While there is a lot of attention to the relationship between social and emotional learning for students and student outcomes, we hear little about adults’ SEL–especially leaders–who set the tone for the district and school and are responsible for fostering healthy organizational culture and climate for teachers and students to thrive. In Fall 2018, GLISI launched a new research endeavor to understand the extent to which school and district leaders in Georgia value social and emotional learning (SEL) for themselves; the extent to which schools and districts support social and emotional development for incumbent leaders; and the particular social and emotional competencies that leaders are interested in fostering in themselves and the teams they lead. The Human Element in Improving Education: Building Leaders’ Social and Emotional Skills to Elevate School Success reports findings from a survey of hundreds of Georgia school leaders, explores the connection between school improvement and leaders’ social-emotional skills, and provides recommendations for school leaders, district leaders, and policymakers for building education leaders’ social and emotional competencies.
