A Critical Discourse Analysis of the New Labour Discourse of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Across Schools in England and Wales - Conversations With Policymakers

Oct 15, 2026

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This paper reports a critical discourse analysis of the New Labour (1997–2010) policy discourse of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools, examining how policymakers in England and Wales understood and enacted it under UK devolved government. SEL is defined as universal school-based programs tied to children’s emotional wellbeing, focused on building abilities to understand, express, and manage emotions. Interviews with national SEL policy actors show how the discourse privileged specific ideas, topics, and speakers while excluding others, shaped strongly by language and political ideology.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

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SPECIAL ISSUE Critical Discourse Analysis and Education Policy education policy analysis archives A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal Arizona State University | Volume 24 Number 104 | October 17, 2016 | ISSN 1068-2341 | | --- | --- | --- | A Critical Discourse Analysis of the New Labour Discourse of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Across Schools in England and Wales: Conversations With Policymakers Carl Emery University of Manchester England Citation: Emery, C. (2016) . A critical discourse analysis of the New Labour discourse of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) across schools in England and Wales: Conversations with policymakers. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 24(104). [http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2236](http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.24.2236) This article is part of the Special Issue on Critical Discourse Analysis and Education Policy, Guest Edited by Jessica Nina Lester, Chad R. Lochmiller, & Rachael Gabriel. Abstract: This paper reports on a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the New Labour (1997-2010) discourse of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools, and how it was understood and enacted by policymakers in England and in Wales within the context of devolved government across the UK. By SEL I mean universal school-based programs, located in the concept of children’s emotional wellbeing and concerned with developing children’s ability to understand, express and manage their emotions. Through a series of in-depth interviews with national level SEL policy actors this investigation worked to understand and identify how the SEL policy discourse worked “to privilege certain ideas and topics and speakers and exclude others”(Ball, 2008, p. 5) . Through shining a critical light on the discourse of New Labour SEL policy makers this work responds to the call of Gunter et al. (2014) for critical education researchers to develop and amplify voices which challenge the current hegemonic “common sense” discourse. The findings identify that the relationship between language and political ideology in England and Wales during the New Labour years powerfully shaped the SEL policy discourse. Keywords: social development; emotional development; education policy; neoliberalism; critical theory Un análisis crítico del discurso de la Nueva Trabajo Social y el aprendizaje emocional (SEL) en las escuelas en Inglaterra y Gales: Conversaciones con los responsables políticos Resumen: En este artículo se informa de un análisis crítico del discurso (ACD) Obra Nueva (1997- 2010) aprendizaje social y emocional (SEL) en las escuelas, y cómo se entendía y promulgada por los legisladores en Inglaterra y Gales en el contexto de gobierno en todo el Reino Unido (UK) . Por SEL, me refiero a los programas basados en las escuelas universales, que se encuentra en el conceptode bienestar emocional de los niños y preocupada por el desarrollo de la capacidad de los niños para comprender, expresar y manejar sus emociones. A través de una serie de entrevistas con los políticos nacionales la SEL, esta investigación ha servido para comprender e identificar cómo el discurso político de SEL sirvió “para favorecer a ciertas ideas, temas, altavoces y excluir a otros”(Ball, 2008 p. 5) . A través de un enfoque crítico sobre los responsables de la expresión política del nuevo trabajo SEL, esta obra responde a la llamada de Gunter et al. (2014) para los investigadores de la educacióncríticos para desarrollar y amplificar las voces que cuestionan el discurso hegemónico actual de“sentido común”. Los resultados indican que la relación entre el lenguaje y la ideología política en Inglaterra y Gales durante los años de Nuevo Laborismo poderosamente formó el discurso político de SEL. Palabras clave: desarrollo social; desarrollo emocional; política educativa; neoliberalismo; la teoríacrítica Uma análise crítica sobre o discurso de Novo Trabalho de Aprendizagem Social e Emocional (SEL) em esco

FAQs

What is Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in this study?

SEL refers to universal school-based programs grounded in children’s emotional wellbeing, aiming to develop children’s ability to understand, express, and manage their emotions.

How was the analysis conducted in this paper?

The study uses critical discourse analysis informed by in-depth interviews with national-level SEL policy actors to understand how the SEL discourse operated.

What relationship does the paper identify between language and politics?

The findings indicate that the relationship between language and political ideology in England and Wales during the New Labour years powerfully shaped the SEL policy discourse.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag