New Report on School Administrators’ Views on Social and Emotional Learning

As a follow-up to our 2013 research among teachers, Hart Research collaborated with Civic Enterprises and CASEL (the Collaborative for Social and Emotional Learning) on a groundbreaking new study of school principals, superintendents, and research and evaluation specialists to assess the role and value of developing students’ social and emotional skills in America’s schools. Through a combination of in-depth qualitative and quantitative research, we learned that administrators across the United States not only believe that SEL skills are indeed teachable, but they see a vital role for social and emotional learning in advancing students’ development, both in and out of the classroom. That said, actual implementation of SEL programming varies widely, and administrators tell us they need more guidance, training, and support in order to make comprehensive school- and district- wide implementation of SEL instruction a reality. Encouragingly, we learned that principals whose districts and states emphasize SEL see better outcomes for their students. By listening to the needs and concerns of administrators themselves, the report uncovers important and necessary steps we can take to make sure all our students are taught these critical skills.

Click here to read the full report.