Social and emotional education in primary school : integrating theory and research into practice

Abstract

This extraordinarily compact and valuable book integrates the best available theory, research, and practice internationally and services as an essential resource for practitioners, researchers, and policy makers. It is rare indeed that one book, in relatively few pages, can accomplish all of these goals. However, this book has done so. The outset of the book establishes the need in children’s lives for a new kind of education, Social-Emotional Education (SEE), that leads to academically, socially, emotionally literate young people: A relevant and meaningful education for the realities of the twenty-first century leads to the formation of academically, socially, and emotionally literate young people who have the skills, abilities, and emotional resilience necessary to navigate the uncertain but fast moving environmental and economic present and future. (p. 5) Teachers know that the well-being and mental health of their students is an extraordinarily important determinant of their learning and behavior in school. Their reluctance to state this is because they do not want “one more thing” on their plate to have to address is. But this book is about a third way—not mental health experts in the schools, not referrals to the outside, but an complete integration of social, emotional, and character development into the rest of educational and pedagogical concerns. By attending to these matters systematically and systemically, woven into curriculum and instruction at the individual, classroom, and school level, student performance can be enhanced and the role of the teacher can become more fulfilling. Further, Prof. Cefai argues convincingly that the relevance of Heart for learning and performance has been rediscovered, not discovered, by recent cognitive neuroscience research. Indeed, concluding each chapter with ancient legends or fables from around the world that exemplify aspects of SEE is effective and serves to show the timelessness and universality of the SEE message. In Talking Treasure, Stories to Help Build Emotional Intelligence and Resilience in Young Children (www.researchpress.com, 2012), my colleagues and I took the same approach, using timeless stories as vehicles for parents and educators of young children to develop their emotional intelligence [excerpt].