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Why Social-Emotional Learning
Belongs In Every School

Benefits of SEL for students

What is social-emotional learning?

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Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which
children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge,
attitudes, and skills necessary to:

• Understand and manage emotions, recognizing one's own
  feelings and how they influence behavior.

• Set and achieve positive goals - developing the ability to
  plan, organize, and follow through on tasks.

• Establish and maintain positive relationships - forming and
  nurturing healthy connections with others.

• Make responsible decisions, considering ethical standards,
  safety concerns, and social norms when making choices.

5 core competencies of SEL

Recognizing and understanding your emotions, thoughts,
values, and strengths, while maintaining a well-grounded
sense of confidence and a growth mindset.

Self-awareness

Regulating your feelings, thoughts, and behaviors in different
situations; effectively handling stress, controlling impulses,
staying motivated, and setting and working toward personal
goals.

Self-management

Understanding and empathizing with the perspectives and
feelings of others, including those from diverse backgrounds
and cultures, understanding social and ethical norms for
behavior, and recognizing, family, school, and community
resources and supports.

Social Awareness

Forming and maintaining positive, healthy relationships with
others, effectively communicating, listening, cooperating,
resisting inappropriate social pressure, seeking and offering
help when needed, and negotiating conflict constructively.

Relationship Skills

Making thoughtful, ethical, and safe choices based on
considering the well-being of oneself and others, social
norms, and realistic evaluation of consequences of various
actions.

Responsible Decision-making

SEL tames the social media beast

Is social media impacting your children or students?

The constant comparisons with idealized versions of
others' lives, FOMO, and online pressures are real.

The impact of social media on young people are real:

SEL empowers them to manage emotions, build healthy
relationships, make responsible decisions online and
offline, and protect their mental well-being.

Let's prioritize SEL in our schools. Invest in SEL, invest in
our future.

Advocate for SEL in your schools and communities. It's
an investment that pays dividends.

1. Mental health decline with the increased rates of
   depression, anxiety, sleep disruption, cyberbullying.
2. Addiction and attention problems.
3. Social isolation and loneliness.
4. Excessive validation-seeking.
5. Self-esteem and body image issues.
6. Group shaming and cancel culture.
7. Misinformation, radicalization and harmful content.
8. Oversharing and online permanence (e.g.
   permanent record of youthful mistakes)
9. Grooming and sexual exploitation.

The constant ping of notifications and the endless
stream of filtered images can leave anyone feeling not
“good enough.”

By practicing these SEL competencies, young people
gain tools to reflect on their emotional responses, set
healthy boundaries online, show empathy toward
others, and choose actions that support their well-being
and the well-being of those around them.

School-based
Prevention

How it is structured & delivered:

What do not work.

• Didactic methods such as lecturing.
• Unstructured, spontaneous
  discussions.
• Reliance on teacher’s judgement &
  intuition.

• Any standalone or single-event
  activities.

• Untrained facilitator.

• Posters & pamphlets.

• Evidence for peer-led versus
  adult-led prevention
  programming is weak.

• Increasing students’ knowledge by
  providing facts concerning specific
  substances, which may simply make
  students more informed consumers.

• Ex-drug users providing testimonials can
  end up glamorising or sensationalising
  drug use.

• Focusing on building self-esteem
  only.

• Random drug testing.

• Scare tactics and frightening stories that
  exaggerate and misrepresent the
  dangers of substance use.

Content of the program:

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Prevention in the continuum of care

• Prevention addresses risk factors before
  problems develop and enhances protective
  factors. Universal prevention strategies
  benefit entire communities. Selective
  prevention targets vulnerable populations
  cost-effectively. Indicated prevention
  catches issues early before they require
  intensive treatment.
• 
  

When we think of the continuum of care in
addressing substance use and addiction,
our minds often jump directly to treatment
and recovery.

• Treatment programs, after all, help
  individuals who have already developed
  substance use disorders navigate their way
  to wellness, while recovery support ensures
  that they maintain that progress.

Prevention must be
central in drug policy
reforms

This prevention framework leads naturally
into early intervention efforts, where case
identification can swiftly connect at-risk
individuals with support. By acting early, we
can prevent escalation, reduce harm, and
increase the likelihood that people will
engage in lower-intensity interventions.

• Beyond that point lies the treatment
  spectrum: from standard treatment
  protocols to more intensive, longer-term
  care. And still, the continuum moves
  forward, ensuring that individuals can
  access ongoing recovery support to
  maintain positive change over the long
  haul.

Discussions on drug policy reforms frequently
center on treatment modalities, harm reduction, or
legal frameworks. While these are critical elements,
prevention is sometimes treated as an afterthought
- if it enters the conversation at all.

• Reinserting prevention into policy dialogues helps
  create a more balanced approach, ensuring we do
  not lose sight of the larger mission: building
  healthier societies where people are less at risk
  from the start.

Drug policy reform that only focuses on responding to
existing disorders misses the upstream factors that
contribute to them.

Prevention addresses these root causes - social
determinants of health, economic disadvantage,
trauma, community disintegration, family cohesion,
school climate, and lack of positive social norms - well
before they manifest as problematic substance use.

• By integrating prevention into policy discussions, we
  invest in the long-term health and wellbeing of
  communities, reducing the number of individuals who
  enter the treatment pipeline in the first place.

Prevention pays dividends over time. Every ringgit spent on well-
implemented prevention measures can yield significant savings in
health care, criminal justice, and social costs down the line.

When we think of the financial underpinnings of drug policy reform,
prevention represents a high return on investment.

Sustainable solutions come from reinforcing protective factors and
mitigating risk early, ultimately reducing the burden on treatment
systems and society at large.

The continuum of care concept teaches us that no single element -
prevention, treatment, or recovery support—exists in a vacuum. Each
segment feeds into and supports the others.

Strong prevention strategies can reduce the pressure on treatment
services.

Robust early intervention can prevent people from needing intensive
care.

Continuous recovery support ensures gains from treatment are not
lost.

This integrated approach respects the complexity of substance use
disorders and recognizes that prevention is not an optional extra, but
an essential core component.

Drug policy reform is an ongoing dialogue, shaped by
new research, societal needs, political will, and evolving
cultural values.

As we advocate for reforms that honor human rights,
acknowledge the nuanced landscape of addiction, and
seek to reduce harm, we must not overlook the role of
prevention.

By prioritizing prevention in policy discussions and
implementing evidenced-based prevention strategies
in tandem with robust treatment and recovery supports,
we weave a more resilient social fabric.

• In doing so, we stand a far better chance of not only
  reducing substance-related harm but nurturing
  communities in which fewer people ever have to
  struggle with the consequences of addiction.

OAPTAR’s Framework for Social-Emotional Learning

The Behaviour Change Wheel and COM-B Model

Source: Michie et al., 2011

OAPTAR presenting “”How to expand prevention””
at the Drug Policy Program 11-Dec-2024, Grand
Millenium Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Participants of the Drug Policy Program workshop organized by UNODC, Malaysian
Aids Foundation & Drug Policy Program Malaysia, 10 - 11 Dec, 2024.

Why Systemic Change, Not Personal
Willpower, is Key to Preventing
Substance Use and Addiction

In the quiet streets of Reykjavik, a
revolution unfolded - not with fanfare or
force, but with community centers, after-
school programs, and a collective shift in
thinking.

Iceland, once plagued by one of the
highest rates of teenage substance abuse
in Europe, transformed into a global
example of how changing environments,
not just minds, can curb addiction.

This begs the question: Are we focusing
too much on personal choice and not
enough on the world we build around us?

For decades, addiction has been predominantly viewed
through the lens of personal agency. The huge anti-dadah
billboards along the major roads in Klang Valley and the
costly anti-drug campaigns are testimony to that belief.

The prevailing narrative suggests that individuals succumb
to addiction due to weak willpower or flawed character.

Simultaneously, the brain disease model posits that
addiction is a chronic illness, a hijacking of neural pathways
that diminishes personal control.

While this model removes some stigma by framing
addiction as a medical issue, it still centers the problem
within the individual.

However, this perspective overlooks a
crucial truth: addiction doesn't occur in a
vacuum. It's not merely a battle waged
within the confines of one's mind or body.

It's a symptom of broader systemic issues
- structural inequalities, environmental
stressors, social dynamics, and
behavioral norms that collectively shape
our experiences and choices.

The Limitations of the Brain Disease
Model

While the brain disease model has advanced our
understanding of the neurological aspects of
addiction, it inadvertently narrows our focus.

By emphasizing the individual's biology, we risk
neglecting the societal and environmental factors that
contribute to substance abuse.

Moreover, not everyone in the scientific community
agrees with this model.

Critics argue that it can lead to fatalism, suggesting
that those with addiction are powerless against their
biology, and thus, diminishing the urgency for systemic
change.

Shifting the Focus to Systemic Factors

To truly prevent addiction, we must broaden our
scope. Personal agency is undoubtedly important, but
it's significantly influenced by one's environment.

Consider the impact of poverty, education,
community resources, and social support.

These factors can either fortify an individual against
addiction or leave them vulnerable.

Iceland's Blueprint for Success

In the 1990s, Iceland faced a crisis: teenage substance
abuse was rampant. Instead of solely targeting the
individuals, Icelandic authorities implemented a
nationwide program addressing systemic factors.

Key components of their approach included:

• After-School Programs: Providing youths with
  engaging activities reduced idle time that might
  otherwise be spent experimenting with substances.
• 
  
• Parental Involvement: Strengthening
  communication between parents and children
  fostered supportive home environments.
• 
  
• Curfews and Community Agreements: Establishing
  common rules created a unified front against
  substance abuse.

• Investment in Sports and Arts: By funding
  extracurricular activities, teens found passion and
  purpose, decreasing the allure of drugs and
  alcohol.

The results were staggering. Within a decade, the
percentage of 15- and 16-year-olds who had been
drunk in the past month plummeted from 42% to 5%.
Smoking and cannabis use saw similar declines.

Environment Shapes Behavior

Iceland's experience underscores a
fundamental principle: our surroundings
heavily influence our choices.

When communities invest in supportive
structures, provide access to resources, and
cultivate healthy social norms, individuals are
less likely to turn to substances.

Consider urban areas with high addiction rates.
Often, these are neighborhoods grappling with
unemployment, inadequate housing, limited
access to healthcare, and scarce educational
opportunities.

The stressors of such environments can drive
individuals toward substance use as a coping
mechanism.

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A Collective Responsibility

Shifting the narrative from personal failure to systemic responsibility
doesn't absolve individuals of accountability. Instead, it recognizes that
we're all part of the solution.

By advocating for and implementing systemic changes, we create
environments where healthy choices are accessible and appealing.

Action Steps Toward Systemic Change

Preventing addiction requires collective effort and policy changes that
address root causes. Here are steps we can advocate for:

Take Action Now

It's time to look beyond the individual and see the bigger picture. Each of
us has a role to play—whether it's advocating for policies that support
social workers, fund community programs, volunteering, or simply
fostering supportive relationships.

Together, we can build a society where the chains of addiction are
broken not by sheer willpower alone, but by the strength of the
community that surrounds us.

Educate Yourself and Others:

• Share information about the importance of systemic factors in
  addiction prevention.

Support Local Initiatives:

• Get involved with organizations such as ISSUP Malaysia and OAPTAR
  that focus on community development and youth programs.

Advocate for Policy Change:

• Contact your local Ahli Parliament and Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri
  to express support for policies that address the root causes of
  addiction.

Take OAPTAR’s Training Courses:

• For beginners, for professionals and for those who aim to gain
  international accreditation and go global.

Prevention Trainings

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