What does SEL stand for in education? The letters mean Social and Emotional Learning, the part of schooling that teaches students how to understand their feelings, manage their behavior, get along with others and make careful choices. You may also see it written as social emotional learning, without the "and."
Parents usually meet the term on a school newsletter, a report card comment, a class schedule with an "SEL block" or a district plan. In practice it can be as simple as a morning check in circle or as structured as a weekly lesson from a set program. The sections below explain the skills involved, what a lesson looks like and why the topic gets discussed at school board meetings.
Quick facts
Stands for
Social and Emotional LearningType
Initialism, said S E LUsed in
K to 12 schools, preschools, after school programsFive core skill areas
Self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision makingSeen on
Newsletters, lesson plans, report cards, district goalsRelated terms
PBIS, MTSS, IEPNot to be confused with
Sel, the French word for salt
What does SEL stand for in education, letter by letter?
Each letter names one piece of the idea:
- S, Social: skills for working and living with other people, such as listening, sharing and solving conflicts.
- E, Emotional: naming feelings, coping with stress and calming down after frustration.
- L, Learning: these skills can be taught and practiced, the same way reading and math are.
The letters are said one at a time, "S E L," so it is an initialism. Educators often use it as an adjective: an SEL lesson, SEL goals, SEL time. Since the first letter is pronounced ess, the article is an: an SEL program.
The five skill areas in SEL
A widely used framework groups the skills into five areas. Schools may name them a little differently, but the ideas are similar.
| Skill area | What it means | In class |
|---|---|---|
| Self awareness | Knowing your feelings, strengths and limits | Rating your mood on a feelings chart |
| Self management | Controlling impulses and handling stress | Taking three slow breaths before answering |
| Social awareness | Seeing things from another person's view | Talking about how a story character felt |
| Relationship skills | Communicating, cooperating, resolving conflict | Group work with assigned roles |
| Responsible decision making | Weighing choices and their effects | Planning how to finish a project on time |
What SEL looks like in a classroom
SEL is less a single subject than a set of habits woven through the day. Common forms include:
- Morning meetings: a short circle where students greet each other and share how they are doing.
- Calm down corners: a quiet space with tools for settling strong feelings.
- Explicit lessons: a weekly lesson on a skill such as handling disappointment.
- Advisory periods: in middle and high school, a small group that meets with the same adult all year.
- Built into subjects: discussing a character's choices in ELA or teamwork during a science lab.
From a second grade newsletter: "In SEL this week we practiced using I statements, like 'I feel upset when you take my markers.'" The teacher is building relationship skills by giving students words to solve small conflicts.
How SEL connects to other school programs
SEL often sits alongside other school support systems with their own acronyms:
- PBIS, positive behavioral interventions and supports, sets clear behavior expectations and rewards for a whole school.
- MTSS, or multi tiered systems of support, adds layers of extra help for students who need it.
- IEP, an individualized education program, can include social or behavior goals for a student with a disability.
SEL is usually the universal layer that every student receives, while the others add more targeted help. More of these terms are collected on the school acronyms hub.
Why SEL is discussed and debated
Supporters say SEL helps students focus, behave better and do well in school and later at work, and they point to research linking these skills with outcomes like attendance and grades. Many teachers describe it as teaching what good classrooms have always tried to teach.
Critics raise other concerns. Some parents worry about how much time it takes from academics, how personal the questions in surveys are, or whether some lessons move into values that they believe belong to families. Others question the quality of specific programs rather than the idea itself. Because views differ, many districts share SEL materials with families and let parents ask questions or review lessons. If you want to know what your child's school uses, the teacher or counselor can usually show you.
Other things SEL can mean
Outside schools, SEL turns up in a few unrelated places. In French, sel is the everyday word for salt. Some companies and products use SEL as a name or a ticker, and in some software menus "Sel" is short for select. If the setting is a school or a parenting article, though, the meaning is almost always social and emotional learning.
Questions people ask
What does SEL stand for?
SEL stands for social and emotional learning. It describes teaching students skills like managing emotions, building relationships and making responsible choices.
What is an example of SEL in school?
A morning meeting where students share how they feel, a lesson on calming down when upset or a group project with clear roles are all common SEL activities.
Is SEL a separate class?
Sometimes. Some schools set aside an SEL block or advisory period, while others weave the skills into regular subjects and daily routines.
What are the five SEL competencies?
A widely used model lists self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making.
Can parents see SEL lessons?
In many districts, yes. Ask your child's teacher or school counselor which program is used and whether you can review the materials.