Social and Emotional Learning Resources

Promoting social and emotional learning (SEL) has become a major focus in schools and youth-serving organizations, as research continues to document the value and importance of such training for both academic and life success. The Resource Finder provides a variety of resources to help you learn about SEL, apply teaching methodologies and assess your efforts.

Learn: Schools have primarily focused on academic learning, but over the past few decades, a growing body of research has shown how efforts to foster social and emotional learning (SEL) in children and youth can make a real difference in children’s lives, both academically and socially, and both now and in the long term. LEARN about what SEL is, why it is important, and the evidence that supports the promotion of social and emotional competence in children and youth.

Apply: How do you foster SEL in children and youth? In this section of the site, we provide links to a broad range of programs, curricula, lesson plans, activities, books, videos and other resources for promoting social and emotional competencies in children and youth.

Assess: How do you evaluate the success of your efforts to foster SEL? In this section of the site, we focus on the importance of “evidence-based practices”, which involves utilizing programs, lessons and activities that have been shown to be effective as well as evaluating the effectiveness of your own efforts.

Mental Health Resources

By learning about mental health and well-being and supporting children who experience mental health difficulties, adults will be better able to create contexts and classrooms in which children feel safe seeking help when needed and in which biases and stigmas are reduced, enhancing children’s feelings of acceptance, belonging and well-being.

Learn: Many mental health disorders first emerge in childhood and adolescence, with an estimated 15-20% of North American children and youth experiencing significant mental health problems. In order to support these students, it is important for adults to foster mental well-being and mental health literacy in their classrooms and schools. This section provides resources for promoting mental health literacy, including learning about mental well-being as well as the mental health disorders that some children and youth faced.

Support: Teachers and adults who work with children and youth play a key role in supporting students who experience mental health difficulties. In this section, find out how you can SUPPORT children and youth by promoting mental well-being in the classroom, reducing the stigma associated with mental health difficulties, increasing students’ willingness to ask for help when needed, and providing accommodations and a context in which troubled youth can achieve optimally.

What is the link between SEL and mental health?