Unlocking Potential: How Character Education and SEL Transform Students’ Futures

What is SECD?

Ask any parent, and they will tell you that the values of integrity and the ability to stand on their own two feet are some of the most important things they want for their child’s future. They want children to learn to manage their emotions, build positive relationships and navigate social situations with ease both in career and real life.

SECD, Social, Emotional and Character Development – is an an essential form of education to help raise children into adults who are caring, responsible and contributing and thrive in the real and online worlds.

SECD is a set of skills that involve the capacity to develop self awareness, recognize and regulate emotions, become resilient to failures, and think like a problem solver. In addition to developing a winning personal skill set, children learn to understand emotions in others, collaborate with them while building their negotiating and networking skills. In short, SECD helps children by empowering them with new ways to think, learn and behave.

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Early Intervention Benefits

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Decrease the Numbers of Discipline Referrals

By moral communities we mean school cultures with justice, caring and developmental discipline, all of which are interrelated and central to a modern theory of civic and moral education.
Source: Lee (Angela), Chi-Ming, The planning, implementation and evaluation of a character-based school culture project in Taiwan, Journal of Moral Education, 2009, 38: 2, 165 – 184

Now character education is becoming a priority in our nation’s education reform as we are increasingly realizing that character development must be an intentional part of education rather than a process that happens naturally. With implementation of character education programs there are dramatic transformations; prosocial behaviors such as cooperation, respect, and compassion are replacing negative behaviors such as violence, disrespect, apathy and underachievement.
Source: Character Education Partnership Report, 2012, para. 1.

Improve School Attendance

School attendance increases, sometimes drastically in schools where character education was part of the curriculum.
Source: DeRoche & Williams, Educating Hearts and Minds: A Comprehensive Character Education Framework, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 1998, p. 23.

At one intermediate school in the Southwest, in one of the poorest communities in the state, a five-year character education initiative was responsible not only for a decline in the number of student absences but also for that of the teachers. Approximately 50% of staff absences that went over 10 days decreased.
Source: Devine, T., Ho Seuk, J., & Wilson, A. (Eds.), Cultivating heart and character: Educating for life’s most essential goals. Chapel Hill, NC: Character Development Publishing, 2000.

Improvement in Mental Health

One’s attitude, degree of motivation, and people skills constitute eighty-five percent of the reasons people get ahead and stay ahead. One’s skills or expertise constitute only fifteen percent of the reasons. If students believe in themselves, they are much more likely to achieve success. When a student comes to class with a positive outlook and an attitude that he can accomplish anything, then anything can be accomplished.

Source: McElmeel, S.L. (2002). Character education: A book guide of teachers, librarians, and parents. Greenwood Village, CO: Teacher Ideas Press.

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Further Reading

The Return on Investment on SECD Skills Training.

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Inside The Ideal 21st Century Classroom