Supportive Environments Providing Social and Emotional Learning Explain Success in People with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

Although students with learning disabilities (SwLD) are at greater risk (compared to typical learners) for dropping out of high school, not attending college, and unemployment, some SwLD lead successful lives (Aro et al., 2019; Mazzotti et al., 2021; Wagner et al., 2005). Little, however, is known as to what factors support this subset of SwLD in defying the odds and achieving success by graduating from college and leading satisfying lives. Alumni from Winston Preparatory School (Winston), a school exclusively for SwLD that has a strong track record for high school graduation and college attendance, were recruited for this study. Results from a previous study on Winston alumni indicated all attended college and most: graduated college, were employed, and had someone who socially supported them. The present study described in this paper built on these findings. Results indicated that when students felt supported by teachers and people at home, they were more likely to report high levels of three social and emotional learning skills which predicted several measures of student success. These results may offer possible explanations for why certain SwLD succeed but more research, possibly longitudinal, is needed to gain a more thorough understanding of the factors involved.