Welcome to the web-page of the Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
and Mindfulness Research Team at Portland State University! Our system of public education has organized itself around achieving student proficiency on tests of academic skills. We believe that an effective system of education should also support the social, emotional, and self-regulatory skills of students and promote the health and well-being of teachers and other adults in schools. There is a growing body of research showing that school-based Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and Mindfulness Training (MT) programs can have positive benefits for teachers and students. The goal of the Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness Research Team is to conduct research to better understand and enhance the impacts that SEL and MT programs have on improving the social-emotional skills, self-regulation, health, and well-being of teachers and children in schools. Because the early childhood years are a critical time for developing these key social, emotional and regulatory skills, much of our work involves supporting children and their teachers during preschool and early elementary grades.
Our team collaborates with Dr. Robert Roeser (now at Penn State University) and researchers at Yale University, the University of Virginia, and the College of Charleston to conduct studies of the implementation and impacts of SEL and Mindfulness programs that support teachers and children. The programs that we have studied include: the Wings for Kids after-school Social Emotional Learning program in Charleston, SC to support Kindergartners' long-term development of SEL skills in elementary schools; the MP3 program to support teachers' implementation of the MindUP (mindfulness-based SEL) program in pre-K through 3rd grade classrooms in Vancouver, WA; the Early Kindergarten Transition program to support children and families during school transitions in Multnomah County, OR; the MPower program to support middle school teachers in Portland Public Schools with mindfulness training; the MindUP-Pre-K program to support preschoolers' development of social, emotional, self-regulatory, and academic skills; and the Preschool RULER program supporting children's emotional intelligence in early childhood. Follow the "Research" link below to learn more about each project. |
SEL and Mindfulness Research Team
Richard and Maureen Neuberger Center
1600 SW 4th Ave.
Portland, OR 97201
email Andy for more information: [email protected]
Richard and Maureen Neuberger Center
1600 SW 4th Ave.
Portland, OR 97201
email Andy for more information: [email protected]