By Anna Guido
Enquirer contributor

What makes schools successful? How do students best learn?

A new book on social and emotional learning, co-edited by University of Cincinnati professor Joseph E. Zins, seeks to answer those questions. In simplest terms, the answer seems to be: Teach students how to live.

Surprisingly, an average school might have as many as 14 separate programs touching on social and emotional development. Many are prevention-oriented, with topics ranging from drug and alcohol abuse to school violence.

"The question is, how well are they all integrated - if they're all giving consistent messages, think of how powerful this would be," said Zins, one of four co-editors of Building Academic Success on Social and Emotional Learning: What Does the Research Say? (Teachers College Press; $27.95 paperback).

Social and emotional learning is defined as a set of skills that educators can teach to students, such as how to recognize and manage emotions; set and achieve positive goals; make and carry out responsible decisions; and establish and maintain positive relationships.

Zins, a UC psychologist, professor of education and nationally recognized expert on social and emotional learning (also referred to as SEL), said the book identifies three categories where social and emotional learning programs are linked to school success: performance, attitude and behavior.

"SEL programs teach children to manage their emotions, care about others, make good decisions and behave ethically and responsibly," Zins said. "It's an overarching framework that integrates all of the different programs that are going on in schools."

The book grew out of a conference of behavioral scientists and educators looking to better understand ways to enhance students' social-emotional competence and academic performance.

Zins' colleague and co-editor Roger P. Weissberg said the consensus was that schools that foster social and emotional development are most effective and that their students' academics are better, too.

Weissberg is a professor of psychology and education at the University of Illinois at Chicago and president of the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning.

The Ohio Department of Education is establishing guidelines that incorporate findings from the book.

About Joseph Zins

Cincinnati native

Graduate of Roger Bacon High School, Xavier University, University of Cincinnati and Johns Hopkins University

Also worked as a psychologist in K-12 public schools, community mental health center, pediatric hospital and urban community agencies

Has more than 150 publications

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