Turning the Page on SEL

This study investigates the reciprocal relationship between social-emotional and literacy development in ways that center culture, complexity, and justice. With design-based research as the guiding methodology, I utilized qualitative analysis to investigate ways fifth graders demonstrated changes in components of transformative social-emotional learning (TSEL) and narrative reading comprehension after participating in an approach we are calling Read Alouds for Social Emotional Learning (RASEL). Results indicate that, after participating in RASEL, students shifted toward exploring more complex emotion vocabulary, inferring emotions with evidence that highlights the character’s cultural experiences, recognizing injustice and acknowledging harm, and identifying themes from the text that advocate for social justice. Findings operationalize the evidence base that supports the reciprocal relationship between social-emotional and literacy development and extend existing scholarship by offering actionable steps for teachers to reject traditional notions of social-emotional learning and center justice when integrating TSEL within their own interactive read-alouds.