CASEL Competencies & Skills

Promoting a School-Home-Community Approach to
Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning

CASEL and Lions Quest are programs on the state-approved list, thus recommended to be utilized in the State of Texas.

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I have students come back to me that says, “Remember I was in Lions Quest, and we did the service-learning project?” They will tell you. “That really had me look at things differently. I’m going to college now, whereas before, I was not. The Lions Quest Program turned me around.”

Milwaukee Public Service Schools

Hellen Hamilton

Recreation Supervisor, Before & After School Program Milwaukee Public Service Schools, Department of Recreation & Community Services

Self-Awareness

The ability to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.

This includes capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose. Such as:

  • Integrating personal and social identities

  • Identifying personal, cultural, and linguistic assets

  • Demonstrating honesty and integrity

  • Examining prejudices and biases

  • Experiencing self-efficacy

  • Having a growth mindset

  • Developing interests and a sense of purpose

Self-Management

The ability to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations.

This includes the capacities to delay gratification, manage stress, and feel motivation & agency to accomplish personal/collective goals. Such as:

  • Managing one's emotions

  • Identifying and using stress-management strategies

  • Exhibiting self-discipline and self-motivation

  • Setting personal and collective goals

  • Using planning and organizational skills

  • Showing the courage to take initiative

  • Demonstrating personal and collective agency

SOCIAL AWARENESS

The ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.

This includes the capacities to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports. Such as:

  • Recognizing strengths in others

  • Identifying and using stress-management strategies

  • Demonstrating empathy and compassion

  • Understanding and expressing gratitude

  • Identifying diverse social norms, including unjust ones

  • Recognizing situational demands and opportunities

  • Understanding the influences of organizations/systems on behavior

Relationship Skills

The ability to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups.

This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed. Such as:

  • Communicating effectively

  • Developing positive relationships

  • Demonstrating cultural competency

  • Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving

  • Resolving conflicts constructively

  • Resisting negative social pressure

  • Showing leadership in groups

  • Seeking or offering support and help when needed

  • Standing up for the rights of others

Responsible Decision-Making

The ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations.

This includes the capacity to consider ethical standards and safety concerns and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being. Such as:

  • Demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness

  • Identifying solutions for personal and social problems

  • Learning to make a reasoned judgment after analyzing information, data, facts

  • Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one's actions

  • Recognizing how critical thinking skills are useful both inside and outside of school

  • Reflecting on one's role in promoting personal, family, and community well-being

  • Evaluating personal, interpersonal, community, and institutional impacts

Lions Quest® Prevention Program

The Lions Quest® prevention program helps young people develop positive commitments to their families, schools, peers, and communities. Research repeatedly shows us that establishing these commitments and skills at an early age contributes to critical protection against future substance use and addiction.

Lions Quest® is a life skills education program that addresses conflict, peer pressure, difficulty managing emotions, along with other problem areas that children can face. These programs operate throughout the school year and are geared toward students from kindergarten through 6th grade. Throughout the program, they learn vital skills like communication, responsible decision-making, and positive coping strategies.

This program has been recognized as a “Select” program by CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning), and as a “Model” program by CSAP (Center for Substance Abuse Prevention) of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2017-2018, Compass Mark provided the Lions Quest program to 898 students in Lancaster County and 2,012 students in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.