The success of programs that teach social and emotional learning skills to students often depends on how well teachers understand and manage their own emotions, as well as their relationship with students and the school environment.
A key factor to the success of social and emotional learning programs is the motivation of both students and teachers.
Dr James N. Kirby, Dr Chase Sherwell, Dr Sasha Lynn and Dylan Moloney-Gibb from The University of Queensland’s Compassionate Mind Research Group and Learning Lab give a theoretical outline of how compassionate principles can be applied as a motivational framework to support the development of social and emotional learning in their new article published in the Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools.
Relating to others and ourselves with a compassionate mindset may help regulate emotional experiences and improve the well-being of both students and staff. Researchers suggests different ways to integrate compassion into classrooms, such as creating a positive classroom environment with a compassionate approach and adapting activities from compassion-focused therapy.
The next step is to evaluate the success of these approaches in practice, make compassion a priority for everyone in the school community, and foster a truly embedded practice of social emotional learning.
