Conference

Positioning Equity in Advancing the Social, Emotional, and Communal Wellbeing of Multicultural ISU Members to Thrive

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Abstract

Since COVID-19, there has been a significant focus on social-emotional learning (SEL) as a supportive tool for students, teachers, staff, and communities. There has been an agreement SEL practices and equitable perspectives aims to enhances capacity to strengthen skills, includes collaboration, and provides understanding for culture, context space and opportunities for all to be successful. Diversifying representation has been an increased obligation for institutions of higher learning. For multicultural communities to have access to high-quality SEL and meaningful engagement, there needs to be explicit and intentional focus on equity. SEL without an equity frame decrease the programs’ relevance, accessibility, and potential wellbeing for multicultural audiences. SEL program with an equity lens seeks to provide resources and opportunities to meet the diverse needs of an individual and their community. They tend to engage in practices that visualizes differences among people as asset and opportunity. Equity focused SEL programs also enhance collaboration and co-creation of learning experiences that allows all to be actively engaged in establishing norms and structures of engagement. This presentation will enhance understanding of SEL with an equity lens, and ways to incorporate SEL with an equity lens in designing, implementing and evaluation of programs program/curricular development.