Control Yourself

It Will Help You Do Better in School

Research, from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning tabbed for release in early 2008, suggests that a less rigorous focus on curriculum may help student achievement, reports Debra Viadero in Education Week.

The key is to take time out of the curriculum to teach students to manage their emotions and practice empathy, caring and cooperation, and, as a by-product, achievement could improve.

These findings and similar results from other research-based fields (like brain science) seem to be converging on the benefits of such instruction, and programs based on the concept have experienced a growing presence in schools. Illinois, for instance, has adopted standards for the social and emotional skills that K-12 students should be taught.

When researchers investigated Illinois' programs, they found that students were better behaved, more positive and less anxious than students not participating in the programs. In addition, program students earned better grades and had higher tests scores. According to Roger Weissberg, professor of psychology and education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, "the impact here is almost twice that of studies on class-size improvements."

Source: Public Education Network’s NewsBlast newsletter, December 21, 2007. Reprinted with permission from Public Education Network’s NewsBlast newsletter. The PEN Weekly NewsBlast is a free e-mail newsletter featuring school reform and school fundraising.

Related Links

Building Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What Does the Research Say?  - Information about 2004 book on social and emotional learning. (By Zins, Weissberg, Wang & Walberg, editors)

How Do Students' Emotional Lives Affect Their Learning? - See the discussion board. Join in the discussion.