of these skills has an impact on each individual's personal and professional life, as well as on society as a whole.
"Socially skilled people or people with social competence
tend to present personal and professional relationships
that are more productive, satisfying and lasting,
in addition to greater physical and mental well-being"
Del Prette and Del Prette, 2004
what is it?
history
Many social and emotional skills have been identified as fundamental to education since the beginning of the 20th century by leading authors in the field of psychology and education, such as Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934), Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and David Ausubel (1918-2008). The relationship between learning and certain behaviors has been studied by these and other authors, with curiosity, the relationship with others and with the world, social interaction and the ability to define objectives and goals being some examples.
However, it was in the 1990s that the concept of socio-emotional education began to be structured based on the recognition of the importance of the ability to identify, process and deal with one's own emotions and feelings, as well as identifying the feelings and emotions of other people. The publication of the book Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman, was one of the milestones of this decade and contributed to the greater interest in this topic and to the multiplication of studies and research in the fields of psychology, neuroscience and education on the influence of social and emotional skills on the professional and academic success of individuals, as well as preventive measures against various aggressive behaviors. Scientific evidence of the relationship between socio-emotional well-being and the development of cognitive ability has stimulated what is now called socio-emotional education or learning, that is, educating for the development of social and emotional skills.
Goleman (1995), based on neuroscience, points out that, as the individual grows, neural circuits are sculpted, which makes it difficult, in a way, to receive emotional knowledge and, for this reason, the author considers the acquisition of beneficial emotional habits during childhood crucial. For Goleman, since school is an important part of childhood, it should also focus on emotional education or, in the words of Goleman (2005, p.49), “school becomes education in life skills”.
Other publications, also launched in the 1990s, such as the Report of the International Commission on Education for the 21st Century, of UNESCO, coordinated by Jacques Delors, which gave rise to the book “Education, a treasure to be discovered” and “The seven necessary knowledges for the education of the future”, by Edgar Morin, are references in the debate on the integral development of human beings and also played an important role in strengthening the idea of developing socio-emotional skills in school institutions as important, aiming at the preparation of students( as) for life.
SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION
CASEL: (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning)
The intentional and planned social and emotional development, in addition to the cognitive aspect, is being increasingly mentioned in the field of education as part of an integral and human formation of students. This is a worldwide movement and, following this trend, in Brazil, the National Common Curricular Base presents socio-emotional competences among the 10 general competences that must be developed, alongside other curricular components, in Brazilian education.
There is no consensus on what the main skills or competences are that should be developed in children and adolescents, with the culture, values and attitudes that are valued in each society determining a greater or lesser emphasis on the development of each skill.
The reference approach for the development of socio-emotional skills used in education and which we are inspired by is CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning). CASEL is an international non-profit organization founded in 1994 and headquartered in Chicago, United States, which aims to research the impact and promote the practice of socio-emotional education in school settings. It is one of the leading organizations responsible for advancing the research and practice of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in education, assisting in the dissemination of social and emotional skills development programs. To that end, CASEL organizes intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive skills into five domains.
Today, socio-emotional education in schools includes contemplates the development of individuals' social and emotional skills, which happens intentionally in educational institutions. In the school context, socio-emotional teaching must be integrated into all curricular components, forming part of daily and pedagogical activities, without becoming a separate kind of content.
IMPACT
Socio-emotional development in the school environment has positive impacts on learning, on the integral development of students, on promoting equality and on cultural change.
Studies have proven that socio-emotional education has a positive impact on students' learning ability. Knowing how to deal with frustration and anxiety, for example, contribute to better results in curricular subjects.
In addition to the impact on learning abilities, socio-emotional development has an influence on the permanence of students in school and on the direct relationship with the realization of life projects, such as the continuity of studies after basic education, employability and other variables linked to the person's well-being, such as health and interpersonal relationships.
The development of the socio-emotional dimension, therefore, is important for the integral development of students and prepares them for life, to understand differences, to be critical, participative, to know how to make ethical decisions, to build their life projects and enter the world of work. These skills are fundamental for the reduction of social inequalities and contribute to cultural change, stimulating citizen attitudes and contributing to a culture of peace.
“More responsible, focused and organized students learn in a school year about a third more mathematics than peers who are less developed at these skills.
“In Portuguese, the effects are similar, more open and protagonist student see their learning boosted by a third.”
benefits
Improved school learning
Lowe school dropout
Bullying Prevention
Improvement in relationships
Improvement in creativity
Healthier emotional life
Decrease
of emotional illnesses
More conscious decision making
Lower indeces
of violence
Less likelihood of offending
Greater likelihood of futere employability and income
