Caring for Individuals, Caring for Communities

How School Leaders Can Place An Equity-Oriented Lens on Social-Emotional Learning with Kate Kennedy by Kate Kennedy and Dr. Sheldon L. Eakins
March 2, 2020

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“How School Leaders Can Place an Equity-Oriented Lens on SEL,” an episode in Dr. Sheldon L. Eakins’s Leading Equity Podcast series, explores culturally responsive Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) with Kate Kennedy. Through her research, Kennedy found that although many schools have been working on making their curriculum and classroom libraries equitable and culturally relevant, there is not a lot of research or data about the inclusivity of social-emotional learning practices. While it is common to focus on the individual when integrating social-emotional learning into your classroom, Kennedy stresses that we should also strive to promote “a collective responsibility for the wellness and social justice of our communities,” and that this effort should be included in our definition of SEL. In addition to developing a common definition that includes community, Kennedy and Eakins review five more considerations when leading SEL initiatives. These include ensuring that practices are more inclusive, keeping the bigger picture in mind, reflecting on how schools are using tests and assessments to check learning, making care the core of SEL, and finally, keeping in mind that we are all still learning and that the work and research is just beginning to grow.