SEL & Wellness Summit Research and Resources Bank

Aligning research and practice is essential to advance the goals of systemic, transformative social and emotional learning (T-SEL) in California. T-SEL helps young people and adults build strong, respectful, and lasting relationships. It encourages the critical examination of both individual and contextual factors contributing to inequities, while fostering collaborative solutions that promote personal, community, and societal well-being through caring and just learning environments (CASEL). 

How best to engage levers of SEL system transformation to ensure equitable learning environments for students furthest from opportunity is a research question the CalHOPE Student Support project has been investigating. By examining K-12 implementation efforts across the state led by County Offices of Education since 2022, we’re learning that for systemic SEL initiatives to impact schools and broader learning eco-systems, educators and leaders must consistently “calibrate” practice and research building iterative, reciprocal systems of information-sharing and continuous improvement. By studying the results of practice actively, bridging research and practice in accessible, meaningful ways, each domain is consistently learning from the other. This approach honors the wisdom and proximity to  students of practitioners while leveraging empirical evidence generated by scholarly research. With this “praxis” mindset, CalHOPE Student Support emphasizes partnership alignment in pursuit of conditions, support, and capacities that sustain long-term social and emotional flourishing for all students.