Social and emotional learning for the greater good: Expanding the circle of human concern

The central argument of this article is that educators can empower young people to address global challenges by actively helping them to expand their circle of concern beyond themselves and their social circles. Using the example of a recently developed SEL program called Samvedana, a Sanskrit word for care and concern for others, this article describes an approach to steer SEL toward promoting the welfare of others beyond the immediate circle of the learner. The article provides a brief history and benefits of SEL, describes the Samvedana program, and presents possible ways of developing concern-building SEL programs.