Gillies, V. (2011). Social and emotional pedagogies: critiquing the new orthodoxy of emotion in classroom behaviour management. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 32.2, 185- 202. doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1080/01425692.2011.547305

In this article, Val Gillies relates the findings from his ethnographic research examining the usefulness of a program called Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning for 12 to 15 year olds enrolled in Behaviour Support Units at low socio-economic status schools in Britain. Gillies found that the program promoted a form of emotional literacy that did not fit with the students’ coping strategies and everyday experiences in both their school and community contexts. Gillies asserted that students who could not easily adopt the form of emotionality promoted in the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning program, and other programs similar to it, would run the risk of being marginalized and even marked as deviant for showcasing their own forms of expression. The research looked at a specific population of highly at-risk secondary students in a different country using a specific program that is not used here, and so its direct generalizability to my own context may be limited. It also looked at a small sample size of students to make its claims and so Gillies’ concerns may not transfer to other students in other schools. However, it is useful for my inquiry because it shows that the trend towards social and emotional learning strategies may not serve all students, especially those who may already be disadvantaged or underserved. I should be aware of this when crafting a management style around a social and emotional learning and relationship-based philosophy. The Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning program as described in the article also has similarities to what I have seen of the Mind-Up program used in my practicum school, and so these links may be worth further exploration. Although I still believe in the social and emotional learning approach and intend to look for further research determining its efficacy, this article will help me remember to truly get to know my students and tailor my management strategy to them and their needs, rather than attempting to fit them into a one-size-fits-all style.