Unboxing Social and Emotional Learning
We are a group of friends, educators, and scholars (but hopefully not the gate-keeping kind) who use podcasting to speak critically, honestly, and open-mindedly about the excitements and concerns we have about social and emotional learning (SEL). What happens when sociality and emotionality, two things that have always been a part of learning, become seen as measurable in a world of marketized and self-managed education? How can we bust SEL out of any boxed-in definitions, and how might we unpack its complexity? Join us in asking questions without easy answers and taking the time to peel back layers of education that are often left undisturbed.
Contact us at: unboxingselpodcast@gmail.com
Unboxing Social and Emotional Learning
SEL and the Social
Our last episode was all about the self, and now we turn to the social. SEL not only focuses on promoting “self” regulation and “self” awareness--it also emphasizes expressing emotion to others, recognizing emotion in others, and building relationships. As per usual, we ask a lot of questions: How are private aspects of the self measured, verbalized, and made social through SEL? Is it wrong to try to measure concepts like joy or wellbeing? Is it always important to name, discuss, and control how we are feeling, or are there other ways to relate to emotions that may not be as valued in current schooling practices? We are joined by a new group member, Sequoia Dance-Leighton, whose insights into wellness and wholeness are based more on a balancing act of “both/and” rather than a rigid “yes or no!”
Participants:
Sequoia Dance-Leighton, MA, Washington State University
Adishi Gupta, MA, University of British Columbia
Emma McMain, PhD, Washington State University
Tonje Molyneux, MEd, MA, University of British Columbia
Facilitator: Emma McMain
Editor: Marc Koch
References:
Soutter, M. (2020). Measuring joy: A social justice issue. Phi Delta Kappan, 101(8), 25–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721720923517
Vadeboncoeur, J. A., & Collie, R. J. (2013). Locating social and emotional learning in schooled environments: A Vygotskian perspective on learning as unified. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 20(3), 201–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2012.755205
Wegerif, R. (2008). Dialogic or dialectic? The significance of ontological assumptions in research on educational dialogue. British Educational Research Journal, 34(3), 347–361. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701532228