Mindfulness-Based

Social-Emotional Learning (MBSEL)

Earn your MBSEL Micro-Credential through COSEM

“The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Free download for mindfulness-based SEL Tools

Defining MBSEL

Mindfulness-Based SEL (MBSEL) = Mindfulness works from the inside out and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) works from the outside in. When you connect the two practices together, you create a heart-centered and sustainable approach to learning.
Mindfulness = Being fully present, here and now, with our body, breath, emotions, and thoughts, with kindness, curiosity, and openness.
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) = Are explicitly and intentionally taught life skills that are necessary for children (and adults) to experience the world around them.
The Butterfly Within™ Mindfulness-Based SEL Integration Framework

Earn Your Mindfulness-Based SEL Micro-Credential

CASEL Social and Emotional Learning — **The Benefits of SEL**
(From The Collaborative of Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning)
Increased students’ academic performance by 11 percentile points
Improved classroom behavior
Increased ability to manage stress and depression
Better attitudes about themselves, others, and school

See below for research resources

Connecting the CASEL Competencies to Mindfulness

Self-Awareness: Become aware of your body, breath, emotions, and thoughts through mindfulness.

Self-Management: Integrate mindfulness practices to cultivate emotional regulation.
Social Awareness: By understanding your own thoughts and emotions, you expand to mindfully understanding others with empathy and diverse perspectives through an open heart.
Relationship Skills: Positive, healthy, and mindful relationships form when you have self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness.
Responsible Decision-Making: The ultimate goal is to make responsible decisions that create healthy living and relationships with yourself and others, mindfully.

See below for research resources

Research & Resources

Research & Articles

Read Lindsey Frank’s COSEM Voices Article, “COSEM’s Alignment with CDC Guidelines to Nurture Well-Being in Education

Read Lindsey Frank’s COSEM Voices Article, “Does Mindfulness in Schools ‘Not Work’ or Could It Offer Systemic Transformation?” (MYRIAD Study Reflection)

Heart-CenterED Changemaker Article, “Transforming Mental Health with CDC’s Guidance as Heart-CenterED Changemakers”

DASH and CDC Mental Health Action Guide for School and District Leaders: Strategies for promoting mental health and well-being in schools

YALE School of Medicine SEL Research 2024

Leveraging the Evidence on the Relationship between Teacher and Student Well-being in Learning and Teaching

Social and Emotional Learning Research Review

12 Meta-Analyses of universal, school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs: early childhood education through high school

Yoga Alliance Research on Yoga in Schools

American Mindfulness Research Association

Mindful Schools Research listing

Mindful Schools Research and Neuroscience

Mindfulness Research from the American Psychological Association (APA)

Why Mindfulness Belongs In The Classroom

How SEL and Mindfulness Can Work Together

Integrating Mindfulness and SEL Programs

Powerful Synergy: SEL and Mindfulness Working Together

The Effects of Mindfulness in Elementary-Aged Children

Evidence for the Impact of Mindfulness on Children and Young People

Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Schools-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Resources for Creating a Radically Compassionate Classroom

EdWeek Student Well-Being

Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2011). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for psychiatric disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 187(3), 441–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2010.08.011

Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University. (2010). The foundations of lifelong health are built in early childhood. Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu

DeBellis, M. D., & Zisk, A. (2014). The biological effects of childhood trauma. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 23(2), 185–222.

Goldin, P. R., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 10(1), 83–91. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018441

Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in cognitive sciences, 12(4), 163–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2014). Excessive stress disrupts the architecture of the developing brain (Working Paper No. 3). Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu

National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2010). Persistent fear and anxiety can affect young children’s learning and development (Working Paper No. 9). Retrieved from www.developingchild.harvard.edu

Perry, B. D. (2001). The neurodevelopmental impact of violence in childhood. In D. Schetky & E. Benedek (Eds.), Textbook of child and adolescent forensic psychiatry (pp. 221–238). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.

Perry, B. D., & Pollard, R. (1998). Homeostasis, stress, trauma, and adaptation: A neurodevelopmental view of childhood trauma. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 7(1), 33–51.

Putnam, F. (2006). The impact of trauma on child development. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 57(1), 1–11.

Secularity

Educating Mindfully: Stories of School Transformation Through Mindfulness