Social emotional learning (SEL)

HomeSchool resourcesSocial emotional learning (SEL)
type here...
School
Thought leadership
Early childhood

Social emotional learning (SEL)

HomeSchool resourcesSocial emotional learning (SEL)

Topic summary

An extensive body of research demonstrates the importance of social emotional learning to academic and later life success.

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) describes the mindsets, skills, attitudes, and feelings that help students succeed in school, career, and life, such as growth mindset, grit, and sense of belonging at school.In recent years, SEL has experienced rapid expansion in education, taking on different forms and names across various school contexts. Some of these names include: soft skills, character education, 21st-century skills, and non-cognitive skills. While often used interchangeably, these terms have nuanced meaning and unique underlying components. At its most basic, SEL incoproates three pillars: social connectedness, motivation, and self-regulation.

Students learn in inherently social ways, and practice valuable skills, such as critical thinking and creativity, in social contexts. Furthermore,social-emotional skills have been closely linked to positive academic, professional and personal outcomes.

Social and Emotional learning has been the subject of a large volume of research over the past few decades. There is a growing evidence base confirming the importance of SEL to student learning. However, the research is challenged by the variety of definitions, frameworks and scales for measuring SEL. Currently there is not broad consistency in how to measure SEL, and there is continuing contention as to the ‘teachability’ of SEL.

Interweaving into daily practice not something separate.  skills that are taught within the context of a teacher-student relationship are much more memorable. Students who are taught strategies in this way are more likely to adopt these practices and use them in their own relationships. 

  • How are we, as a school, thinking about SEL?
  • How are we building SEL across different year levels, subjects and contexts?
  • How am I measuring SEL?
  • How are we creating an organisational culture where we discuss and collectively build SEL?

Research reviews

An introduction to social emotional learning

What is social emotional learning, why it is important and how to integrate it into teaching and learning in schools.

The brain, emotions, and learning

An introduction to role of the emotions in the cognitive process of learning.

Why teach skills for learning?

Key non-cognitive skills and why they are important to learning.

Sample safety or de-escalation plan

An example of a de-escalation plan designed to support students to emotionally self-regulate at school.

Understanding and supporting emotional self-regulation at school

Understanding and supporting emotional self-regulation at school: Why some students may find it difficult to regulate their emotions at school, and what to do to support them.

An introduction to growth mindset

A summary of the research into growth mindset and why it is important for learning

Strategies for helping students build their resilience

A set of practical strategies designed to help students develop resilience in their learning.

An introduction to resilience in educational settings

The importance of resilience to student learning and success, and tips for building students' resilience.

Webinars

Understanding emotional regulation and dysregulation

Dr Tracy Stewart explores what is meant by emotional regulation and discuss practical strategies that teachers can use to support emotion regulation skills in the classroom. She will also discuss her new, not yet published, research, in which she is working together with teachers to co-develop emotion regulation skills that are embedded directly into classroom practice.

Understanding your students’ socio-emotional learning

Dr Heidi Leeson (Monocle Education) discusses social-emotional learning (SEL) and share her latest research on the most impactful areas of SEL in regard to academic performance and the developmental stages of students

Enabling student wellbeing and social-emotional learning

The wellbeing of our rangatahi is a notable priority of the New Zealand Government. Yet, New Zealand ranks 35th of 41 for child and adolescent wellbeing in developed countries

Social-emotional learning – what schools need to know

Claire Chuter, from John Hopkins University in the USA explores the different mindsets, skills and competencies SEL incorporates, why it is important, and how it can be integrated into teaching and learning.

Infographics

Social emotional learning infographic

What you need to know to embed SEL in your school culture

Learning Skills infographic

Some key non-cognitive skills and strategies for supporting them in the classroom.

Snapshots

Understanding and measuring students’ social-emotional learning

The key insights from our webinar with Dr Heidi Leeson on the importance of social-emotional learning for academic achievement.

What are the differences between social-emotional learning and key competencies?

Dr Heidi Leeson of Monocle Education offers her perspective on the relationship between social-emotional learning and the key competencies

A brief introduction to social emotional learning

A brief introduction to what social emotional learning is and why it's important

Beliefs, behaviours and actions associated with a growth mindset

An introduction to the research on the importance of mindsets, and associated beliefs, behaviours and actions

How to support effective emotion regulation in schools and classrooms

Key insights from the webinar with Dr Tracy Stewart.

Social emotional learning with Hunter Gehlbach

Listen to a podcast with Associate Professor Hunter Gehlbach about what social emotional learning is and why it is important.
“Thanks for the opportunity. This was without doubt amongst the best professional development I have done in many years.”
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“I've just started and it's incredible! Best professional learning course I have participated in in a long time. I've just completed Part 2 – so inspiring!”
Course participant
Visual Arts in ECE
"I loved how the course was laid out. It was easy to leave and pick up where I had left off. The site was easy to navigate and I liked the videos that backed up the reading."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Continue with your excellent work. I get feedback that student teachers love it too.”
Educator
Martinborough
“I have found all your webinars to be of incredible value to myself and my team. Thank you.”
Centre Leader
Auckland
“You guys are doing a FABULOUS job - keep up the great work. And thank-you for offering free webinars; readings etc - in this current climate it is so hard to find money for extra things and PD is usually the first thing that gets a budget cut. Having access to your webinars means that there is no excuse for my teachers not keep professionally ahead of the game. My team and I certainly appreciate it.”
Early childhood teacher
Wellington
“I LOVE your work. It is super useful as an AST in a large COL, The Education Hub is a springboard for my own self-driven PD and a good resource for the spectrum of needs in our Kahui Ako. Thank you for the epic work you do!”
Advanced Skills Teacher
New Zealand
“Appreciate the diverse range of resources on offer!”
Intermediate school teacher
New Zealand
“The Education Hub is a gem and I recommend it to all schools I work with.”
Education consultant
New Zealand
“The resources and support provided by The Education Hub are greatly appreciated. As an HOD in a small school, in a small department usually made up of beginning teachers, it often falls on my shoulders alone to try and be up to date with ensuring our programmes are founded on sound pedagogical practices in terms of teaching in general and our particular curriculum area ... so I'm like a sponge when it comes to what you provide.”
Head of Department
“The Hub articles have been really useful and provided conversations for staff meetings and provocations for teachers. Thank you - great work and food for thought.”
School leader
Dunedin
“Articles are always well considered and written. I enjoy the content; it’s a superb resources for teachers”
Teacher (primary)
Tauranga
"I love this site!! I love everything you do for us educators, professional leaders and whanau. I loved this site during my studies last year when I upgraded to a Degree. Love it – thank you!"
New entrant teacher
Wellington
“I really value the Education Hub as a non-partisan (and non-reactionary) force for building consensus around what works and what matters in (New Zealand) education. There's nothing like it, and without it we'd be at the mercy of the more vociferous at both ends of the spectrum (progressive vs conservative).”
Deputy Principal
Christchurch
“Keep up the great mahi, I would struggle to have conversations with teachers about current pedagogy without you!”
Professional development provider
Auckland
“Having discovered The Education Hub this year, it has been timely as I navigate the teaching of structured literacy. The content has been so relevant and reliable, I come away wanting more.”
Primary teacher
Nelson
“The information I have gained from the webinars I have watched this year has been so enlightening and it has fueled my desire to further my own knowledge. We are lucky to have such a great resource.”
Preschool teacher
Palmerston North
“Thank you for providing high quality professional learning that is easily accessible.”
High school teacher
Napier
“I really appreciate the quality and range of the webinars you provide. I love that I can access them later if I don't get to watch them at the time.”
Teacher
Bay of Plenty
"Thank you! This course has renewed my passion for writing meaningful learning stories that are backed up with intentional teaching and show progression of learning and development."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Thank you to those of you who are working hard to keep this resource relevant and accessible for all of us in the education sector. More specifically, I appreciate the balanced approach taken by your team to specific topic”
School leader
Manukau
"I liked the mix of different aspects that kept things interesting, I enjoyed sharing my new learning with my colleagues and I loved learning new practical aspects of story writing."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching
“Thank you so much for the valuable service you provide. We are so lucky to have access to this quality of resources.”
Graduate teacher
Blenheim
"I loved how the course was laid out. It was easy to leave and pick up where I had left off. The site was easy to navigate and I liked the videos that backed up the reading."
Course participant
Assessment & Intentional Teaching

Get unlimited access to all our webinars

Buy a webinar subscription for yourself, your school or centre and enjoy savings of up to 25%

The Education Hub webinars provide high-quality research-based content for teachers. A webinar subscription costs just NZ$60+GST per person (with discounts of up to 25% available for groups) and provides access to all our live webinars for 12 months, plus all the recordings in our archive.
Find out more

12-MONTH WEBINAR SUBSCRIPTION

NZ$ 60 per person +GST
  • All live webinars for 12 months
  • Access to our library of over 100 webinars
  • Personalised certificates
  • Group savings of up to 25%
Buy now

About The Education Hub

The Education Hub’s mission is to bridge the gap between research and practice in education. We want to empower educators to find, use and share research to improve their teaching practice, and then share their innovations. We are building the online and offline infrastructure to support this to improve opportunities and outcomes for students.

New Zealand registered charity number: CC54471

Find out more

We’ll keep you updated

Follow us on social media

Like what we do? Please support us

Donate now to show your appreciation

© The Education Hub 2025 All rights reserved | Site design: KOPARA

Close popup
Message from The Education Hub Choose how you stay up to date

Early childhood education
School

Your details:

Already have an account? Login here

* Required fields

By clicking submit, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

We value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. The data you provide on this form will be used to keep you informed about our latest news, updates, and promotional offers. Rest assured, your information will be handled in strict accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Your data will be stored securely, and you have the right to access, correct, or delete your information at any time. For more details, please review our Privacy Policy or Terms of Service.