Social and Emotional Learning and Bullying Prevention AmericAn institute for reseArch® 2Social and Emotional Learning and Bullying Prevention

Overview: While bullying is a pervasive problem in many schools, schools can take specific steps to improve the school climate and encourage positive interactions designed to reduce or prevent bullying. Schools using a social and emotional learning (SEL) framework can foster an overall climate of inclusion, warmth, and respect, and promote the development of core social and emotional skills among both students and staff. Because bullying prevention is entirely congruent with SEL, it can be embedded in a school’s SEL framework. The aims of this brief are to (a) provide a basic description of a school-wide SEL framework, (b) illustrate the relationship between social and emotional factors and bullying, and (c) explain how an SEL framework can be extended to include bullying prevention. Research, Practices, Guidelines, and Resources Bullying may be the most frequent form of school violence (Nansel et al., 2001). Surveys consistently indicate that almost one-quarter of all students experience hurtful interac-tions with peers on a monthly or daily basis (Dinkes, Cataldi, & Lin-Kelly, 2007). State legislatures are increasingly requiring schools to develop and implement bully-ing prevention policies and approaches (National Council of State Legislatures, n.d.).