What is
Social Emotional Competencies
Social emotional competencies are soft skills that support learning and development in the classroom, at home and in the workplace. Related to social emotional learning, these five core competencies include: a) self-awareness, b) self-management, c) social awareness, d) relationship skills and e) making responsible decisions. Self-awareness is where students recognize the correlation between their emotions and their behavior. Self-management involves taking ownership of one’s emotions and actions in various settings. Social awareness is the ability to lead with empathy and understand how someone from another culture or background may approach a situation. Relationship skills refer to listening and communicating with others when looking to resolve a conflict. Finally, making responsible decisions involves choosing how to most effectively act in a given situation.
Social emotional competencies refer to the skills that students must nurture in order to succeed in academia, the workplace and their broader communities. The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) describes how the five SEL competencies help support civic engagement, health and wellness and academic success. Known as the ‘CASEL 5,’ nurturing these competencies in the classroom will help students meet their academic goals, feel more confident in social interactions and can even reduce stress and anxiety.