Equity Resources

CASEL Resources

Article: Transformative Social and Emotional Learning: In Pursuit of Educational Equity and Excellence 2021 publication describes CASEL’s revised definition of SEL and our focus on identity, agency, belonging, collaborative problem solving, and curiosity.

Report: Emerging Insights on Advancing Social and Emotional Learning as a Lever for Equity and Excellence This report summarizes five emerging insights based on the efforts of school districts in CASEL’s Equity Work Group (EWG).

Brief: Equity & Social and Emotional Learning: A Cultural Analysis This brief examines how CASEL’s core SEL competencies reflect issues of equity, including programs and practices that support the development of the competencies to promote educational equity. Useful background on the research about equity and its connection to SEL.

Blog post: Why We Can’t Have Social and Emotional Learning Without Equity A blog post by CASEL Vice President of Research Robert J. Jagers about the importance of equity and the intersection of equity in CASEL’s five core competencies.

Worksheet: Guiding Questions for Educators: Promote Equity Using SEL in your School and in your District.  These worksheets help educators explore the CASEL core competencies through an equity lens.

Worksheet: SEL and Equity: Beliefs and Actions This worksheet is intended to promote reflection on beliefs and actions that shape how your district leverages SEL to advance educational equity.

Webinar: Series on SEL as a Lever for Equity In summer 2020, CASEL hosted a series of webinars centering SEL as a lever for equity, including topics of cultivating and communicating commitment, adult SEL, elevating student voice, partnerships with families and communities, and policy and data.

Webinar: Leveraging SEL to Promote Equity—What Educators Need to Know and Do Equity in education requires a physically and emotionally safe and positive school climate for all students. Building strong social and emotional competencies, for both teachers and students, can play a key role in ensuring education equity. CASEL’s 2018 February webinar shares some of the ways in which CASEL is advancing work on equity and SEL.

Resources from Other Organizations

National Equity Project: Social & Emotional Learning and Equity This webpage provides additional discussion around how SEL can be used as a lever for equity.

Aspen Institute: Pursuing Social and Emotional Development Through a Racial Equity Lens and 5 Strategies for System Leaders to Take Action This resource offers potential ideas and strategies for system leaders to employ SEL as a way to encourage equity throughout a system.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Applying an Equity Lens to Social, Emotional, and Academic Development This paper describes barriers that prevent equitable access to SEL and identifies opportunities to increase access.

Education Week: Social Emotional Learning Won’t Happen without a Culturally Relevant Start Daryl C. Howard explains why educators must understand students culturally before helping them learn new social skills and behaviors, from Education Week.

American Institutes for Research and Move this World: Building Equitable, Safe, and Supportive Schools This white paper presents strategies for schools and districts to create equitable learning environments.

U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences: Integrating a Focus on Equity into Social and Emotional Learning This brief offers strategies for grounding SEL programming in equity.