Socio-emotional learning. Promising synergies with academic development in early adolescence

Rimm-Kau man, Sa a E. Socio-emo ional lea ning. P omising syne gies wi h academic de elopmen in ea ly adolescence Becke , Michael [H sg.]; Digna h, Cha lo e [H sg.]; Bihle , Lilly-Ma len [H sg.]; Gaspa d, Hanna [H sg.]; McEl any, Nele [H sg.]: Socio-emo ional and cogni i e de elopmen in lea ning. Educa ional goals in compe i ion?! Müns e ; New Yo k : Waxmann 2026, S. 15-33. - (Do munde Symposium de Empi ischen Bildungs o schung; 9) Quellenangabe/ Re e ence: Rimm-Kau man, Sa a E.: Socio-emo ional lea ning. P omising syne gies wi h academic de elopmen in ea ly adolescence - In: Becke , Michael [H sg.]; Digna h, Cha lo e [H sg.]; Bihle , Lilly-Ma len [H sg.]; Gaspa d, Hanna [H sg.]; McEl any, Nele [H sg.]: Socio-emo ional and cogni i e de elopmen in lea ning. Educa ional goals in compe i ion?! Müns e ; New Yo k : Waxmann 2026, S. 15-33 - URN: u n:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-345043 - DOI: 10.25656/01:34504 h ps://nbn- esol ing.o g/u n:nbn:de:0111-pedocs-345043 h ps://doi.o g/10.25656/01:34504 in Koope a ion mi / in coope a ion wi h: h p://www.waxmann.com Nu zungsbedingungen Te ms o use Dieses Dokumen s eh un e olgende C ea i e Commons-Lizenz: h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.de - Sie dü en das We k bzw. den Inhal un e olgenden Bedingungen e iel äl igen, e b ei en und ö en lich zugänglich machen sowie Abwandlungen und Bea bei ungen des We kes bzw. Inhal es an e igen: Sie müssen den Namen des Au o s/Rech einhabe s in de on ihm es geleg en Weise nennen. Dieses We k bzw. de Inhal da nich ü komme zielle Zwecke e wende we den. Die neu en s andenen We ke bzw. Inhal e dü en nu un e Ve wendung on Lizenzbedingungen wei e gegeben we den, die mi denen dieses Lizenz e ages iden isch ode e gleichba sind. This documen is published unde ollowing C ea i e Commons-License: h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en - You may copy, dis ibu e and ansmi , adap o exhibi he wo k in he public and al e , ans o m o change his wo k as long as you a ibu e he wo k in he manne speci ied by he au ho o licenso . You a e no allowed o make comme cial use o he wo k. I you al e , ans o m, o change his wo k in any way, you may dis ibu e he esul ing wo k only unde his o a compa able license. Mi de Ve wendung dieses Dokumen s e kennen Sie die Nu zungsbedingungen an. By using his pa icula documen , you accep he abo e-s a ed condi ions o use. Kon ak / Con ac : peDOCS DIPF | Leibniz-Ins i u ü Bildungs o schung und Bildungsin o ma ion In o ma ionszen um (IZ) Bildung E-Mail: [email p o ec ed] In e ne : www.pedocs.de Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man Socio-emo ional lea ning P omising syne gies wi h academic de elopmen in ea ly adolescence 1. In oduc ion Pic u e Sp ing Middle School1, a school se ing you h be ween age 11 and 13 in a small no heas ci y in he Uni ed S a es. His o ically, he ci y was mos ly popula ed by whi e, middle- and wo king-class amilies and hei child en. Since 2000, he ci y expe ienced an in lux o immig an s and now oughly 1 in 10 people in he ci y a e immig an s (O ice o New Ame icans Repo , 2023). Now, Sp ing Middle School has abou 480 s uden s wi h 32 % bo n ou side o he U.S., ep esen ing 28 di e en home coun ies. 47 % o he s uden s speak a i s language o he han English and his school has 21 home languages ep‐ esen ed. S uden s come om Gua emala, Bu undi, Angola, Sudan, E hiopia, I aq, Hondu as, Namibia, Gabon, Rwanda among o he s (LeClai e, 2022). Like mos U.S. middle schools, he school s i es o mee he needs o ea ly adolescen s who a e expe iencing d ama ic de elopmen al changes in physical, emo ional, cogni i e, and social domains. Wha makes Sp ing Middle School pa icula ly unique is he emendous e hnic di e si y o s uden s and he a ‐ ied needs o you h and amilies who a e e y ecen immig an s. This scena io calls a en ion o a ques ion: How can schools mee psychological needs and p omo e academic g ow h among you h wi h such a wide ange o backg ounds and expe iences? The solu ion o his school has been complex. Ins ead o ocusing on aca‐ demic achie emen as he sole ocus, hey b oadened hei goals o ad ance a h ee-dimensional ision o s uden achie emen ha includes mas e y o skills and knowledge, cul i a ion o cha ac e a ibu es, and high-quali y s uden wo k on opics ha a e ele an and engaging o hei s uden s (Be ge e al., 2021). Engaging in C ew – daily mee ings wi h abou 15–20 s uden s and one adul —is one p ac ice ha con ibu es o his mul i ace ed ision o s uden 1 Sp ing Middle School is a pseudonym. 16 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man success. C ew c ea es an oppo uni y o s uden s o de elop posi i e ela ion‐ ships wi h adul s and o he s uden s, ha e cou ageous con e sa ions abou is‐ sues in s uden s’ li es, c ea e a sense o communi y, expe ience belonging, and e lec on he pu pose o school lea ning (Be ge e al., 2021). This anecdo e se s he s age o a con e sa ion abou how schools can cul‐ i a e social and emo ional compe encies and c ea e meaning ul academic ex‐ pe iences. This chap e desc ibes he basic de ini ions o social and emo ional lea ning (SEL), explo es ypical ajec o ies o g ow h o social and emo ional compe encies (SEC), and examines he ways in which meaning ul lea ning c e‐ a es class oom expe iences ha op imize academic lea ning while also mee ing he psychological needs o you h. The pape closes wi h implica ions o educa‐ o s s i ing o mee he needs o ea ly adolescen s. 2. Wha is social and emo ional lea ning? The Collabo a i e o Academic, Social and Emo ional Lea ning (CASEL) is an o ganiza ion a he Uni e si y o Illinois-Chicago ha is he cen al-mos hub in he U.S. o SEL esea ch, p ac ice and policy. The CASEL de ini ion o SEL is “ he p ocess h ough which all young people and adul s acqui e and apply he knowledge, skills, and a i udes o de elop heal hy iden i ies, manage emo ions and achie e pe sonal and collec i e goals, eel and show empa hy o o he s, es ablish and main ain suppo i e ela ionships, and make esponsible and ca ing decisions” (CASEL, 2025). The e a e wo a ibu es o his de ini ion ha equi e ca e ul a en ion. The de ini ion poin s ou ha all young people and adul s can expe ience SEL. This is impo an because many people assume ha SEL is jus o child en and you h. In ac , SEL also occu s in adul s. Fo example, when educa o s lea n and apply new in e cul u al skills o wo king wi h s uden s o colo o ecen immig an s, ha ep esen s an aspec o adul SEL. A second a ibu e o his de ini ion e e s o wha people lea n and can ap‐ ply – SEL in ol es he de elopmen o mo e han skills. SEL also in ol es new knowledge and a i udes ha people acqui e. Fo ins ance, in he U.S. he e has been a mo emen o inc ease cul u al esponsi eness o SEL. To achie e his goal, educa o s ha e had o lea n and apply new skills, de elop new knowledge abou cul u es, and change hei a i udes abou people who we e un amilia o hem in he pas (Wanless e al., 2023). All his is necessa y be o e eache s a e eady o apply hese compe encies in hei class ooms. By de ini ion, SECs occu as a p oduc o SEL. SECs all in o h ee b oad ca ‐ ego ies: sel -skills, social skills, and decision-making (CASEL, 2025), as shown in Figu e 1. The b oad ca ego y o sel -skills co esponds o he in ape sonal Socio-emo ional lea ning 17 Figu e 1: CASEL model showing he de elopmen o social and emo‐ ional compe encies compe encies o sel -awa eness and sel -managemen . Sel -awa eness e e s o a pe son’s abili y o unde s and hei own alues, hough s, and emo ions and he ways hese ideas link o hei beha io . Sel -awa eness in ol es iden i ying one’s own emo ions, hei pe sonal and cul u al asse s, examina ion o one’s own p ejudices and biases, de eloping sel -e icacy, a g ow h mindse and a sense o pu pose. When an eigh h g ade desc ibes hemsel es as iewing mis akes as a no mal pa o lea ning and indica ion ha hey need o y a di e en idea o sol e a p oblem, hey a e demons a ing g ow h mindse , which is one aspec o sel -awa eness. Sel -managemen e e s o he abili y o a pe son o egula e and manage hei hough s, beha io s, and emo ions and o adjus hose beha ‐ io s o ma ch di e en con ex s. Use o s ess managemen s a egies, managing s ong emo ions, exis ing sel -discipline, showing ini ia i e and di ec ing hei a en ion o pe sonal and collec i e goals a e examples o sel -managemen . Codeswi ching, he modi ica ion o one’s beha io o way o speaking o ma ch hei immedia e cul u al en i onmen , also equi es sel -managemen skills. The b oad ca ego y o social skills also has wo subca ego ies and includes social awa eness and ela ionship skills. Social awa eness e e s o he abili y o unde s and he pe spec i e o o he s, e en i hey a e om cul u es and backg ounds ha a e di e en han onesel . I in ol es an unde s anding ha 18 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man o he people ha e had di e en expe iences han onesel and ha e belie s and ac ions ha de i e om hose expe iences. I means showing compassion o o he s and unde s anding wha was conside ed igh in one his o ical pe iod is no necessa ily conside ed noble in ano he . Being able o iden i y injus ices i s wi hin social awa eness. Rela ionship skills e e o people’s abili y o c ea e and main ain ela ionships and manage social si ua ions wi h di e se g oups. A pe son wi h s ong ela ionship skills can communica e well, lis en ca e ully o o he s, wo k wi h o he s o sol e p oblems, na iga e con lic well, lead o ollow, when he si ua ion calls o i . Rela ionship skills can mean showing cul u al compe ency, esis ing nega i e social p essu e, seeking o o e ing help. The i h compe ency is esponsible decision-making, e lec ing people’s abil‐ i y o make e ec i e choices abou one’s own beha io in a a ie y o di e en si ua ions. Responsible decision-making in ol es being able o hink h ough he consequences o one’s ac ions and how hose ac ions will in luence onesel , o he s, and socie y collec i ely. Responsible decision-making equi es open- mindedness, lea ning how o size up complex si ua ions and make judgmen s, and iden i ying and enac ing solu ions o social and pe sonal p oblems. Social and emo ional skills, knowledge and a i udes a e mul iply de e ‐ mined. People lea n hese a home, school, neighbo hood, h ough social media and ia o he social in e ac ions. Because class ooms and schools a e malleable, a g ea deal o a en ion has been gi en o SEL in hose con ex s, co esponding o he class oom and school e ec s desc ibed in Figu e 1. 3. Educa ing o social and emo ional lea ning SEL is ce ainly no new. Educa o s ha e been eaching s uden s manne s, kind‐ ness, empa hy, sel -con ol, and o he ela ed skills o decades—e en cen u ies (Oshe e al., 2016). Wha is new is ha e o s o imp o e you h SECs ha e become an explici aspec o he school expe ience o child en and you h. The e a e wo main ways ha SEL akes shape in schools – by in oducing p og ams designed o enhance SEL o by using SEL-p ac ices o ganically as a pa o he cul u e o he school. SEL p og ams a e p e alen in he U.S. as e idenced by he $ 765 million spen on such p og ams be ween No embe 2019 and Ap il 2021 (Ty on Pa ‐ ne s, 2021). SEL p og ams ypically include a pape o online manual, aining, and coaching ha can be pu chased and used o in-se ice p o essional de el‐ opmen . These p og ams can be desc ibed in a ew main ways; some in eg a e SEL in o academic ins uc ional con en , o he s o e ee-s anding lessons on SEL opics, ye o he s a e school-wide app oaches ha in ol e class oom and Socio-emo ional lea ning 19 school-le el ac i i ies designed o enhance s uden s’ a i udes, knowledge and skills while also s i ing o c ea e a school cul u e ha is conduci e o lea ning social and emo ional compe encies. P og ams can be implemen ed in indi id‐ ual class ooms o school-wide, depending on he p og am and dis ic . The adop ion o SEL p og ams con as s o SEL ha occu s wi hou p o‐ g ams in place. SEL can be na u ally embedded in o he cul u e o a school as eache s model social and emo ional compe encies owa d s uden s. Fo in‐ s ance, when you h see espec ul in e ac ions among eache s and be ween eache s and o he s uden s, child en lea n how o in e ac wi h pee s. Teache s cul i a e emo ion lea ning h ough he daily expe iences o class oom li e (e.g., a eache ge ing us a ed and hen alking aloud o calm hemsel es down when he echnology is no wo king). Whe he SEL is deli e ed h ough a p og am o o ganically ia he cul u e o he school, SEL can be uni e sal and deli e ed o all s uden s o a ge ed and designed o people wi h mode a e o ch onic, se e e needs equi ing in en‐ si e, one-on-one wo k be ween a school counselo o eache and he s uden . Uni e sal SEL esembles he idea o luo ide in wa e – i is an in e en ion ha can bene i each and e e y s uden . Howe e , many s uden s need mo e in ensi e suppo o de elop SECs, in which cases o e ing mo e one-on-one oppo uni ies o ouch base wi h adul s o access o clinical se ices can add ess hose needs. 4. T ends in social and emo ional lea ning Resea che s a he RAND Co po a ion conduc ed a na ionally ep esen a i e su ey o almos 28,954 eache s and 12,954 p incipals asking hem o a e he impo ance o eaching a ange o social and emo ional skills (Hamil on e al., 2019). The su ey asked abou sel -skills including unde s anding and managing emo ions, se ing and achie ing posi i e goals, de eloping a sense o iden i y, ela ionships skills including es ablishing and main aining posi i e e‐ la ionships and eeling and showing empa hy owa d o he s, as well as decision- making skills such as making esponsible decisions. Fo all skills measu ed, o e 90 % o p incipals and eache s desc ibed hese skills as ai ly o e y impo an . Fo mos skills, 97–99 % o educa o s epo ed hem as ai ly o e y impo an . The impo ance o SEL has been e iden in ecen policies wi h 27 s a es ha ing s a e s anda ds o SEL o g ades K-12 in place as o 2022 (De mody & Dusen‐ bu y, 2022). On one hand, he U.S. has shown a ise in SEL p io i ies and policies ye he e a e coun e o ces a wo k, as well. SEL has eme ged as a poli ical lash‐ poin . Many conse a i e-leaning poli icians and conse a i e pa en g oups 20 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man ha e pushed back on SEL s a ing ha eaching social and emo ional compe‐ encies is ou side o he scope o schools and ha you h should be lea ning hose alues om hei amilies and eligious o ganiza ions. Mos le -leaning poli icians and pa en g oups ag ee wi h he p emises o SEL. Ye , some le - leaning schola s and educa o s aise issues because ypical SEL is oo ocused on “mains eam” whi e U.S. alues and does oo li le o adap o cul u al di e si y p esen in he schools. Fo example, many s eng hs in s uden s o colo a e no ecognized as s eng hs no a e ampli ied by ypical SEL (e.g., he abili y o Black s uden s o codeswi ch) (Rimm-Kau man e al., 2023). SEL is no only a U.S. phenomenon. Many schools in Ge many use SEL. Some p og ams ocus na owly on an i-bullying and an i- iolence, o ins ance, whole school an i-bullying p oblems using app oaches by Olweus (1993), he ‘Faus los’ cu iculum- iolence p e en ion, he P oACT+E app oach and use o he ‘Fai playe Manual’ (Schei haue & Bull, 2008). O he schools ocus mo e b oadly on cul i a ing SECs. Fo ins ance, Second S ep has been adap ed om he U.S. p og am o be used in Ge many, as has he Mindma e s p og am. Ye o he schools ha e ocused on men al heal h needs o s uden s by adop ing p og ams such as Lion’s Ques ha suppo s adolescen s’ de elopmen o sense o sel , eaches lis ening, empa hy, and wise decision-making h ough a se ies o lessons (Ce ai e al., 2018). These a e all examples o e o s o enhance social and emo ional compe‐ encies. New me a-analy ic wo k shows he ways in which SEL con ibu es o sho - and long- e m gains in social, emo ional, academic and beha io al ou ‐ comes (Cip iano e al., 2023; Taylo e al., 2017). SEL app oaches ha e ga ne ed widesp ead a en ion impac ing bo h policy and p ac ice. Despi e his ocus, we know oo li le abou how SECs change o e ime, especially du ing adoles‐ cence. 5. The de elopmen o social and emo ional compe encies I is easy o assume ha child en and you h lea n s eadily and g adually as hey ma u e. Achie emen p o ides a basis o ha assump ion in ha we know, on a e age, you h show gains in eading and ma h skills o e ime wi h he g ea es magni ude o g ow h annually in ea ly childhood and hen smalle inc eases du ing he middle and high school yea s (Hill e al., 2008). Unlike achie emen , you h de elopmen o SECs does no show a simple, upwa d end. Ins ead, he e a e quali a i e shi s in de elopmen ha can lead o in e up ion and e en U-shaped pa e ns (So o & Tacke , 2015). Take sel -managemen as an example. One longi udinal s udy (Ross e al., 2019) showed ha sel -manage‐ men (e.g., deciding on a goal and s icking o i ) was bes modeled quad a ically; Socio-emo ional lea ning 21 sel -managemen dec eased om age 10 o age 17 ollowed by an inc ease o age 18. Findings like his ques ion assump ions in he ield. Be o e in es iga ing u ‐ he , he e a e impo an issues ela ed o measu emen o hese cons uc s o aise. Some SECs, such as sel -e icacy o g ow h mindse , can only be assessed h ough s uden - epo which means ou comes e lec ac ual p esence o SECs as well as s uden s’ pe cep ion o hemsel es ela i e o o he s a ound hem. In e p e a ion o s uden - epo da a has some ad an ages, o ins ance, he wo k ele a es you h oice and helps esea che s unde s and s uden s’ ac ual li ed expe ience. Howe e , s uden - epo also in oduces bias based on he a ia ion in s uden s’ in e nal app aisal o hei compe encies. To pu sue inqui y abou how SECs de elop, he au ho (S. Rimm-Kau man) and wo colleagues (J. Soland and M. Kuh eld) iden i ied an ideal da a se . A g oup o Cali o nia school dis ic s called he CORE dis ic s s a ed conduc ‐ ing annual su eys abou you h’s de elopmen o SECs in 2015 (Wes e al., 2018). These da a we e a ailable o esea che s o analysis and we e ideal be‐ cause o he la ge sample and use o s anda dized measu es. Thus, he pape by Rimm-Kau man and colleagues (2024) was designed o be e unde s and de elopmen al ends in SECs. The s udy was in o med by he S age-En i onmen Fi Theo y (Eccles e al., 1993) which posi s ha de el‐ opmen al declines in mo i a ion and pe cep ion o sel in adolescence “ esul om a misma ch be ween he needs o de eloping adolescen s and he oppo ‐ uni ies a o ded hem by hei social en i onmen s” (Eccles e al., 1993, p. 91). Despi e he heo y being hi y yea s old, ea ly adolescen s s ill expe ience a p oblema ic s age-en i onmen i . Ea ly adolescen you h de elop mo e need o au onomy and become e y sensi i e o social compa ison, ye hey con‐ inue o need close ela ionships wi h adul s (Na ional Academies o Sciences, Enginee ing, and Medicine [NASEM], 2019; Yu e al., 2018). Fu he , young adolescen s desi e espec and s a us and adi ional schooling can seem un‐ in e es ing as hey de elop a undamen al need o use hei skills o imp o e he con ibu e o he wo ld a ound hem (Fuligni, 2019). Jus as hese de el‐ opmen al changes a e occu ing, mos you h a e mo ing om elemen a y o middle school. In elemen a y school, s uden s ypically s ay in a class oom wi h one adul and oughly 25 s uden s. In middle school, s uden s ypically mo e om class oom o class oom and eache s ha e as many as 130 s uden s in any gi en day. The demands o middle school a e high – eache s expec s uden s o come o class p epa ed, open only ce ain abs on hei compu e wi hou being dis ac ed by he in e ne , and wo k on long e m p ojec s wi hou wai ing un il las minu e o comple e hem. Middle school also means high-s akes g ading, abili y g ouping, mo e disciplina y ac ion, and an inc ease in he public e al‐ 22 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man ua ion o academic wo k (Deu sch, 2022). Taken oge he , his new con ex c ea es a challenge o he de eloping child. To pu sue deepe unde s anding o de elopmen o SECs, analyses we e conduc ed o examine how much g ow h occu s in social and emo ional compe encies om G ades 4–12? 6. Quan i a i e analysis and esul s The CORE da a collec ion included nine dis ic s in Cali o nia ha adminis‐ e ed su eys o all s uden s each yea s a ing in 2015, esul ing in a sample o 95,998 s uden s in g ades ou h ough 12 ( oughly ages nine o 18). Collec ing da a each yea esul ed in longi udinal da a o up o ou yea s. Thus, he analy‐ sis included s uden s who ook he su ey a leas once be ween 2015 and 2018. The sample o s uden s was almos e enly spli be ween gi ls (49 % ) and boys (51 % ).2 Roughly 25 % we e om amilies wi h pa en s wi h low educa ional a ainmen (i.e., high school o below). The sample was 73 % La ine, 11 % Whi e, 10 % Black, and 7 % Asian. Table 1. Measu es Collec ed in he CORE Dis ic s wi h Selec ed I ems Cons uc s Example I ems # i ems Alphas G ow h Mindse I can change my in elligence wi h ha d wo k. I am capable o lea ning any hing. 4 .70 Sel -E icacy I can mas e he ha des opics in my classes. I can do well on my es s, e en when hey a e di icul . 4 .86 Sel -Managemen I came o class p epa ed. I paid a en ion, e en when he e we e dis ac ions. 5 .85 Social Awa eness How o en did you complimen o he s’ accomplishmen s? How well did you ge along wi h s uden s who a e di e en om you? 5 .81 The 18-i em measu e adminis e ed assessed g ow h mindse , sel -e icacy, sel - managemen , and sel -awa eness, as shown in Table 1. To add ess he key e‐ 2 Gende da a we e limi ed o bina y ca ego ies o gi l and boy. Socio-emo ional lea ning 29 P ocesses o sociopoli ical de elopmen we e mo e common in EL Educa ion (45 % , n=9) han compa ison schools (8 % , n=1). Engaging schoolwo k. Engaging schoolwo k was a heme ha eme ged in mo e han hal o he s uden s in e iewed (56 % , n=18). Speci ically, wo k was deemed meaning ul i i was pe sonally ele an (25 % , n=8), hands-on (22 % , n=7) o socially in e ac i e (13 % , n=4). This heme was mo e p e alen among EL Educa ion s uden s (75 % , n=15) han among compa ison s uden s (25 % , n=3). One s uden ga e wo examples o how socially in e ac i e expe iences made lea ning meaning ul. Fi s , she said ha a mo ning mee ing was meaning ul “Because [I] go o alk in on o he whole middle school.” Second, she said ha he expe iences “ ocusing on he communi y commi men s [a e] mean‐ ing ul because hey make me and a lo o o he people eel sa e in ou lea ning en i onmen ” (Genny, La ina emale, EL Educa ion). Fu u e o ien a ion. App oxima ely hal he sample (47 % , n=15) epo ed meaning ul schoolwo k as de eloping skills ha would be use ul in hei u u e. These included academic skills (e.g., ma h o axes), social-emo ional skills (e.g., ela ionship building, empa hy, espec ), o goal-o ien ed skills (e.g., de‐ eloping goals o ge ing good g ades o ge in o college). EL Educa ion and compa ison s uden s men ioned his heme equi alen ly (45 % , n=9 o EL Edu‐ ca ion; 50 % , n=6) o compa ison s uden s. As one example, “I mean i ’s impo an ha we’ e lea ning his s u because . . . i ’s jus good o ha e like a wide a ie y o hings ha you know you can do o he u u e. And i we’ e lea ning abou kindness hen i ’s good o jus be kind.” (Ka e, EL Educa ion) Se e al key indings eme ge. Fi s , he indings demons a e ha school-wide changes ha connec SEL and academics can p oduce mo e meaning ul lea n‐ ing o you h. In his case, s uden s a EL Educa ion schools ound wo king wi h o he s a school, s udying and doing homewo k o class, pa icipa ing in class and doing school p ojec s we e mo e meaning ul han s uden s a compa ‐ ison schools. The di e ences be ween EL Educa ion and compa ison schools we e pa icula ly p ominen o s uden s o colo (Black, La ine). O en, schools s i e o c ea e equi y by imp o ing he quali y o expe iences in school, pa ic‐ ula ly o be e mee he needs o s uden s o colo . EL Educa ion appea s o be success ul in his goal. Findings also e eal ways ha educa o s can mee he needs o de eloping you h by e eshing hei cu iculum so ha lea ning is mo e meaning ul. Ex‐ ample p ac ices include: ocusing con en on con empo a y issues, engaging in p ocesses ha ene a e sociopoli ical de elopmen (enhancing e lec i e p ac‐ 30 Sa a E. Rimm-Kau man ices, enhancing awa eness o con empo a y issues, c ea ing oppo uni ies o e icacy, ac ion and ac i ism), using socially in e ac i e ac i i ies, and linking lea ning o s uden s’ u u e goals. 9. Call o ac ion The anecdo e a he s a o he chap e aligns wi h he S age-En i onmen Fi Theo y and exempli ies he syne gy be ween academic and social-emo ional lea ning (SEL). Ea ly adolescence is a pa icula ly ulne able pe iod when you h o en pe cei e hei SECs as lowe han in he la e elemen a y school yea s. Class ooms and schools can espond du ing his delica e ime by p o‐ iding suppo i e lea ning expe iences ha a e well-ma ched o you hs’ de el‐ opmen al needs. Fu he , his ma ch seems mos impo an o you h who ha e expe ienced ma ginaliza ion because o hei ace / e hnici y. The indings he e highligh ha he highes quali y p ac ices gea ed o c ea e meaning ul lea n‐ ing may ma e mos o you h o colo , hus esul ing in ecu si e cycles o meaning ul engagemen in lea ning ha leads o a ec i e connec ion o school con ex s and academic achie emen (Thomas e al., 2025). Decades o esea ch unde sco e he alue o ca ing and esponsi e eache s, a sense o class oom communi y, and ich oppo uni ies o SEL (Du lak e al., 2025). While hese ea u es a e necessa y, hey a e no su icien o aca‐ demic lea ning. Educa o s can le e age ca ing and esponsi e class oom ex‐ pe iences o enhance academic lea ning by ecognizing he unique ea u es o adolescence, especially hose you h who end o be unde se ed in educa ional se ings. By building class oom en i onmen s ha mee s uden s’ social, emo‐ ional, and academic needs, educa o s can make lea ning ma e o you h. Re e ences . Be ge , R., Vilen, A., & Wood in, L. (2021). We a e c ew: A eamwo k app oach o school cul u e. EL Educa ion. . 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