Developing a measure to assess racial equity-oriented social and emotional learning practices

Despite the growing interest in social and emotional learning (SEL) implementation in K-12 settings, few measures exist to assess teachers’ SEL practices. Furthermore, existing measures of teachers’ SEL practices do little to explicitly address issues of equity. In this talk, we describe the interactive mixed-method approach we took in developing the Racial Equity-oriented Social and Emotional Learning (REQSEL) practices measure, a valid and reliable means of assessing teachers’ racial equity-oriented SEL practices on a large scale. Findings across our four studies suggest (1) evidence of strong internal consistency and validity for the 41-item REQSEL; (2) REQSEL scores were correlated with multiple relevant measures of teachers’ beliefs and behaviors regarding race, ethnicity, culture, and social justice; and (3) REQSEL scores were correlated with teachers’ own ethnic-racial identity exploration and resolution.

Speaker Bios

Deborah Rivas-Drake, Ph.D., is the Stephanie J. Rowley Collegiate Professor of Education and Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan. The overarching goal of her work is to illuminate promising practices that disrupt racism and xenophobia and help set diverse young people on trajectories of positive contribution to their schools and communities. Together with the Contexts of Academic + Socioemotional Adjustment (CASA) Lab (casalab.org), she examines how school, peer, family, and community settings can support adolescents in navigating issues related to race and ethnicity, and how these experiences inform young people’s academic, socioemotional, and civic development. Her research has been funded by the NSF, Spencer Foundation, and W.T. Grant Foundation. In addition to her academic publications, she has lent her expertise more broadly by collaborating with school leaders and district policymakers to develop translational activities for educators; in writings and webinars for parents and educators; and by consulting on race and ethnicity issues in youth for non-profit organizations, youth program developers, and industry.

Jozet Channey is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Marsal Family School of Education at the University of Michigan. Her research examines the ways adults’ beliefs and their associated actions shape learning environments for racially and ethnically diverse youth. 

• Social emotional learning
• Deborah Rivas-Drake
• Jozet Channey
• Education
• education policy
• education policy initiative
• k-12
• K-12 Education