SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
& MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING WORLWIDE
HISTORY
Social Emotional Learning can be tracked up to ancient Greece with Plato and its work The Republic where he stated that “by maintaining a sound system of education and upbringing, you produce citizens of good character”. He believed in a holistic educational approach.
Afterwards, signs of SEL are also found in the Comer School Development Program (CSP) by James Comer in 1968 which “enables educators, parents and families, and community partners to support development, integrate learning, and as a result, improve academic and behavioral outcomes”. CSP was first piloted in two poor and low-achieving elementary schools in New Haven that with the help of the program transformed its procedures and programs and became schools with best attendance record and no serious behavior problems. To date, CSP has been replicated in more than 1000 schools across the United States.
In 1994, the term social emotional learning was born as well as CASEL (Collaborative to Advance Social and Emotional Learning) —one of the leading SEL initiatives— as a collaboration between researchers, educators, practitioners, and child advocates that wanted schools to address the social and emotional needs of children. CASEL seeks to establish SEL as an essential part of K-12 education.


DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
UNITED STATES
CARE (COMMUNITY AUTONOMY RELATIONSHIPS EMPOWERMENT) FOR KIDS
CARE for Kids is a program that was born in Jefferson County public schools in Louisville, Kentucky. From 2008 to 2010, 54 elementary schools were part of the program. The program was created with the purpose of “help students develop socially, emotionally, ethically, and intellectually”. Building a safe and caring community and changing the structure, organization, and pedagogy of schools to enable children to succeed.
CARE for Kids include activities to develop classroom community and unity, meetings to set the tone for learning, forum for student and teachers to know each other, reflect, problem-solve, and make decisions, teaching/learning approach for self-control, activities for all members of the community to come together. In the program, teachers received several days of training and a binder of resources and classroom activities. Moreover, there are leadership teams in each school and distric liaisons were present for constant support.
CARE for Kids schools showed an increase in attendance and a decrease in suspensions compared to non CARE for Kids schools. Students in the school were the program was implemented showed more growth in School Satisfaction, School Engagement, School Belonging, School Discussion, Personal Safety, Political Discussion, and Positive Character (Comprehensive School survey) than students that did not have CARE for Kids.

CATCH (COORDINATED APPROACH TO CHILD CARE)
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CATCH is a program that focuses on empowering “school communities to cultivate Whole Child wellness as a lever for student success and social equity”. CATCH not only focuses on building social and emotional skills but also on the physical aspect of child’s health such as nutrition and physical education. The program has clear that good health also includes mental health. Since the implementation of SEL in CATCH curriculum, 55 schools and after schools sites have used it as well as educators have registered for trainings. CATCH is present in more than 15 000 schools and child care sites, it reaches over 3 million PreK-12 students annually.
In its SEL Journeys, CATCH provides age-differentiated lessons. The program uses “movement and cultural learning to teach and reinforce SEL concepts”. Students start their day with an introduction to an SEL concept and then discussing a question with the whole classroom. Afterwards, they “trave” to a different part of the world and learn the culture context of the dance they will learn the movements. The movement can be a solo routine as well as a partner one when partner skills are addressed. SEL Journeys approach of utilizing movements and cultural learnings makes the children to approach the classroom in a more joyful way.
95% of students say that CATCH help them build self-confidence, 89% that help them to keep motivated and set goals, 99% that they can practice respect for others through CATCH, 94% that they feel more comfortable with the environment and people that surrounds them, and 90% that increased their ability to make healthy choices.
UNITED KINGDOM

SEAL (THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL ASPECTS OF LEARNING
SEAL was first introduced in 2005 and since then it have been used all across schools in England to later be used by the Welsh government with an adaptation of SEAL to the country’s context. SEAL focus on developing the capabilities of self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Aditionally, SEAL not only provides materials for the curriculum but also to train the school’s staff to implement SEL skills in the environment, day to day basis, and continue the fostering of skills at home. SEAL allows schools to use their resources and guidance according to their needs and context.
In primary education, SEAL is implemented through an explicit curriculum, the learning is later reinforced in curricular areas and during schooling days. SEAL includes three different sets, one is for staff training, the other is for family activities, and the last one is for small group work plus whole school materials. SEAL focuses on reinforcing, modelling, noticing, and celebrating the learning outcomes/skills inside and outside the classroom setting.
The SEAL programm continues to impact positively on academic learning, behavior, attendance, reductions in bullying, improving mental health and general health outcomes, staff retention and morale.

ANY LAW? FUNDING?

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is an act that was enacted on December 10, 2015 in the United States. Although inside the act there is no mention to SEL, it offers funding sources towards SEL. In order to federal funding be supported by ESSA, the interventions needs to be evidence based.
ESSA includes calls for “improving school conditions for student learning; enhancing peer interactions; providing a well-rounded education; and incorporating programs and activities that promote volunteerism, community involvement, or instructional practices for developing relationship-building skills”. These aims tackle the different dimensions embraced by social emotional learning.
The Title I Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged can be used to incorporate SEL in schoolwide or targeted assistance programs and school support and improvement activities. Title II Preparing, Training, and Recruiting
High-Quality Teachers, Principals, or Other School Leaders can be used to grow the capabilities of school staff to implement SEL in their classroom and instruction methods, to train staff in SEL professional development. Title IV 21st-Century Schools the funding goes towards programs that improve educational opportunities which can include academic and nonacademic supports outside of school hours.
In the United Kingdom, the Department of Education reviewed in 2003 a publication called “What works in promoting children’s emotional and social competence and wellbeing?” where it was highlighted the need to promote social and emotional skills in pupils and staff. In that way the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) —previously discussed on the website— was born.
It is clear that although no specific standards or more implemented laws or bills, SEL in developed countries such as the United Stated and the United Kingdom is more widely accepted and recognize as important both by political figures and the society that once they are witnessed of the positive outcomes of SEL in children, they become advocates for an SEL approach to education. However, there is still work to be done in the field since even there are organisation that work with schools across the country to implement SEL in the curriculum, having the requirement of it in the law would foster a more humanistic approach in schools where Social Emotional Learning will not depend on the decision of the people in power in schools rather will be a requirement that will benefit every person in the system.
"We need to address inequities in education and we need better pathways to success"
US Secretary of Education
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
PERU

ESCUELA AMIGA
In 2013, the Ministry of Education announced a program called Escuela Amiga to tackle the increment of violence in Peru and to improve school coexistence. It aimed to reach 1000 educational instituitions in zones with high crime rates in the country. Escuela Amiga consisted in develop the social emotional capabilities of teachers so they could acquire the pedagogical tools and improve school climate; a team of psychologist, social worker, and educator with experience in school violence and protection of students in risk situations to support schools; strengthening of the relationship between school, family, and community with after school activities.
Under this context, developing Escuela Amiga could help children who grew up in violent environment to enhance their problem solving skills, self-awareness, and self-discipline. The program objective include to reduce the possible decrease in students’ health, academic development, chances of criminal behavior, unemployment in the future. Unfortunately, there is a lack of information about the results of Escuela Amiga in the country.

PROGRAMA DE HABILIDADES SOCIOEMOCIONALES (SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SKILLS PROGRAM)

The Social Emotional Skills Program —named translated— was born before the start of the 2022 schooling year. Peru was one of the countries most affected for the COVID-19 pandemic, the program has as one of its main objectives to facilitate the transition from virtual schooling to an in-person one. The program created a kit of social emotional evaluation and the elaboration of a program of social emotional skills which was meant for teacher to use during tutoring space. The evaluation helped to identify the state of the social emotional skills on each student as well as risk factors. The Ministry of Educatio was aware that Peruvian education needed to be more humanize especially after all the consequences that the pandemic brought for every person. Moving forward the 2022 schooling year, results about the program has not come out yet or the progress that has been made so far.
MEXICO

APRENDIZAJES CLAVES (KEY LEARNINGS)
The Public Education Department of the Mexican Government proposed the implementation of a new educational model to start on August 2018 which inside the curriculum it includes socio emotional education and five essential components such as self-knowledge, self-discipline, autonomy, empathy, and collaboration. The subject “Social Emotional Education” is part of the Personal and Social Development Area dictated by the Public Education Department.
Aprendizajes Claves in primary education only last thirty minutes each week and it aims to change the believe that socio emotional learning belong more to the family sphere rather than the school one. The program hopes to support children in developing strategies and abilities to express themselves, recognize and understand their emotions, develop assertive ways of communicating and active listening, acknowledging cultural diversity and the importance of inclusion for equality and peace, participation in actions and community projects, and recognize how empathy can change our surroundings. There is a lack of information about the results that the program had since 2018.

LATIN AMERICA CONTEXT
16 Latin America and the Caribbean countries took part of the Comparative and Explanatory Regional Study performed by UNESCO which measured three socio emotional skills in students of sixth grade (10 years old). The study shows that 85% of students consider to have a positive attitude towards people of different origin and culture, 74% said that they preserve and self-regulate to accomplish their school obligations, and 55% that they always or almost always put themselves in the shoes of someone else or value different points of view.
Social and emotional learning has recently started to resonate in Latin America because —as mentioned before— people used to believe that it was more a family role than a school role to foster and shape the character and personality. However, it has been shown that these dimensions can be cultivated and strengthened in schools. School made a difference in the personal development of children. Thus, it is important to give the necessary attention to socio emotional skills. Since it is a new topic for the region, governments and instituitions are pilotating programs. It would be more useful to find the achievements and results of the program until now because it will allow for an evaluation of it and what strategies can be changed. Additionally, social emotional learning should be added to the curriculum in other areas and give it more time than thirty minutes per week or tutoring time —usually the same amount of time or even less since it can help students to become familiar more easily with a topic they just started to explore.
"The skills measured by ERCE (Comparative and Explanatory Regional Study) 2019 is part of a set of socio emotional skills that we now know are essential for personal development and for performance and coexistence at school and in all other areas of our lives"
UNESCO Santiago Director

COMPARING

When looking at the initiagtives of SEL in developed countries compared to developing ones, we can observe that initiatives from the former have been around longer since awareness and the importance of the implementation of social emotional skills have been more ingrained in the culture. Also, because there was the misconception that schools does not support the fostering of those skills and the families should be the key actor when in reality it is a work that includes the family, school, and community. SEL in developed countries is more visualized and there are more initiatives and organizations working towards implementing SEL and there has also been more research, studies, and investigation in the area compared to the developing countries where the efforts come from the government but there is a lack of information for understanding the results of the initiatives and its impact.