The potential dangers of a systematic, explicit approach to teaching social and emotional skills (SEAL) An overview and summary of the arguments

This paper is a summary, or overview, of a much larger paper which the Centre for Confidence and Well-being has published called 'The potential dangers of a systematic, explicit approach to teaching social and emotional skills' (SEAL). This overview paper summarises some of the main arguments of the large paper. It does so by telescoping the arguments and presenting them largely without the extensive supporting evidence contained in the main paper. Anyone interested in why we have reached these conclusions, and the evidence to support them, should refer to the main document which can be ordered from the Centre and Confidence and Well-being's website. This is a controversial paper. SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) is now a major plank of the current government's education policy in England and Wales. We are taking steps to publish this critique because we believe that the approach being recommended to schools may not only waste of time and resources but also unwittingly undermine young people's well-being. As yet there is no work of this type being encouraged by the Scottish Executive. However, some local authorities and schools in Scotland are interested in piloting this approach. We share the Department of Children, Schools and Families concern about young people's well-being but we think this concern is causing panic and pressure to take action and dangerous shortcuts which do not appear to be well thought through. Despite claims to the contrary, they are not strongly based on evidence. Since SEAL is still only 'recommended' and not compulsory, teachers, schools and education authorities have the power to ignore or adopt. Our paper may be a useful counterpoint to the arguments they are being given on the benefits of SEAL. It will help them see the paucity of evidence for such a wholesale change in education and encourage them to evaluate the credibility of the case for SEAL and what the potential dangers might be. Finally, I have been working with teachers and researching these types of themes for many years. I am not a psychologist but I am an enlightened layperson who is prepared to ask difficult questions and point out potential flaws. The Centre for Confidence and Well-being has nothing to gain from taking a critical approach. We could easily have jumped on the emotional literacy/skills bandwagon and created packs of material, particularly for the Scottish market. We are publishing this paper for the …