Improving Teacher Retention with Social-Emotional Learning
Teachers are perhaps one of the most important roles in society. Their roles expand beyond providing children and adults knowledge that will help them survive and thrive as they move through life. They help teach independence, values and give every student the tools they need to support themselves and others. Social Emotional Learning is a proven way to create a more supportive and productive classroom environment for students and teachers to thrive.
Why More Teachers are Leaving Their Roles
Over the last few years, teacher retention has become one of the most challenging issues facing educational institutions throughout the United States. According to a study by the National Education Association, over 55% of educators are thinking of leaving their roles. They found that an astonishing 90% of teachers surveyed are experiencing burnout. The Covid-19 pandemic has shifted the responsibilities of teachers and caused detrimental impacts throughout educational institutions.
Teachers are facing unprecedented issues due to staff shortages across the country, and the problem threatens to worsen. Teaching is twice as stressful as most jobs, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic and teacher exodus. The lack of support, resources, and funding have made educators feel underappreciated, burnt out, and underpaid as their workload and expectations increase.
For teachers to be successful, they need a supportive admin, better resources, and professional development to teach successfully. Social-emotional learning (SEL) can be a powerful practice implemented in schools to focus more on both students’ and teachers’ well-being and mental health. If students have limited social-emotional skills, they are more likely to struggle in the classroom forcing teachers to focus more on children’s behaviors rather than the educational content and curriculum.
SEL Can Protect Teacher’s Well-Being and Increase Retention in Schools
A socially and emotionally competent teacher can help create a supportive and empowering classroom environment encouraging positive relationships with their students. Working through social and emotional issues has proven to provide students with positive outcomes. With the benefits children experience through a focused social-emotional learning environment, teachers are given the support they need to focus on teaching and less on correcting behaviors. SEL benefits include:
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Students Experience Fewer Outbursts and Fewer Behavior Problems – Students who participate in a classroom with SEL are less aggressive and less likely to experience outbursts and behavioral problems in school. When children are taught how to express their emotions constructively, they are less likely to misbehave and are more likely to foster healthier relationships with those around them.
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Students Retain More Information and Increase Academic Success. Students perform better in the classroom by developing strong social and emotional skills. Children feel heard and as though their emotions are respected and valued. They can focus more on learning and become more confident in their abilities. Additionally, SEL has been instrumental in helping with the learning loss due to the pandemic.
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Students are Empowered to Advocate for Themselves – Students are encouraged through SEL to develop trust in their emotions and advocate for themselves if they feel as if they are falling behind. Rather than shutting down, children can express their concerns and clearly communicate where they struggle, allowing teachers to reassure and help them learn how to move past challenges and teach them how to solve problems better.
Social-Emotional Learning helps children identify their emotions and allows them to communicate their needs better. They develop empathy, improve their self-control, manage stress better, and build strong relationships leading to more success as adults. Teachers will equip children with the tools they need to understand themselves and their feelings better and empower them to be the best versions of themselves, in and outside the classroom environment.
In the classroom, teachers can partner with students to build a strong education foundation through social-emotional learning. All schools who use Clymb receive our Know Your Emotions poster to help students build association and differentiate the various emotions used in Clymb’s daily mood check-in. By helping children through SEL, teachers will be able to feel more supported in their role as essential educators and reduce stress and increase retention rates.
Clymb’s daily mood check-in helps teachers stay a step ahead and identify students who need more support, preventing students from falling between the cracks. Promote effective teamwork between teachers and counselors by allowing them to share information about the student’s mood and growth over time.
