How Mindful Compassion Practices Can Cultivate Social and Emotional Learning

A fundamental purpose of social-emotional learning (SEL) is to provide students with opportunities to develop self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness, which in turn would lead to positive goal-oriented behaviors and the cultivation of collaborative relationships. While scholarly literature lists several strategies to foster SEL skills, there is little evidence of their effectiveness. There is research to support that mindful compassion practices (MCPs) cultivate specific outcomes that align with SEL outcomes. However, questions as to how much of each of these practices and how long they need to be practiced in order to realize effective integration into school curricula remain unanswered. Nevertheless, it has been determined that in order for these approaches to have a positive effect, schools need support to define, implement, evaluate, and modify SEL curriculum according to their needs.