Social and Emotional Needs and Learning Processes: Section Introduction

There has been an increasing interest and research focus over the past years on meeting the social and emotional needs of diverse learners, including high ability or gifted and talented children (Freeman, 2018). Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has been linked to an overall improvement in academic performance, lower levels of emotional distress, and an increase in prosocial behaviour among students (Mahoney, Durlak, & Weissberg, 2018; Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004). The chapters in Part II roughly address the broad topics mentioned above as they deal with: (a) motivation, growth mindset, and self-regulated learning training leading to academic performance and achievement; (b) overexcitabilities which heighten one’s physiological experience of the world, thereby increasing one’s vulnerabilities to emotional distress; (c) the impact of ability grouping and acceleration to a gifted students’ self-esteem and well-being; (d) experiences of twice exceptional students in regular classrooms; (e) the intersectional experiences of risk and resilience among gifted young people who are socio-economically disadvantaged and who belong to ethnic minorities and indigenous communities; (f) how explicitly teaching SEL and coping skills can help inhibit inappropriate behaviours; and (g) how the introduction of multicultural literature can help develop prosocial behaviours among gifted students.