Social and Emotional Learning

Social and emotional learning—the ability to successfully communicate, resolve conflict, interact with others, and manage emotional responses—can help students do better in the classroom and in life. Fostering social and emotional well-being is a key component in improving conditions for learning.
 

Our Work

Learn about SEL Solutions, our services in Social and Emotional Learning.

AIR's work in social and emotional learning focuses on promotion, prevention, early intervention, and treatment.

AIR conducts research and evaluation activities and provides technical assistance, consultation, and communication activities regarding the mental health of children and youth, and the social and emotional conditions for learning.

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David Osher

David Osher

Vice President and Institute Fellow
Image of Deborah Moroney

Deborah Moroney

Vice President
Related Topics
Education
Related Work
Image of teacher high-fiving a student

The Potential of Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) to Transform Education Systems

The Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) initiative began in 2016 with a shared commitment to a better and more equitable education for each and every child—and a hypothesis that a synthesis of the knowledge from multiple disciplines could provide critical insights and solutions to persistent and growing inequity and ...
Greta Colombi

Long Story Short: What Can Districts and Schools Do to Improve School Climate?

27 Apr 2017
School climate reflects how members of a school community experience their environment. Greta Colombi discusses how to identify and measure the many factors that affect conditions for learning and her work to improve school climate through the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments. ...

Content and Technical Expertise in Refugee and Migrant Initiatives

13 Apr 2017
AIR offers a broad range of services in areas that support our human rights and refugee initiatives. We are committed to applying and producing the best evidence and the highest quality work. Our quality assurance process encompasses all stages of a project, from research design to evidence-based conclusions and recommendations, ...

The Intersection of School Climate and Social and Emotional Development

18 Feb 2017
Two related strands of research—social and emotional learning and school climate—provide guidance on how to support students in an equitable, collaborative, and healthy environment. This paper shares propositions from a project with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation about how to create healthy, safe, nurturing, and developmentally supportive schools. ...

It’s (Not) Academic! Social-Emotional Learning

03 Feb 2017
The Communities for Just Schools Fund's Allison R. Brown speaks with David Osher, vice president and Institute Fellow at AIR, about social-emotional learning and its impact on students and teachers alike over the years.

California School Safety Toolkit

19 Jan 2017
Schools that are safe create conditions for learning and well-being. Drawing on research and best practices, the California School Safety Toolkit allows any school or district to assess its safety system. Districts and schools can use the toolkit to improve how schools use data, apply best practices in school safety, ...

I3 BARR Validation Study Impact Findings: Cohorts 1 and 2

02 Jan 2017
The Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model is a comprehensive, strength-based approach to education that aims to improve achievement for all students by improving a school’s effectiveness at building relationships, leveraging real-time student data, and capitalizing on the strengths of each student. This report provides findings from the first two ...

Stronger, Smarter, Bolder: Girls Take the Lead

Girls and young women face a variety of obstacles to physical and socioeconomic well-being, inequity in educational opportunities, and tend to be discouraged from speaking up for themselves and others. AIR evaluated Girls Inc., founded in 1864, which provides comprehensive, research-based programs and activities for girls at sites across the ...

Science of Learning and Development: A Synthesis

01 Jan 2017
Human development can be influenced by a myriad of factors that include individual, biological, contextual, cultural, and historical factors. By synthesizing research across multiple disciples, it is possible to develop new approaches aimed at solving chronic learning and social problems experienced by children and youth. ...

Mapping the National AfterSchool Association Core Competencies with Social and Emotional Learning Practices

National AfterSchool Association survey findings suggest that, while organizations and programs value social and emotional learning and many professionals implement SEL practice, many do not feel knowledgeable talking about SEL. NAA and AIR developed SEL to the Core: Building from Foundational Youth Development to Support Social and Emotional Learning as ...