Social and emotional learning in practice: An instructional case study of Scotland’s approach to address gender stereotypes and homophobia in upper primary schools

This case study explores Scotland's national approach to LGBT-inclusive education through the lens of social and emotional learning (SEL). LGBT youth continue to face significant adversity in school settings, yet research shows that SEL programs often fail to address their social and affective needs adequately. Within this context, Scotland became the first country in 2021 to mandate LGBT-inclusive education across all public schools, implementing student workshops in the upper primary grades to address gender stereotypes and homophobic language. With a focus on illustrative practice, this study examines how Scotland's instructional model integrates anti-bias education within an inclusive curriculum to support students’ social and emotional competencies. Using the CASEL Five as a conceptual framework, data analysis includes lesson observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Findings show that the workshops provide opportunities for students to practice eighteen social and emotional capacities across CASEL's five domains, with particular emphasis on self- and social awareness. Through dialogic instruction, visual representations, and scenario-based learning activities, students engage in perspective-taking, examine social norms, and practice social and emotional capacities to challenge gender stereotypes and homophobic language. The study reveals how educators might integrate LGBT-inclusive content into SEL programming to create a transformative educational approach that bridges social justice education with students' social and affective needs. The research extends scholarship by illustrating how LGBT-inclusive education can simultaneously promote equity and support essential affective competencies that benefit all students.