During a sabbatical last year, I spent six weeks completing a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust (WCMT) Travelling Fellowship, which gave me the opportunity to visit different schools across America and Sweden to see social and emotional learning (SEL) in practice and witness its impact on school communities.
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship was something I could not resist applying for as it offered an opportunity to combine my two main passions: travelling and education.
Every teacher strives for the best academic results for pupils in their care, so they can reach their potential and contribute fully to society. Yet some teachers are concerned that the drive for academic attainment is often at the detriment of a balanced and rounded curriculum, accessible to all, and one which prepares pupils to be socially and emotionally resilient.
Children, for many reasons, including different familial structures, multiple cultural influences, and socio-economic factors, are arriving at school with far more complex and wide-ranging social and emotional needs than ever before. Teaching children how to identify and manage emotions and how to build resilience prepares them to be more able to face challenges at school and in their own lives and also leads to enhanced academic attainment.
After visiting schools in the comfortingly similar metropolis of New York, I travelled to Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, Alaska and Stockholm. I based my decision to travel to these diverse places after research suggested that the schools there were leading the way in teaching social and emotional learning to their pupils. Every classroom a teacher visits offers the opportunity to learn something new.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the schools in the Alaskan district of Anchorage proved to be markedly different to those found in my native north London. This wasn't just because of the spectacular mountainous backdrops to the playgrounds, and the piles of ice and snow that lie around the school grounds.
At first, the risk-assessment-compliant headteacher in me baulked at the sight of pupils skiing to school and playing on large blocks of ice. However my fears were swiftly allayed by the principal.
Alaskan schools lead the way in promoting social and emotional learning. SEL is given a much higher priority in Anchorage and forms part of every school syllabus. Pupils understand how they learn, what inhibits their learning, how to resolve their own conflicts and be resilient. This is evident in each classroom and when speaking to pupils, and part of a palpable feeling that you are in a socially and emotionally astute environment.
They build aspiration and ambition for all pupils to attend college through college charters that are signed by pupils and parents and displayed in the corridors of the school. They train pupils to be mediators and peacekeepers so that they encourage others to resolve their own conflicts creatively, using the Resolving Conflict Creatively Programme. The classrooms are full of mood meters and feelings charts as well as quiet areas that pupils can go to think, problem solve, reflect and resolve disputes using clearly-defined steps, that are age appropriate and pupil led.
At the heart of the American school day is the importance of patriotism, national pride and the American flag. Each morning I observed pupils pledging their allegiance to the flag, stood to attention wherever they happened to be when the anthem was played across the tannoy. There was a greater focus on child-led discussions in morning meetings. Classrooms seemed to rely less on ICT than in the UK and more on handwritten notes and discussion. Assemblies were rare, reserved for special events and not a daily or weekly part of a school life as in the UK.
Compared to Stockholm, though, the schools in the US are very similar to the UK. In Sweden there is a strong focus on independent learning and autonomy. The schools felt less structured, in a way more relaxed, and there was a sense of space and deliberate use of natural colours and furniture around each building.
Many of these schools had lots of green spaces or huge sports complexes on site. Pupils had plenty of independence around the school during lessons and breaks, and like America, they did not wear uniforms. In one school I visited, the classrooms were more like open-style coffee shops, where students sat on sofas working on laptops on projects they had previously discussed with a teacher. The teacher would have one-on-one meetings with students but there was an emphasis on self motivation.
After spending some time in Swedish schools, I felt that this model might not be replicated as successfully in the UK with larger class sizes, different behaviour, smaller school sites and often a lack of outside space. However the commitment and emphasis to establishing strong charters in the early years and primary phases, based on respect, self discipline and resilience, was a part of the fabric of the schools and was highly commendable.
I travelled home with a sense of pride in my profession and the British schooling system, but with a renewed sense that for a long time social and emotional learning in the UK has not been as effective as it could. It carries a stigma of not being valuable or important.
Instead of the traditional weekly lesson, often not taught by specialists, I think that if SEL were merged into the fabric of schools, the impact would be far greater. Sustained, well-integrated and consistent social and emotional learning improves achievement and enables pupils to be successful in school and later on in work and life.
Since the fellowship, I have been able to share my findings with many teachers and professionals, but the biggest impact has been in my own school, where I have put social and emotional learning, developing character, resilience and emotional understanding, at the heart of the school. For example, by teaching pupils from reception to recognise and identify their emotional responses, to chart these on a feelings thermometer, has led to pupils being able to resolve their conflicts in a calm and more independent manner.
The personal impact of the fellowship has been immense. Having time to observe and experience teaching from a range of sectors and communities, allowed me to think and reflect on my pedagogical philosophy and approach. I'd heartily recommend a research sabbatical to anyone.
Zoe Dunn is the head of Rimon Jewish Free Primary School in London. Dr Dunn's full report Investigating Happiness Lessons: The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning in American and Swedish Schools can be downloaded from the WCMT website.
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