2015 Volume 54 Pages 126-141
Social Skills Training and Social Emotional Learning are now the umbrella terms for many different prevention and intervention programs designed to address the social and emotional development of children in schools. However, the concepts stemming from these terms are now recognized as being part of a universal prevention and promotion program; thus, preventing all problems and crises by promoting social and emotional competence, rather than direct intervention. Such programs aim not only to provide support to children and school staff but also to establish a positive school climate. Therefore, these are universal approaches aiming to improve the natural healing powers inherent in a school and supporting the school’s “immune system” itself, by preventing all school crises, in a metaphorical sense. Recently, programs have been more focused on health, grather than on prosocial behavior and moral judgment. The approaches outlined will be intently comprehensive, to improve and sustain a learning environment that is viewed as primary and essential to a positive school climate.
