RESEARCH OVERVIEW BY COMPETENCY During my 昀椀rst read of the framework, I kept thinking what a di昀昀erence we would see in the world if every teacher, student, and caregiver had an understanding of these competencies.” - EXPERT REVIEWER Sustain Wellness Numerous researchers have recognized the extent to which related to caring for one’s self and others in socially just ways, learning entails social and emotional components, as well as well as skills more traditionally associated with SEL. 13 as cognitive ones . To this recognition of the entwinement of social, emotional, and cognitive learning has been added As would be expected in a competency that works across a a wide-spread recognition of the role that identity plays in number of socially, culturally, and psychologically inflected learning, and the ways in which threats to one’s identity in areas of education practice, the research we drew on to the form of bias and stereotypes negatively impact learning design Sustain Wellness draws on approaches to thriving 14 and well-being more generally . For joyful learning to occur, and flourishing articulated in a wide range of fields, including learners need caring environments where they are given positive psychology, social and emotional learning, and the tools to build, explore, and sustain their identities, culturally-responsive and sustaining education. relationships, and feelings, as well as their ideas. The competency Sustain Wellness provides these tools for building, exploring, and sustaining identities, relationships, and feelings through three key skill areas: nurturing identity, disrupting bias, and building a昀昀irming life practices. The competency as a whole contains aspects of social emotional learning, but is not solely that, since it encompasses skills 13 Immordino-Yang, et al. 2018 14 Nagaoka, 2015 8