Leveraging Social-Emotional Learning for Black Students

For far too long, many children in urban communities have been left to navigate trauma with little to no understanding of how to manage their emotions (i.e., stress, shame, fear, anger, frustration, etc.) in a healthy and productive manner. Teaching children how to process, communicate, and regulate their emotions while simultaneously developing effective social skills offers numerous advantages for children and teenagers from all walks of life. This is especially true for Black and Brown children growing up exposed to poverty, criminalization, and violence in big cities like Chicago.

Moreover, the adverse effects that social media pose to the mental health of children and teenagers compound the need for the funding of both in-school and after-school programs where young people are taught early and often how to better process their emotions.

In 2003, the Illinois legislature passed the Children’s Mental Health Act, which required the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to develop Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) standards, which in turn required that all public-school districts within the state file an SEL policy with the ISBE. The following year, Illinois became the first state in the country to develop specific SEL standards for K-12 students. Two decades have passed since the development of such standards, but questions about their effectiveness still linger (Hoffman). One such question is this: Can SEL be leveraged to help students from historically marginalized communities — specifically Black students attending urban schools — improve their academic prowess and social-emotional intelligence? The answer to this question is yes, but only if SEL is taught with equity and if the relationship between teacher and child is positively reinforced within the classroom, which will be spelled out in greater detail in the following pages. But first, a brief background and definition of SEL is required.

Although many have never heard of the term SEL, and those who have believe it to be a relatively new concept of learning within elementary and high schools, it has actually been around for a while. One of its founders, Dr. James P. Comer — a Black psychiatrist at Yale School of Medicine — first introduced the concept of SEL in New Haven, Connecticut, in the 1960s, while designing an intervention project for impoverished Black students attending elementary schools (Lohmann 12). He hypothesized that “merely focusing on improving test scores alone would not result in a better school or increase academic achievement.” Instead, he advocated for the need to focus on the “whole child,” which includes their social-emotional learning capacities (Pappas). The traditional way of thinking about the emotional learning of children has always been understood to be the responsibility of parents alone. But in this day and age, many parents either lack the knowledge or time to adequately teach their children concepts of SEL, which in turn shifts the responsibility to teachers and schools to ensure that children receive proper guidance in this respect.

According to Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a nationally recognized organization leading the work in this space, SEL refers to the ways in which children and adults obtain and effectively apply the knowledge and skills necessary to develop healthy identities, understand and manage emotions, show empathy for others, establish and maintain healthy relationships, and develop responsible decision-making skills (McCall et al. 4). More specifically, SEL is structured around five core competencies: 1) self-awareness, which entails the ability to understand one’s own emotions — including what triggers them — and how they influence behavior; 2) self-management, which includes the ability to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behavior in different situations; 3) social-awareness, which includes the ability to understand the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures; 4) relationship skills, which (as previously mentioned) include the ability to establish and maintain healthy relationships; and 5) responsible decision-making, which encompasses the ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations, including the capacity to consider and evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being (Jagers et al. 8).

Based on the definition of SEL, most people will readily agree that SEL has great potential to enhance both the intellectual and emotional intelligence of children and young adults. Where the agreement usually ends, however, is on the way it should be taught across different racial groups (Jones et al. 11-12). The current structuring of SEL as color-blind is problematic because it limits the ability for SEL to be taught in ways that validate and appreciate the trauma and ways of knowing relevant to Black students within urban settings (Fergus and Gregory 126). For example, SEL programs such as “Strong Kids” have been shown to be effective for Black kids (Ryan et al.; McCall et al. 6). Moreover, the 2020 unrest from the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police compounds the need for SEL to be taught in a manner that speaks to the realities of Black students.

Despite the potential benefits that students stand to gain from SEL in schools, if the curriculum and method of teaching it don’t adequately reflect the culture and lived experiences of Black students, SEL will prove ineffective at improving their academic prowess and social-emotional intelligence (Legette et al. 284). The history of racial oppression committed against Black people has left a legacy of inequality within state, federal, and local administrative systems. This is especially true within the public school system. As a consequence, SEL is being taught and communicated to students of color in ways that fail to critically address existing power differentials across the spectrum of race, gender, and socioeconomic status (McCall et al. 5).

Take, for example, a Black student who experiences the trauma of racial profiling by the police in his community, and as a result develops a dislike for the police, and is triggered to experience fear and/or anger whenever he sees a police officer. How would this student benefit from a lesson about emotional regulation that focuses on how to cope with one’s emotions and discusses larger societal factors that negatively trigger him, if the lesson does not include how racial profiling and the criminalization of Black males affect behavior?

Simply put, if the curriculum doesn’t include lesson plans designed to critically analyze societal issues that Black students are likely to face and instead continues to ignore the racialized reality of Black people (by centering experiences in American life through the lens of whiteness or color-blindness), then SEL will prove ineffective at facilitating Black students’ growth and emotional development within the wider context of their environment. It will also hinder their ability to effectively manage their emotions when triggered by societal ills such as racial injustice, or other issues they will likely encounter within their immediate environment and society at large. It’s no secret that inequality has hindered the potential of SEL in urban schools. In 2018, the governor of the state of Illinois assembled the Emotional Intelligence Social and Emotional Learning Task Force, which issued their final report in March 2021. Among other things, they recommended that the state’s SEL standards be revised due to the inequities that exist within the educational system, social injustices, and the economic struggles that impact the citizens of that state (Illinois State Board of Education 11).

As the issue of inequity within the SEL curriculum and the wider educational system gets resolved, the dynamics of student-teacher relationships and the paternalistic fixation on student behavior within urban schools have to be addressed accordingly. In order for students within urban schools to adequately learn and effectively utilize the components of SEL, teachers will have to be retrained, not only in the equitable approach to SEL, but also in the humanizing approach to building positive relationships with their students (Legette et al. 280). Although the concept of a positive student-teacher relationship isn’t defined with any specificity, ideally, it should encompass open communication and warm interactions that demonstrate to the students that the teacher genuinely cares about their overall well-being and is invested in their future success (Bakadorva and Raufelder; Legette et al. 280). The lasting impact that the teachers can leave on the hearts and minds of their students is well known. An infamous example of this is narrated in The Autobiography of Malcolm X. It is an exchange between Malcolm and his eighth-grade English teacher Mr. Ostrowski:

“Malcolm, you ought to be thinking about a career. Have you given it much thought?”

“Well yes sir, I’ve been thinking I’d like to be a lawyer.”

Mr. Ostrowski looked surprised . . . kind of half smiled and said, “Malcolm, one of life’s first needs is for us to be realistic . . . We all like you here, you know that. But you’ve got to be realistic about being a [n-gger]. A lawyer — that’s no realistic goal for a [n-gger]” (X and Haley 43).

Conversations like this (substantively speaking), while representing a very dark period within American history, are emblematic of the dynamics between students and teachers. The teacher represents a source of guidance and a sounding board for dreams and aspirations of his/her students. The way in which the teacher is trained to carry out this responsibility reflects the dominant moral, cultural, political, educational, and social values of the larger society, which explains in part why Mr. Ostrowski saw nothing wrong or unprofessional with expressing such a blatantly racist sentiment to young Malcolm. The fact that the teacher felt free to say it isn’t as important as how it made Malcolm feel, and the lasting impact it had on Malcolm’s life. This incident illustrates the powerful, influential role that teachers play in the lives of students. To be clear, not all white teachers in urban schools are as blatantly racist as Mr. Ostrowski was, but their implicit racial biases may manifest through micro-aggressions in their grading practices, disciplinary decisions, differential perceptions, and academic placement evaluations and expectations of Black students (Legette et al. 280-81).

Currently, the method of teaching and training in the field of SEL varies from state to state (Legette et al. 281); undoubtedly, most are centered around a color-blind approach to teaching the five components of SEL (Fergus and Gregory 117). As mentioned before, such an approach ignores the reality of systemic racism, and how power and privilege sustain structural inequity. Instead of using a color-blind philosophy in the training of teachers in urban schools, an antiracist, problem-posing SEL training methodology must be developed. Such a methodology should encompass training teachers to have a critical understanding of the political, structural, and social dynamics of white supremacy, and how it functions within American society. Only then will they be able to fully recognize and problematize it within themselves and their method of teaching SEL to students within urban schools (Allen 223).

A number of scholars working to create a more equitable SEL experience for Black students attending urban schools have proposed recommendations for the social-emotional training (SET) of teachers assigned to teach within urban spaces. Among them are Kamilah B. Legette, Leoandra Onnie Rogers, and Chezare A. Warren. Their recommendations, as presented in “Humanizing Student-Teacher Relationships for Black Children,” are in line with the antiracist, problem-posing training methodology mentioned above. It’s important to note that empirical research is lacking to support the proposed SET of teachers within urban schools. That being said, their recommendations are tailored to encompass what the authors describe as an equity-informed Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (TSEL) model (Jagers et al. 3).

The proposed recommendations — a total of five — are partially quoted, and briefly discussed below:

1. Social Awareness

“Without an explicit focus on racism and oppression, training in the social awareness competency can perpetuate cultural deficit perceptions about individual students rather than an awareness of the systemic racism that affects the behavior of both Black and white students. Without this knowledge, teachers run the risk of inadvertently engaging in racially discriminatory practices, and thus reify inequality and oppressive racial hierarchies” (282-83).

A transformative, antiracist social-awareness training for teachers will equip them with insight into the entrenched racially discriminatory hardships that Black students must navigate both inside and outside of the classroom. Issues like racial profiling, criminalization of Black boys, racial stereotyping of Black girls, and socioeconomic discriminatory factors that impact urban communities all affect the emotional, mental, and physical health of Black students.

Furthermore, if teachers aren't trained to recognize and effectively communicate with students who may be struggling or demonstrating resistance in ways that may be perceived as rebellious or angry due to racial injustice, they run the risk of attributing these acts to some form of cultural deficit or social-emotional behavioral disorder (Lewis 259). For example, Monique Morris, founder of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute, describes how some teachers criticize Black girls for being loud or having an “attitude,” but don’t understand that this may signal their desire to be heard and seen in the context of gender and racial oppression (Morris).

2. Self-Awareness

“Teachers’ understanding of self-awareness must include learning the self in relation to structural racism — acknowledging one’s racial biases and understanding how racial biases shape emotions and behaviors towards Black students in the classroom” (283).

Self-awareness entails training teachers to critically challenge their conscious and unconscious beliefs and navigate stereotypes about Black students, which may cause them to make snap judgments about their cultural mannerisms — such as the way they speak, dress, and wear their hair (McCall et al. 4). Lack of self-awareness has proven to be a common trait among white educators who, through racial bias or cultural incompetence, end up unfairly scrutinizing Black students more so compared to their white counterparts. Such scrutiny often results in micro-aggressions, which studies show can have serious effects on a student’s mental health (Smith et al.).

3. Self-Management

“The self-management competency should include training that focuses on teachers learning to attend to and regulate their emotional reactions and perceptions in the classroom, which have been shown to be racially motivated” (283).

This competency speaks to the tendency of white teachers to interpret the behavior of Black students as aggressive, disruptive, or threatening in contrast to similar behavior by white students (Henry et al.), which often results in disproportionate disciplinary measures for Blacks. For example, national data from 2013–14 show that although only 19% of preschool children are Black, they represent 47% of preschool children who receive one or more out-of-school suspensions (Fergus and Gregory 119). Such disparity speaks volumes about the need for an antiracist problem-posing SET for teachers and administrators, such as principals, who authorize disproportionate suspensions of Black students.

4. Responsible Decision-Making

“From a transformative perspective, this SEL competency should include training that focuses on teachers learning to recognize how their racialized perceptions and emotions can shape their pedagogy and their disciplinary decisions . . .” (283).

The manner in which teachers relay information in SEL curriculum has a tremendous effect on the way students learn and utilize that information (McCall et al. 7). The same holds true for the manner in which teachers treat students. For instance, if a student is made to feel marginalized by their teacher due to perceived racial bias, the student will likely disconnect from the teacher and the curriculum altogether (Ruzek and Schenke). Often when this happens, friction between teacher and student results in disciplinary measures being enforced unfairly against Black students. If teachers were trained to identify and challenge racial biases that distort their perceptions and emotions, they would be less likely to unfairly scrutinize Black students, and more able to empathize with them and make informed decisions with their students, rather than about their students.

5. Relationship Skills

“Black students need their teachers to receive (SET) that includes how to build genuine, caring connections as well as how to demonstrate such care through advocacy for Black students — standing up for racial justice inside and outside of school . . .” (283).

As mentioned in the opening of the essay, for too long too many children in urban communities have been left to navigate trauma with little to no understanding of how to manage their emotions. For many, schools serve as a place of safety or temporary refuge from the violence, criminalization, poverty, etc. that exist in their communities. Thus, the development of trusting and healthy relationships between student and teacher is paramount if they are to benefit from an equity-informed SEL curriculum (Legette et al. 284). Equipping teachers with the skills necessary to make their students feel safe and seen — so they feel secure enough to open up about their emotional struggles — will not be possible if teachers don’t sincerely care about their students’ well-being. Since their Black students are engaged in an ongoing resistance against systemic racism, teachers must be among their most fervent advocates and allies in this resistance.

When all is said and done, the social-emotional learning of Black students in urban schools warrants an equity-minded, antiracist approach that tailors the curriculum to the lived realities of students’ racialized experiences. The paternalistic, zero-tolerance behavioral enforcement policies that ushered in the school-to-prison pipeline phenomenon have only served to compound emotional instability and trigger distrust and/or hostility from Black students. Thus, an equity-minded, antiracist SEL curriculum will necessitate an antiracist, problem-posing SET methodology for teachers. Both past and current circumstances dictate that we can’t have one without the other.

Works Cited

Ayala, I. Carmen, and Darren Reisberg. The Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Learning Task Force Final Report. Illinois State Board of Education, 2021

Gregory, Anne, and Edward Fergus. “Social and Emotional Learning and Equity in School Discipline.” The Future of Children, vol. 27, no. 1, Spring 2017, pp. 117-136.

Hoffman, Diane. "Reflecting on Social Emotional Learning: A Critical Perspective on Trends in the United States." Review of Educational Research, vol. 79, no. 2, June 2009.

Lohmann, Emily. Black Students' Perspectives of Social Emotional Learning. 2023. The School of Education and Health Sciences of the University of Dayton, Ed.S. thesis.

McCall, Chynna S., Monica E. Romero, Wenxi Yang, and Tanya Weigand. “A Call for Equity-Focused Social-Emotional Learning.” School Psychology Review, vol. 52, no. 5, 2022. pp 586–607. doi:10.1080/2372966X.2022.2093125

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction "Defining Social and Emotional Learning." n.d. https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/districts-schools-support/nc-social-emotional-learning/defining-social-and-emotional-learning

Pappas, Stephanie. "Can a Focus on SEL Help Students of Color Thrive? 4 Questions for Byron McClure." Monitor on Psychology, vol. 53, no. 7, October 2022, p. 35.

X, Malcolm and Alex Haley. The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The Random House Publishing Group, 1964.