Success for Kids Releases White Paper on Using Social Emotional Learning to Stop Bullying

LOS ANGELES, CA, September 24, 2010 (Press-News.org) Recent news has shown that there are increased measures by government and school officials to combat bullying as a result of the severity of the physical, emotional and academic effects on the bully and the bullied. In a white paper released today, Using Social Emotional Learning (SEL) to Stop Bullying, Success for Kids (SFK) stresses the importance of infusing comprehensive SEL curriculum into schools to provide students with the self-awareness that results in a sense of social responsibility antithetical to bullying.

SEL is a tool through which children learn to rec¬ognize and manage their emotions. It enables them to make positive choices that produce the results they desire and that benefit them for a lifetime. These choices involve caring about themselves and others, behaving responsibly, and developing positive relationships with others.

In addition to the legislative and administrative reprimand that have been at the forefront of efforts to end bullying, students involved in bullying behavior and their victims need to be provided with the tools to address the underlying issues that lend to bullying behavior.

To that end, a consortium of education and SEL experts converged to begin dialogue on the importance of using social emotional learning to stop bullying:

The distinguished educators and social emotional learning contributors include:
• Dr. Heath Grant, Ph.D. - CEO, Education and Outreach, Success for Kids
• Dr. Marybeth Gasman, Ph.D. - Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of Pennsylvania
• Robi Ludwig, Psy.D. - http://www.care.com
• Robert-Wayne Harris, Superintendent of Schools, Roosevelt Union Free School District


Based on their findings exemplified in the white paper entitled, Using Social Emotional Learning to Stop Bullying, the contributors concluded the following highlights:

• There is a growing body of knowledge that demonstrates that Social Emotional Learning is the missing piece that allows young people to be successful in improving their academic performance as well as future success as individuals and members of society.

• Social Emotional Learning helps students to:
o Improve positive behavior and reduce negative behavior
o Improve academic performance
o Improve attitude toward school
o Prepare for success in the workforce, in terms of leadership, communications and facing challenges
o Avoid high-risk behaviors such as early sexual activity, truancy, depression, violence and drug use

• Research has found that higher parental support is associated with less involvement across all forms of bullying. Schools should provide parent workshops to teach them effective strategies for proactively preventing bullying.

• State anti-bullying programs need to be funded properly. Too often these programs are supported in name only, with state legislatures neglecting to provide the monies that are needed to create true action against bullying.

• 30% of young people in U.S. schools are involved in bullying - bullies, victims and victims turned bullies.

"SEL is a process that many school districts are now using to provide students with the knowledge, understanding, and skills necessary to enhance their learning, encourage positive behavior, promote constructive social relationships, and to address their academic needs," said Robert-Wayne Harris, Superintendent of Schools, Roosevelt Union Free School, Long Island, NY. "I am a huge supporter of SEL programs in my district as a method of combating social issues such as bullying by teaching our students life skills and character education, and by providing them with the appropriate interventions needed to confront their day-to-day challenges, stresses, frustrations, conflicts, and peer pressures."

"Bulllying is a rising problem that negatively affects all parties involved, but SFK has found that through social emotional learning it is possible to reduce this behavior," said Heath Grant, Chief Executive Officer, Education and Outreach, SFK- Success for Kids. "SEL also improves many other areas in children's lives. More specifically, it improves positive behavior, academic performance and a student's attitude toward school."

The goal of the consortium is to urge school administrators to use comprehensive social emotional learning strategies to stop bullying in all forms. For more information about Success for Kids, go to http://www.sfk.org.

Success for Kids, Inc. (SFK), an international non-profit organization, is dedicated to empowering at-risk children and adolescents to become resilient, productive citizens by delivering innovative research-based programs that enhance four personal strengths (interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, problem solving skills and self-sufficiency) and give students a greater sense of purpose in their lives. With a dedicated staff of more than 100, SFK is the largest international social emotional learning organization in the world. Since its inception in 2001, SFK has provided more than $25 million in programmatic support having an impact on more than 60,000 children and adolescents. SFK is a 501(c) (3), tax-exempt organization.