Educating the Heart and Mind through the Promotion of Children’s Social and Emotional Learning: Emerging Research and Practical Strategies Recent innovations in social and emotional learning (SEL) in the past decade has seen an abundance of research documenting the critical role that self-regulation and social and emotional competence, such as self-regulation, empathy, and compassion play in children’ successful development- in school as well as socially and emotionally. This keynote will review ground breaking research that has emerged that demonstrates the importance of promoting children’s social and emotional competence and describe strategies that translate research into practice. |
Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl is an Applied Developmental Psychologist and a Professor in Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She is also the Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), an interdisciplinary research unit focused on child development in the School of Population and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC. Known as a world renowned expert in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL), Dr. Schonert-Reichl’s research focuses on identification of the processes and mechanisms that foster positive human qualities such as empathy, compassion, altruism, and resiliency in children and adolescents. Her projects include studies examining the effectiveness of classroom-based universal SEL programs including such programs as the Roots of Empathy, MindUp, and the Kindness in the Classroom Curriculum. Dr. Schonert-Reichl has received several awards for her work. She is the recipient of the 2015 Joseph E. Zins Distinguished Scholar Award for outstanding research on social and emotional learning (SEL), and the 2009 Confederation of University Faculty Associations BC's Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award in recognition of her sustained outstanding contributions to the community beyond the academy through research over the major portion of her career. She is also an elected Fellow of the Mind and Life Institute and a Fellow of the Botin Foundation’s Platform for Innovation in Education. She is the recipient of the 2007 UBC Killam Teaching Prize in recognition of excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching, and the 2004 Vancouver School Board Recognition Award for her work promoting social responsibility in students.