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One morning early this fall, 1st graders in Nydia Mendez鈥檚 class at Public School 24 in Brooklyn were working on identifying feelings.

鈥淚t鈥檚 your birthday. Make a face and show me how you feel,鈥� Ms. Mendez said to students, who instantly became all smiles and flapping arms. 鈥淵ou lost your favorite pencil.鈥� Their puppy-dog eyes hit the ground. 鈥淵our body鈥檚 showing me that you鈥檙e disappointed,鈥� she said to one boy.

A few halls away, Maria Diaz鈥檚 5th graders were revisiting a lesson in social-emotional learning they鈥檇 done recently in which they drew pictures of themselves and then listened to a story. Each time students heard a 鈥減ut-down,鈥� or a hurtful statement about someone in the story, Ms. Diaz had them tear off a piece of their self-portraits in a show of empathy.

Both Ms. Mendez and Ms. Diaz were teaching components of a social-emotional-learning curriculum called the 4R鈥檚 (Reading, Writing, Respect, and Resolution) that is used schoolwide by PS 24, and at other schools in the New York City district and beyond. By building students鈥� self-awareness and emotional vocabulary, the teachers say, they are working to help students resolve conflicts and monitor their own actions.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be the police person in the classroom,鈥� said Ms. Mendez. 鈥淚 really want them to solve their own problems and become independent with that.鈥�

A Focus on Causes

Ms. Mendez and Ms. Diaz are working under the same premise as the many schools now prioritizing social-emotional learning, or SEL: Teachers should manage student behavior with more than just immediate compliance in mind. They should work to shape more responsible and empathetic people.

It鈥檚 a lofty goal, but one that is gaining plenty of traction. Schools around the country are using programs like Responsive Classroom, Second Step, and the 4R鈥檚 to teach young students to recognize and regulate their emotions, understand others鈥� perspectives, resolve conflicts, and build relationships.

There鈥檚 evidence that such programs have benefits. In a meta-analysis of 213 research-based social-emotional-learning programs, the Chicago-based Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning found that such programs boost student achievement, as measured by standardized tests and school grades, by an average of 11 percentile points. The study said SEL programs also reduced problems with student conduct and emotional distress, and improved their attitudes 鈥渁bout themselves, others, and school.鈥�

Traditional behavior-management systems tend to focus on compliance, or getting students to abide by rules and consequences. Systems based on social-emotional learning are more concerned with the emotional causes and ramifications of student behavior.

鈥淭he most critical thing to think about in classroom management is, 鈥榃hat is the ultimate aim?鈥欌�� said George Bear, an education professor at the University of Delaware and a former school psychologist. 鈥淭he short-term aim might be compliance鈥攁nd I have no problem with that鈥攂ut is that the only thing you want to develop in a kid?鈥�

More than just meeting behavioral expectations, he said, children need to learn 鈥渆mpathy, perspective-taking, social problem-solving skills, anger control, self-regulation, and, to be honest, shame and guilt.鈥�

Having the basic tools in place for compliance 鈥渋s important,鈥� said Mr. Bear. 鈥淏ut then you build upon that and don鈥檛 stop there. ... I get frustrated when teachers have an orderly class and that鈥檚 their only goal.鈥�

鈥楢 Messy Process鈥�

Certain elements are common to many SEL programs: Students learn vocabulary words related to feelings and practice identifying their emotions. Classroom rules, or community standards, are created with student input. Students convene for class meetings, during which they express their feelings and solve problems.

Rebecca Schmidt, who teaches 4th and 5th grade at the Inspired Teaching School, a charter school in the District of Columbia, uses a variety of social-emotional-focused methods to manage her students. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tough, and a messy process, and takes a lot longer than a typical external-incentive/rewards classroom management [approach],鈥� she wrote in an email.

SEL programs also tend to focus on having students repair the damage when they misbehave, rather than simply receive a punishment. For instance, said Ms. Schmidt, if one child in her classroom does not let another play at recess, instead of just having to sit out, the offender will have to find a way to 鈥渇ix鈥� the problem.

鈥淗e could make a card or write a note to the kid,鈥� she explained. 鈥淥ften this 鈥榓pology of action鈥� or 鈥榝ixing鈥� is a lot harder than just losing recess.鈥�

Tom Roderick, the executive director of the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility, based here in New York, and the creator of the 4R鈥檚 SEL program, said 鈥渢he misbehavior then becomes an opportunity for learning.鈥�

Teaching social-emotional lessons also comes with risks. For instance, the 鈥減ut-downs鈥� activity in Maria Diaz鈥檚 5th grade class, in which students tore up their self-portraits, brought much of the class to tears.

At times, classroom meetings and other discussions can churn up feelings students are having about serious problems at home, which can be difficult for a teacher to navigate.

Not a Therapy Session

Ms. Diaz said she has conversations with the class about not repeating what they hear from members of their 鈥渃lass family.鈥� In addition, she explains that as a mandated reporter of child abuse and neglect, she must pass on certain information to counselors and administrators.

Also, Ms. Diaz said, she warns parents at the start of the year that their children may open up to her about what鈥檚 going on at home. This kind of emotionally fraught work 鈥渄oes take a toll on me,鈥� Ms. Diaz admitted. 鈥淚 become so engulfed in [the students鈥橾 lives that I sometimes forget to take care of me. It is a balancing act that I have not mastered.鈥�

SEL-based classrooms also do not work for every child. Students with behavioral issues may require an extrinsic-rewards system or a more structured approach.

Mr. Roderick said teachers must understand 鈥渢his is not about therapy. It鈥檚 about teaching kids skills and giving opportunities to practice and apply them to real-life situations. ... It鈥檚 problem-solving.鈥�

For Ms. Diaz, despite the exhaustion and other difficulties, implementing SEL has been worth the effort. In addition to seeing academic benefits, she said, 鈥渒nowing that my children are OK and that they鈥檝e acquired the necessary skills to live in a peaceful environment is what matters most. The challenges become secondhand.鈥�