Systemwide Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Insights from a Research-Practice Partnership with Leaders, Educators, and Students

Systemwide Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) promotes a host of academic and behavioral benefits for K-12 students. Yet, many schools face barriers to SEL implementation. Through a research–practice partnership, this study provides insights into facilitators of and challenges to systemwide SEL implementation. We collected 652 field notes of SEL in action across twelve schools in the Northeast and Western regions of the United States between December 2022 and May 2024. All field notes were analyzed with Dedoose using thematic inductive coding. Key facilitators of systemwide SEL include prioritization/support from leadership, professional development for educators, integration into students’ daily experiences, and engagement with parents/caregivers and the community. Key challenges to systemwide SEL involve leadership ambiguity, educator burnout, and student disengagement. Implications for optimizing SEL implementation in educational practice and policy are discussed.