This chapter will explore a prospective alignment of out-of-school time (OST) and in-school SEL programming to afford students of color the opportunity to develop holistically within in-school and out-of-school settings where they may be disproportionally challenged by conditions of poverty, racial/ethnic stereotyping, history of failure, educator turnover, and a culture where there has been significant pessimism about their ability to be successful in an educational environment of rigorous standards and continuous standardized assessments. A research-based dual capacity building framework will be introduced that will allow for culturally-responsive SEL efforts to be coordinated and linked to in-school academics and in OST programming. The framework will allow for culturally responsive social emotional learning development to be learned, supported, and valued in dual contexts.
TopEarly Sel Development
SEL skills build upon one another, therefore skills must be taught early on and continue to be developed throughout the students’ lives. The basic cognitive skills begin to evolve around ages 3-4, such as executive function include attention control, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (Jones et al., 2017). As the prefrontal cortex begins to expand around ages 4-6, skills like the ability to focus, remember, stop and think before acting, or switch between different thoughts or tasks will begin to take shape (Jones et al., 2017). This paves the way for decision-making, coping skills, and long-term planning all of which are principal competencies for adult life (Anderson, 2002; Best & Miller, 2010; Diamond, 2002). If skills are not developed in advance, the likelihood of the student being successful later in life may decline. For example, if one cannot manage their emotions and actions, they cannot resolve complex social conflicts (Osher et al., 2016; Jones & Bailey, 2015). An additional early skillset is being able to focus one’s attention, control one’s emotions, and manage emotions; however, one without these skills cannot plan or effectively make decisions (Jones et al., 2017).