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Education Sciences
Volume 16
Issue 4
10.3390/educsci16040659
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Article

Systemwide Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Insights from a Research-Practice Partnership with Leaders, Educators, and Students

by
Zi Jia Ng
1,*,
Cheyeon Ha
1,
Almut Zieher
1,
Britney Foster
2,
Troya Ellis
2,
David Adams
3 and
Christina Cipriano
1
1
Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
2
Trajectory of Hope, Los Angeles, CA 90056, USA
3
The Urban Assembly, New York, NY 10004, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Educ. Sci. 2026, 16(4), 659; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16040659
Submission received: 24 February 2026 / Revised: 10 April 2026 / Accepted: 14 April 2026 / Published: 20 April 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Social and Emotional Learning and Wellbeing in Education)
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Abstract

Systemwide Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) promotes a host of academic and behavioral benefits for K-12 students. Yet, many schools face barriers to SEL implementation. Through a research–practice partnership, this study provides insights into facilitators of and challenges to systemwide SEL implementation. We collected 652 field notes of SEL in action across twelve schools in the Northeast and Western regions of the United States between December 2022 and May 2024. All field notes were analyzed with Dedoose using thematic inductive coding. Key facilitators of systemwide SEL include prioritization/support from leadership, professional development for educators, integration into students’ daily experiences, and engagement with parents/caregivers and the community. Key challenges to systemwide SEL involve leadership ambiguity, educator burnout, and student disengagement. Implications for optimizing SEL implementation in educational practice and policy are discussed.
Keywords: Social and Emotional Learning; school leader; educator; student; action research; Research–Practice Partnerships Social and Emotional Learning; school leader; educator; student; action research; Research–Practice Partnerships

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ng, Z.J.; Ha, C.; Zieher, A.; Foster, B.; Ellis, T.; Adams, D.; Cipriano, C. Systemwide Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Insights from a Research-Practice Partnership with Leaders, Educators, and Students. Educ. Sci. 2026, 16, 659. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16040659

AMA Style

Ng ZJ, Ha C, Zieher A, Foster B, Ellis T, Adams D, Cipriano C. Systemwide Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Insights from a Research-Practice Partnership with Leaders, Educators, and Students. Education Sciences. 2026; 16(4):659. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16040659

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ng, Zi Jia, Cheyeon Ha, Almut Zieher, Britney Foster, Troya Ellis, David Adams, and Christina Cipriano. 2026. "Systemwide Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Insights from a Research-Practice Partnership with Leaders, Educators, and Students" Education Sciences 16, no. 4: 659. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16040659

APA Style

Ng, Z. J., Ha, C., Zieher, A., Foster, B., Ellis, T., Adams, D., & Cipriano, C. (2026). Systemwide Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Insights from a Research-Practice Partnership with Leaders, Educators, and Students. Education Sciences, 16(4), 659. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci16040659

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