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Social and Emotional Learning and Resilience Education

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Health and Education Interdependence

Abstract

This chapter examines the contribution that evidence-informed Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs can make to the well-being of school staff and students and discusses enablers of effective pedagogical design and implementation. A review of the literature identifies that theoretically-informed SEL programs, taught with high quality and fidelity, can help reduce risk-taking behaviours, such as cigarette, alcohol and other drug use, tackle distress, strengthen connectedness to school and improve social relationships among students. Participating in SEL programs can also lead to improved academic performance. Furthermore, effective SEL programs can benefit teacher well-being, lead to stronger teacher-student connectedness and enhance teachers’ use of student-centred pedagogies. Effective SEL programs use collaborative learning strategies to foster communication and problem-solving skills, while also explicitly developing emotional, cognitive and social capacities. Given that pedagogical design is as important as content, this chapter offers explicit examples of ways in which the authors have translated theory to practice in the design of learning activities. These examples, drawn from open-access social, emotional and relational education programs, illustrate ways in which the learning activities support the objectives of the program and highlight the importance of inclusive practices for cultural attuning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Helen Cahill & Babak Dadvand

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  1. Helen Cahill
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  2. Babak Dadvand
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Correspondence to Helen Cahill .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Perth Psychological Services, Perth, Australia

    Richard Midford

  2. School of Education, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT, Australia

    Georgie Nutton

  3. Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia

    Brendon Hyndman

  4. Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia

    Sven Silburn

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Cahill, H., Dadvand, B. (2020). Social and Emotional Learning and Resilience Education. In: Midford, R., Nutton, G., Hyndman, B., Silburn, S. (eds) Health and Education Interdependence. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3959-6_11

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