Skills for Holistic Development 

Holistic development is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, and achieve personal and collective goals. It enables them to feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. 

Why do we care about these skills? They have been researched and found to: 

• consistently have positive effects on student's success—from their academic performance and behavior to their ability to manage stress.  

• routinely be named as the most needed skills by Michigan employers.

• yield long-term benefits across demographic groups—meaning that focusing on developing these skills can support the positive development of children from diverse backgrounds and geographies. 

MASP offers training throughout the year to support the OST sector in creating spaces of identity, belonging, and agency.

Holistic Development Resources

• Advancing Social and Emotional Learning - CASEL 

• BlackSEL

• LEGO's Skills for Holistic Development

• The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions

• Search Institute

Assessment Tools

• Hello Insight - Automated Evaluation for Youth Development Programs