Integrating Social Emotional Learning Into the Formative Development of Educator Dispositions

Introduction

Educator dispositions are both a perpetual topic of interest and an ever-changing and evolving construct within the field of teacher preparation. Because dispositions are inherently human traits involving both interpersonal and intrapersonal qualities, they can be difficult to decisively define. Some educators may even think of dispositions as soft skills. Once defined to any degree, exactly how a set of desired dispositions manifests within various teaching contexts and learning communities will continuously evolve with changing historical, social, and societal issues. Different values can be emphasized as more relevant than others, and those values can manifest in myriad ways in a teacher’s classroom practice.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement have helped to propel forward two related and significant issues in K12 schools, educational equity and social emotional learning (SEL). Dispositions relate directly to issues such as social justice education (Saultz et al., 2021), especially in today’s diverse schools and communities. A teacher’s personal identity, values, and other inherently human traits will naturally impact instructional approaches, teacher-student relationships, communication, and so much more. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) (CASEL, 2022) emerged in the mid-1990s and is a recognized organization for SEL research, advocacy, and resources for K12 schools. Introducing the concept of transformative SEL, Jagers et al. (2019) expanded upon CASEL’s five SEL competencies to explicitly connect “identity, agency, belonging, and engagement as transformative expressions” and necessary elements for promoting critically engaged citizenship (p. 167). In December 2020, CASEL redefined SEL, placing an emphasis on equity and excellence (Niemi, 2020):

We draw on this expanded definition of SEL in this chapter, building upon the ongoing work of Jagers et al. (2019). The first CASEL competency, self-awareness, includes identifying and understanding emotions, setting goals, knowing one’s values, and experiencing a sense of self-efficacy. This includes recognizing personal biases, connecting identity to personal and cultural values, and relating how one thinks, feels, and acts to diverse situations. Self management, the second competency, includes the ability to regulate emotions and behaviors, as well as cope with stress, practice agency, and be self-motivated to achieve individual and shared goals. The ability to emphasize and demonstrate compassion are aspects of the third competency, Social Awareness. This also includes understanding social norms in different settings and using a critical lens to take the perspective of those with histories, cultures, and lived experiences that may be the same or different than one’s own. The fourth competency, relationships skills, refers to initiating and maintaining healthy relations. This includes navigating diverse settings with varying cultural expectations and communicating effectively by engaging in clear dialogue, listening, collaborating, and negotiating conflict. The final competency is responsible decision-making, which requires critically assessing conditions for making choices that benefit collective well-being. This involves guiding decisions with a caring attitude and ethical responsibility to determine positive and negative consequences across diverse settings (Jagers et al., 2019).