Social and emotional learning and character education are complementary approaches to strengthening a person's ability to understand, manage, and express the social and emotional aspects of life and to organize action in a positive, goal-directed manner. This book is designed for administrators who need help in introducing programs to their schools, or have begun implementation but would like additional ideas. The book is organized around a problem-solving approach. After an overview chapter, the book continues with a discussion on readiness. The chapters following devote themselves to 8 steps of a particular problem-solving model used in schools for more than 2 decades. Each chapter begins with an overview of the step being covered and its specific usefulness. The bulk of each chapter is devoted to guidelines, activities, frameworks, rating scales, surveys, and other tools to facilitate implementation. The chapters conclude with a section called "Transitions: Review and a Look Ahead," where key points can be reviewed and ideas can be personalized to a particular school. Three appendices contain a quick course in social and emotional learning, including definitions and principles; an overview of the action-research cycle; and resources about social-emotional learning and character education. (Contains 35 references.) (RT
