Social and Emotional Education. International Analysis 2011

Social and Emotional Education.An International AnalysisFundación Botín Report 2011

www.fundacionbotin.org

Social and Emotional Education.An International Analysis

Fundación Botín Report 2011

Credits

Promoted, organized and coordinated byFundación Botín

Research Team DirectorChristopher Clouder

EditorBelinda Heys

Produced and published byFundación BotínPedrueca 1. 39003 SantanderTel. +34 942 226 072 / Fax +34 942 226 045www.fundacionbotin.org

DesignTres DG / Fernando Riancho

PhotographsFundación Botín Archive. Esteban Cobo

TranslationZesauroTom Skipp

PrintersGráficas Calima

ISBN: 978-84-96655-93-5© Fundación Botín, 2011

The Botín Foundation is committed to an education that promotes the healthy growth of children and young people, fosteringtheir talent and creativity to help them become autonomous, competent, charitable and happy. It promotes an education thatgenerates development and contributes to society´s progress.

There are three areas of focus for this: Intervention (Responsible Education Programme), Training (scholarships andprogrammes such as the Master´s Degree in Social, Emotional and Creative Education) and Research (the Botín Platform forInnovation in Education).

The contents and opinions expressed in this report are entirely the responsibility of their authors.

The Fundación Botín will allow the complete or partial reproduction of this report, as long as its contents are notmisrepresented, modified, altered or used in such way that may harm its legitimate interests or reputation, and only insofaras its contents are reproduced according to academic standards.

Preface 9

Introduction 15

Country Chapters

Portugal 31

Australia 67

Finland 103

Singapore 143

Canada 179

Evaluation 219

Results of the Botín Foundation’s Social 221and Emotional Educational Programme

The Effects of a Social and Emotional 229Educational Programme on infant-juvenile development

Pedagogical Evaluation of a Social and 247Emotional Educational Programme

Index


Social and Emotional Education.An International Analysis

Fundación Botín Report 2011

Christopher Clouder (Director)Javier Argos

Mª Pilar EzquerraLuisa Faria

Jennifer M. GidleyMarja Kokkonen

Dennis KomLucy Le Mare

Mª Ángeles MeleroJosé Manuel OsoroRaquel Palomera

Laurentino SalvadorFátima Sánchez Santiago

Preface

10

An educational trip around the world

Three years have gone by since October 2008 when we presented the first Botín Re-port on Social and Emotional Education1 –an international study featuring contribu-tions from renowned experts in the field– in October 2008 at the head office of theBotín Foundation in Santander.

This study provided many people in the educational sector interested in the wellbeingof children and teenagers with relevant information about the various contexts in whichSocial and Emotional Education is initiated and subsequently developed, including casestudies of successful trials that have been carried out in different parts of the world. Sixcountries –Germany, Spain, the USA, the Netherlands, the UK and Sweden– took partin the first report which was accompanied by a final chapter featuring an assessmentexploring the scientific literature on the subject, including statistics on the effects ofSocial and Emotional Education on children and teenagers.

The reaction to the Fundación Botín Report 2008 has been very positive, and has ful-filled our dual purpose of, on the one hand, contributing practical knowledge and ed-ucational expertise to help improve the education and development of children andteenagers, and, on the other hand, setting up a network of experts, institutions and thegeneral public in which skills, procedures and research about emotional, social, cogni-tive and creative development from infancy onwards can be shared and exchanged.

The Botín Foundation continues to wholehearted support and invest resources in edu-cation. We are convinced that now, more than ever, in these difficult times, is when weneed to strongly encourage the development of personal and social skills from infancyonwards, so that families, schools and communities may consist of independent, com-petent, supportive and happy individuals – individuals with creative talents capable ofinspiring progress and of contributing to the advancement of society.

Much has changed in these three years. What started off as an international report toinform the public of the progress made in the field of Social and Emotional Intelli-gence and Creativity around the world and to support the educational programmethe Foundation is carrying out in Cantabria (Spain), has been transformed into afully-fledged applied research project. The Botín Platform for Innovation in Education,set up in 2009 and directed by Christopher Clouder, is a meeting place for expertsfrom around the world. The Platform enables research and study to be undertakenby international work groups in order to improve knowledge on the subject. It alsoencourages and promotes the Foundation’s own educational programme. In additionto this, recommendable and successful educational approaches, trials and standardsare gathered together and shared via an interactive online social network that is freelyaccessibly (www.plataformabotin.org).

11

This new Fundación Botín Report 2011 is no ordinary report. It is the outcome of a wayof working and of a quest that seeks to bring together an increasing number of peoplewho are looking for innovative and creative formulae to change educational systems andprovide children and teenagers with training adapted to their needs and to the socialchanges which are constantly occurring.

On this occasion, we have been joined around the table by researchers from Australia,Canada, Finland, Portugal and Singapore. The variety of different settings, cultures,situations and experiences has helped to enrich this study. The last chapter focuses,as it did in the first report, on evaluating social and emotional education programmes.This year we introduce the results obtained by the Botín Foundation’s ResponsibleEducation Programme, following its three-year long implementation in one hundredschools in Cantabria.

We would like to express our thanks to all the team members –Christopher Clouder,Luisa Faria, Jennifer Gidley, Belinda Heys, Marja Kokkonen, Dennis Kom, Lucy Le Mare,Arrate Martín and Fátima Sánchez Santiago– for their hard work and effort. We hopeyou will enjoy perusing this Fundación Botín Report 2011 and taking another educa-tional trip around the world, which we trust will be a source of inspiration.

Iñigo Sáenz de MieraGeneral Director of the Botín Foundation

1 “Social and Emotional Education. An International Analysis. Fundacion Marcelino Botin Report 2008.

“The salvation of this human world lies nowhere elsethan in the human heart, in the human power to reflect,in human meekness and human responsibility.”

Vaclav Havel

Introduction

Looking Afresh

Christopher Clouder

There is always that edge of doubt Trust it, that’s where the new things come from If you can’t live with it, get out, because when it is gone you’re on automatic, repeating something you’ve learned. From “The Edge of Doubt” by Albert Huffstickler1

In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince the eponymous child travels the universe andvisits a series of planets to learn about the vagaries of adult behaviour. The sixth such planetwas inhabited by an old gentleman who wrote voluminous books. He declares himself to be ageographer and he defines his occupation as that of “a learned man who knows where all theseas, rivers, towns, mountains and deserts are located“.2 (Saint-Exupéry, 2000) The prince isimpressed, as he seems to have encountered a real profession at last, having visited the pre-vious planets only to be disappointed. But on asking the geographer more factual questionsabout the planet that he inhabits the only retort he gets is “I can’t tell”. The boy remarks thatthis is an odd reply from a geographer and is then told, “It is not the geographer’s job to goaround counting off the towns, the rivers, the mountains, the seas, the oceans and the deserts.The geographer is far too important to go sauntering about. He does not leave his desk. Therehe sits and receives the explorers. He asks them questions, and notes down what they recol-lect from their travels.” But he also believes that explorers are not be trusted and have to besubject to an enquiry to establish their credentials, as they might be lying or even drunk. Ifthey pass this hurdle they then have to furnish proof of their discoveries. The conversationcontinues with the prince telling of the flower that lives on his planet and to his astonishmentthe geographer states “We do not take note of flowers. “The prince protests that they are pret-tier than anything else, but the geographer maintains they are not like mountains that stay es-tablished in one place and do not change, thereby making them worthy of mention becausethey are eternal, whereas a flower is ephemeral and dies.

The writers in this analysis of social and emotional education across our planet, as both ex-plorers and educational geographers, exemplify this dilemma. Whatever happens in the class-room is ephemeral; it can only happen there and then with that particular combination ofpeople and circumstances. We can take note of it and attempt to describe it. We can developtheoretical grounding for its practice and its antecedents, imply the outcomes and then seekto measure them. Other educators can try to replicate that particular lesson, as though it werea mountain, but the streams of time, cultural evolution and diversity declare its ephemeralnature. Our intellectual curiosity needs to preserve the world in aspic in order to dissect itand thus understand, knowing full well it will always be an incompleted task that is ultimatelybeyond us. “Look up at the sky…. And you will see how everything changes… And no grown-ups

Introduction18

will ever understand the significance of this!“3 (Saint-Exupéry, 2000) The beauty of the floweris in its very transcendence and that is analogous to the satisfying joy of educating and learn-ing “If someone loves a star of which there is only one example among all the millions and mil-lions of stars, that is enough to make him happy when he looks up at the night”.4 In the storythe flower is threatened by a sheep, the very sheep the child in his wisdom and awareness oftransience asked the writer to draw and create on their first encounter. “Here then is the greatmystery. For you who love the little prince, as for me, nothing in the universe can be the sameif somewhere –we do not know where– a sheep we have never met has or has not eaten arose”.5 (Saint-Exupéry, 2000)

As we study and research social and emotional education we run the risk of either constructingour own inquisitive sheep that destroys the ephemeral beauty that it sees, or, of becoming ageographer, where only what is replicable or tactile can count as having any value. Explorers,too, can be drunk with enthusiasm and find only the products of their wishful thinking. Theline between the two is narrow indeed. As educators we need to evaluate and analyse our

practices and outcomes in order to gain a clearer picture, test our theoretical assumptions andto improve our schools. Furthermore what can be learnt in one situation can inform and beadapted for another through exchange of experience and deeper insights. In the research intoSocial and Emotional Education (SEE) we are touching on fundamental human values and ex-pectations and therefore our enthusiasm for any seemingly effective approach should be tem-pered with careful consideration and an ethical perspective. Our initial publication, Social andEmotional Education. An International Analysis, as does this second one, gave a picture notonly of schools, students, parents and teachers but also the cultural context within which they,as learning communities, lived and operated.

However one lesson we have been able to draw from all our work is that there is no recipeand that all our combined perspectives still only lead to a partial picture. “In the twentieth

In order to find the new connections that are relevant toour contemporary lives we have, in the art of education aswell as in the art of being human, to be constantly creativeand questioning

Introduction 19

century the specialists gathered around the cradle, and the child became a scientific object.The paediatrician’s biological child has nothing to do with the psychologist’s scientific child.Psychologists know nothing about children in institutional care and are astounded by therelativity of the historian’s child”.6 (Cyrulnic, 2009) We have to categorise in order to con-ceptualise - putting the world into nineteenth century natural history butterfly specimendrawers in a museum according to their perceived order of species and variations. Yet thesedistinctions are, in reality, false, as our world is an interconnected and interdependent meta-morphosing muddle. In order to find the new connections that are relevant to our contem-porary lives we have, in the art of education as well as in the art of being human, to beconstantly creative and questioning.

As the world is being transformed around us so we also evolve. Childhood today is not thesame experience as it was for previous generations. Implicit in this is that the institutions andfacilities which society provides for the education of children should change too. Evolution,whether in the realm of nature around us, or within our species as human beings, progressesby fits and starts and not in a neat and comprehensible straight line, as life adapts itself to thechallenges of its environment and reciprocally affects it. For instance a paper was publishedin the Proceedings of the Royal Society at the beginning of 2011 that reported that becauseof disturbance caused by the noise in the urban environment songbirds were evolving thetechniques of their songs. Silvereyes, which have a wide repertoire and sing in sentences,have heightened the pitch of their tunes in urban settings from 40 decibels to 80, a signifi-cant change, and also slowed the pace so they could be more readily understood.7 (SydneyMorning Herald, 2011) However its country cousins have not needed to adjust in the sameway. So the species eventually divides into new communities through their differing methodof communicating. In our fast changing world it is not surprising that we can observe suchchanges in ourselves and in our societies too, and these changes deeply affect our children.

Trends in Education 20108 (OECD, 2010) gives some telling insights into the possible ram-ifications of these changes. The greater urbanisation of humanity has potentially huge social,economic and cultural implications. It is expected that by 2050 around 70% of the world’spopulation will live in cities, whereas in the last few years it has reached a record 50%. In-habitants in large cities across the world will have more in common with each other thanthey will have with rural communities in their own country. Alongside this the exponentialdevelopment in modern technology gives us ease of communication across the globe. Weseem to possess the world in our pockets. This allows increasing interaction, collaborationand dissemination of information as well as creating new areas of creativity, but it also speedsup the pace of life. OECD countries find themselves with an ageing population because of an

increased life expectancy as well as lower birth rates and both have an impact on public ex-penditure that can lead to constraints on the educational budget due to significant increasesin pension and health costs.

In most OECD countries income inequality is on the increase, as is relative poverty and thenumber of households characterised by child poverty. The negative impact that this has onchildhood well-being is well documented. In these ‘western’ countries the economy is in-creasingly knowledge-intensive and developing countries with their relatively young and dy-namic populations take on more and more of the actual production of goods. Women aremuch better qualified than a generation ago and have in fact become a majority in complet-ing secondary and tertiary education. With the growth of the norm that both parents areeconomically active there is less time to spend with children within the family and manychildren live with one parent or in patchwork families with a consequent effect on the child’ssocial and psychological development. Rates of child obesity are going up. This effect is ex-emplified in a U.K study of the physical condition of ten year olds conducted by Essex Uni-versity and carried out over the ten year period of 1998–2008. The results showed that inthat period of ten years there was a decline of 27% in the number of sit ups that the ten yearolds could do, as well as a fall in arm strength of 26% and a 7% drop in grip strength. Whereasone in 20 could not hold their own weight when hanging from wall bars in 1998, this in-creased to one in 10 by 2008.9 (Cohen et al, 2011) There has been an increase in the num-ber of children being treated for mental and behavioural disorders. “We should wonder whydepression has become a disease. It is a disease of society that is looking desperately for hap-piness, which we cannot catch. And so people collapse into themselves”.10 (Bruckner, 2011)Simultaneously the expectation placed on children to do well academically has also intensi-fied and educational policies in many countries are geared to achieving this. Niels Bohr, theDanish physicist, famously stated, “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” Ofcourse wariness is needed when extrapolating these trends. Nevertheless, some of their im-plications are with us now.

20 Introduction

Childhood today is not the same experience as it was forprevious generations. Implicit in this is that theinstitutions and facilities which society provides for theeducation of children should change too

The present OECD General Secretary, Angel Gurria, pointed out in a speech given to the Ed-ucational Round Table at UNESCO headquarters in 2009, that we are currently facing thegreatest job crisis of our lives, especially for young people. “Our economic growth is increas-ingly driven by innovation, making skills obsolete at a much faster pace than before – The re-sponse lies in education. The key to success is no longer simply whether you can reproducesomething you have learned, but whether you can extrapolate from what you know and applyyour knowledge in a novel and changing setting”.11 (Gurria, 2009) Conventional education inschools has used methods that break problems down into manageable parts and have taughtstudents how to solve each section individually. Modern economies will require a synthesis-ing of different fields of knowledge and the ability to make connections between ideas that hadpreviously seemed unrelated. The implication is that teachers will have to increasingly col-laborate across disciplines, thereby transforming the school, and children and students will re-quire new learning techniques. Through sources such as the Programme for InternationalStudent Assessment [PISA] and Teaching and Learning International Survey [TALIS]) “…wehave also learned that change is possible …. by moving from uniformity to embrace diversity andindividualising learning”.12 (Gurria, 2009) Although this is a liberal market-economy orien-tated outlook, based on valuing human beings as producers and consumers as well as indi-viduals, it is nevertheless yet another influential voice added to a growing sense thateducational practices have to change. Looking at the uncertain cultural and economic envi-ronment into which we are now being plunged it is not surprising that greater considerationis being given to the salutogenetic role of schools. We can see greater bio-distress on the hori-zon and our children need to be prepared for such times. Yet such changes involve risk, asGurria also acknowledges “Breaking the status quo is not easy ….. Overcoming active resistanceto change in education policy is one of our central challenges’.13 (Gurria, 2009)

21Introduction

Modern economies will require a synthesising of differentfields of knowledge and the ability to make connectionsbetween ideas that had previously seemed unrelated. Theimplication is that teachers will have to increasinglycollaborate across disciplines, thereby transforming theschool, and children and students will require newlearning techniques

In times of uncertainty we become more aware of human resilience, whether social or indi-vidual. Resilience has been used mainly as a term to designate children who have grown upin unpropitious circumstances or have undergone traumatic experiences and who have a setof qualities that have enabled them to find a process of successful adaptation and transfor-mation in the face of such risk and adversity. Nevertheless it is a human propensity that weall have to a greater or lesser degree, “We are all born with an innate capacity for resilience,by which we are able to develop social competence, problem solving skills, a critical con-sciousness, autonomy, and a sense of purpose“.14 (Benard, 1995)

Decades of research have shown that there are common characteristics of family, school andcommunity environments that can provide protective processes or are factors that enablechildren to manifest resilience. These are: caring and supportive relationships, positive andhigh expectations and opportunities for meaningful participation in the making of decisionsthat affect them. Other factors that support resilience play a role in the early years of a child’slife, such as having a mother with no long term health problems, positive parental attitudestowards seeking advice and support, an enriching home learning environment, living in ahousehold with at least one adult in full-time work and satisfaction with local services andneighbourhood.15(Kelly, 2010) Although many of these factors need to be there in the earlyyears when the child should be warmly ensconced in their family, schools can also play a rolein building resilience through creating an environment of caring personal relationships. How-ever, “social and cultural factors that play a deciding role in determining what are good or badoutcomes, make the notion of resilience a contextually specific and culturally biased con-struct”.16 (Unger, 2003) To build resilient schools requires that all the teachers make or aregiven the time to develop professional relationships with other members of the school com-munity as a whole, and a fundamental recognition that each situation is unique.

Resilience refers to personal features that determine how adversity and stressful conditionsare dealt with. More resilient individuals are more likely to respond to adversity in ways that

22 Introduction

Decades of research have shown that there are commoncharacteristics of family, school and communityenvironments that can provide protective processes or arefactors that enable children to manifest resilience

are less damaging to their physical and mental health. Boris Cyrulnik suggests that an aptmetaphor for resilience is knitting. “The ability to knit together a feeling of selfhood appearsto be a major factor in the aptitude for resilience”.17 (Cyrulnic, 2009) and he states categori-cally, “Resilience is a mesh not a substance”.18(Cyrulnik, 2009) Evidence of how such a fab-ric can be woven comes from programmes such as ‘The Song Room’ in Australia, which is aproject that has effectively supported the development of resilience in socially and economi-cally disadvantaged children by using the arts within school settings. An evaluation report bythe highly respected Professor Brian Caldwell, and launched by the Commonwealth Minsterof Education in Canberra, has highlighted the difference that the provision of an arts educa-tion can have on student engagement with their studies and schooling, as well as in helpingto develop happier, well-rounded students. Students that participated in The Song Room pro-gramme longer-term showed significantly higher grades in their academic subjects (English,mathematics, science and technology, and human society) than those who had not partici-pated; achieved significantly higher results in reading and overall literacy; had significantlyhigher attendance rates; and were more likely to be at the top two levels of the Social-Emo-tional Wellbeing Index in respect of the indicators of resilience, positive social skills, positivework management and engagement skills. The research also showed that schools participat-ing in Song Room programmes had better school attendance rates than non-participatingschools, with a 65% lower rate of absenteeism for students who had participated in The SongRoom programmes.19 (Caldwell et al, 2011) Through using the art of pedagogy as well as thearts themselves children’s lives can be transformed. “The point I am trying to make, the wholepoint of my hypothesis, is that the work of art is not an analogy – it is the essential act of trans-formation, not merely the pattern of mental evolution, but the vital process itself”.20 (Read,

1951). Art is not an extra to be added to a school curriculum, so that the students can eitherjust relax or have a good time between the lessons that “really count”. Rather it is a prerequi-site to any balanced attitude to life and healthy living. For children it is an essential factor oftheir experience of growing that enables them to develop and change towards finding thesources of their own well being, physical and mental health and the ability to live harmo-niously alongside others.

23Introduction

More resilient individuals are more likely to respond toadversity in ways that are less damaging to their physicaland mental health

“I believe that art can play –and indeed has an ethical responsibility to do so– a more activeand critical role in representing and questioning the complexities that are part of the globalworld and, although it does not have the power to change anything, it has the capacity and thepresence to refocus issues and propose reorientations to society”.21 (Power, 2009) JosephBeuys once said that “Creativity is national income” and in an age of economic turbulence anduncertainty with soaring youth unemployment, job insecurity and blighted career prospectswe should be turning our attention to how to prepare children and young people for such aworld. “As the future unfolds, schools will emerge as critical sites for promoting health, envi-ronmental vitality, academic growth, student well-being, and connections across communities…Creating resilient schools will require educators, families and other citizens to develop new ca-pacities”.22 (KnowledgeWorks, 2008) Schools, too, can be resilient organisations as they ac-knowledge and develop social and emotional education, for teachers and children alike, andexplore the research on which it is based. It underpins the traditional knowledge curriculum“Learning cognitive and emotional self-regulation helps young children with other activitiesand is proving a better predictor of later academic success than IQ tests”23 (Prince et al, 2009)and it is allied to a respect for the inner life of each individual child. The schools of the futurewill have to meet the new world challenges of responsive flexibility, enhanced collaborationand transparency through their own methods of innovation, adaption and openness. Health,learning and the environment are converging in our school communities and creating un-precedented challenges for all involved. ‘The general conclusion is that education can certainlyhelp improve health behaviours and outcomes. This can be done by raising cognitive, socialand emotional skills, and early launching of these competencies would not only be an efficientway of improving health but also an effective way of reducing health inequalities when tar-geted at disadvantaged groups”.24 (Miyamoto et al, 2010)

Educational institutions that are based on the industrial or factory model inherited from the 19th

century, with their top-down hierarchical structure, will clearly be found wanting as the move-ment towards a more creative culture in schools gather pace. Most innovations that really meetthe needs of today’s learners are likely to take place outside traditional institutions. As govern-ments across the world use the financial crisis as a pretext for increasing the focus in educationon effectiveness of student outcomes, reduce autonomy and increase privatisation25 (Douterlungeet al, 2010) it should be apparent that these are only short term measures that mask the fun-damental changes in educational practice that are really needed. The ideals of social cohesionthen run the risk of becoming empty promises, adding to the general cynicism. ”Unless we canbegin to see that our inherent discontent and drive for increasing competence run up against ourinterdependence or connectedness, we humans may not survive the next millennium“.26 (Young-Eisendrath, 1996) The clock cannot be turned back. The realm of education has become com-

24 Introduction

petitive, especially between nations. This is understandable in a climate of economic turbulenceand anxiety. Yet our contention is that this can also be a disservice if we are serious about cre-ating an education that provides sustainability and is primarily concerned with the well being ofour future citizens. The opportunity could be used in a more constructive and far-seeing way andour two publications highlight how this could be done

The texts in this second International Analysis survey the situation in a further five countrieswhere educators are seeking new approaches to social and emotional education. This is an areaoccupied by pioneers who are searching for what is relevant to our times, and who inevitablyachieve differing levels of success, due to a variety of cultural factors. But since 2008, when thefirst Botin Foundation International Analysis was published, there has been a growing body of ev-idence that strongly supports our common assumption that a creative and integrated approachto social and emotional education can serve the wellbeing of the child more extensively than thetraditional models have done. The final chapter in this publication on the evaluation results of theBotin Foundation’s Responsible Education programme fully supports this approach and showsremarkable benefits, within only three years of its initial implementation. Worldwide educationalresearch is coming to similar conclusions. These results in Cantabria are in line with the previ-ously mentioned Song Room outcomes and are also to be found in Reinvesting in Arts Education(PCAH, 2011)27 where findings of neuroscience using advanced techniques are cited that showthat: music training is closely correlated with the development of phonological awareness, whichis an important predictor of reading skills; children who were motivated to practice a specific artform develop improved attention and also improve general intelligence; links have been foundbetween high levels of music training and the ability to manipulate information in both workingmemory and long-term memory ‘Policymakers and civic and business leaders, as reflected inseveral recent high level task force reports, are increasingly recognizing the potential role of thearts in spurring innovation, providing teachers with more effective classroom strategies, engagingstudents in learning, and creating a climate of high performance in schools’.28

26 Introduction

“As the future unfolds, schools will emerge as critical sitesfor promoting health, environmental vitality, academicgrowth, student well-being, and connections acrosscommunities… Creating resilient schools will requireeducators, families and other citizens to develop newcapacities.” (KnowledgeWorks, 2008)

When Saint-Exupéry was asked how the child-hero had entered his life, he said that he hadlooked down on what he thought was a blank piece of paper to find a tiny figure. ‘I asked himwho he was.’ he explained. ‘I’m the Little Prince’ came the reply.29 (Schiff, 1996) When we lookat our educational practices do we have the courage to see them as a blank piece of paper andallow our imaginations to work so that we hear what the children and young people of todayand of the future actually need in school, rather than living with presupposed and anachro-nistic models from the past? To do this we have to accept our unfinishedness as teachers, ed-ucators and carers, as we live and work with children who experience more fully theunfinishedness of their human nature than we, as adults, do.

Man’s biggest wealthis his incompleteness.With this I am wealthy.Words that accept me the wayI am – I don’t accept.

Forgive me.But I need to be others.I intend to revitalize manBy using butterflies.

From “Mist Biography” by Manoel de Barros30

For children the joy of exploration, learning, curiosity, wonder and awe are still fresh and per-vasive as long as their environment is conducive to their healthy growth and development.Whether we create butterflies or sheep is immaterial as long as when working with and along-side our children we can keep our imaginations alive. Scandalously for such a century as ours,

27Introduction

When we look at our educational practices do we have thecourage to see them as a blank piece of paper and allowour imaginations to work so that we hear what thechildren and young people of today and of the futureactually need in school, rather than living withpresupposed and anachronistic models from the past?

with all our immense capacities, not all children have anywhere near this level of good fortuneand suffer abuse, deprivation and gross exploitation. Yet there are grounds for hope as the adop-tion of the Millennium Development Goals has shown, by awakening the international commu-nity to the fact that improvement is possible through united action. The number of the world’schildren in primary education has increased from 84% in 1999 to 90% in 2008. The numberof children of primary school age who were out of school fell from 106 million in 1999 to 67million in 2009, which is a net increase of 7 percentage points despite an overall increase inthe number of children in this age group. But in the latter part of this period the rate of progresshas slowed, making the goal of universal primary education by 2015 a dim prospect.31 Childmortality for those who are under five years of age has been reduced by 33% in the last tenyears, in other words 12,000 fewer children are dying each day.32 Although the results so farare not all that were originally hoped for this does show we can improve the lot of our childrenby working across the historical barriers of culture, ethnicity, and prejudice. We cannot expectan ideal world but we can certainly work to make it better. “What we are awkwardly groping fortoday is an art of living that includes an acknowledgement of adversity but does not fall into theabyss of renunciation: an art of enduring that allows us to exist with suffering and against it”.33

(Bruckner, 2010) And the common sense place to start is with childhood. This is not only a mat-ter of health-enhancing and fulfilling education but of human rights - the right to develop humancapabilities that encompass the individual power to reflect and be mindful, to make choices, toseek a voice in society and enjoy a better life.

The United Nations officially published general comments on article 29 of the Convention ofthe Rights of the Child where they state that this article “insists upon a holistic approach to ed-ucation… that…. reflect an appropriate balance between promoting the physical, mental, spiri-tual and emotional aspects of education … The overall objective is to maximise the child’s abilityand opportunity to participate fully and responsibly in a free society. It should be emphasisedthat the type of teaching that is focussed primarily on accumulation of knowledge, promotingcompetition and leading to an excessive burden of work on children, may seriously hamper theharmonious development of the child to the fullest potential of his or her abilities and talents.”Our work in this publication, as in the former one, is a celebration of the initiative and en-deavours of many colleagues and parents who think along these lines and support each otherwith new questions, challenges and visions. We look forward to working with the growingnumber of like-minded people with goodwill for all the world’s children who are willing to joinus in this necessary reformation of educational practice on our own planet.

28 Introduction

Christopher Clouder FRSA is CEO of the European Council for Steiner Waldorf Education, speak-ing for 670 European Steiner schools in 26 countries. He has had a long teaching career work-ing with adolescents and is a member of the executive group of the Steiner Waldorf SchoolsFellowship for the UK and Ireland. In 1997 he co-founded the Alliance for Childhood, a globalnetwork of advocates for the quality of childhood. He gives keynote lectures at conferences, uni-versities and teacher education courses internationally on educational matters, play and imag-ination in childhood, challenging contemporary issues around childhood, creativity andsocial-emotional education. He has published numerous books and writes articles on educationand childhood and works with policy makers. In 2009 he was appointed the founding Directorof the Botin Platform for Innovation in Education, based in Santander in Spain, which promotessocial and emotional education and creative learning in schools across the world.

29Introduction

1 Huffstickler, A. The Edge of Doubt2 de Saint-Exupéry, A. The Little Prince. Penguin. London. 2000, p.523 ibid. p.914 ibid. p.275 ibid. p.916 Cyrulnik, B. Resilience. Penguin Books. London 2009. p.77 Sydney Morning Herald 6/1/2011 City songbirds undergo evolution of the tweeties. 8 OECD. Trends Shaping Education 20109 Cohen, DD. Voss, C. Taylor, MJD. Delextrat, A. Ogunleye, AA. Sandercock, GRH. Ten-year secular changes in

muscular fitness in English childrenActa Paediatrica. Wiley. 11/05/ 201110 Anthony, A. Interview with Pascal Bruckner. The Guardian. London. 23/01/201111 Angel Gurria Education for the future – Promoting changes in policies and practices: the way forward. OECD

10/10/2009.12 ibid13 ibid14 Benard, B. Fostering Resilience in Children. ERIC Digest. August 199515 Kelly, L. A Healthy Start in Life. Children in Scotland, Edinburgh June 201016 Ungar, M. Qualitative Contributions to Resilience Research. Qualitative Social Work. Vol 2. Sage Publications.

2003. p.8517 Cyrulnic. p.19 see 618 Cyrulnic. p.51 see 619 Caldwell, B.J. Harris, J. Vaughen, T. Bridging the Gap in School Achievement through the Arts. A summary report.

http://www.songroom.org.au 201120 Read, H. Art and the Evolution of Man. Lecture given in Conway Hall. London. 10/05/1951. Quoted in Herbert

Read. Thistlewood. D. Routledge & Keegan Paul. London. 1984. p. 13821 Power, K. Culture, Poverty and the Megapolis in Cultura, pobreza y megápolis Fundación Marcilino Botín . San-

tander 2009. p.7722 KnowledgeWorks. 2020 Forecast: Creating the Future of Learning. www.futureofed.org 200823 Prince, K. Lefkowits, L. Woempner, C. Crafting Policy for Emerging Educational Futures. KnowledgeWorks Foun-

dation. 2009 http://www.futureofed.org/pdf/taking-action/PolicyBrief4.24 Miyamoto, K. & Chevalier, A. Education and Health in Improving Health and Social Cohesion through Education.

OECD. Paris 2010. p. 14725 Douterlunge, M. A Reflection on Benchmarks in Education and Training in a Period of Economic Crisis. Report of

the EUNIC seminar. Limassol May/June 201026 Young-Eisendrath, P. The Resilient Spirit. De Capo Press. New York. 1996. p.192. 27 Reinvesting in Arts Education. President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Washington DC. May 2011

p.2228 ibid p.vi29 Schiff, S. Saint-Exupéry, A Biography. Pimlico. London. 1996 p.58430 de Barros, M. Mist Biography. Poesia complete. Leya. São Paulo 2010. A maior riqueza do homem é a sua in-

completude. Nesse ponto sou abastado. Palavras que me aceitam como sou—eu não aceito. . Perdoai Mas eu pre-ciso ser Outros.Eu penso renovar o homem usando borboletas.” From “Biografia do Orvalho”http://www.brazzil.com/p43sep99.htm Translated by Jamie Sundquist

31 The Millennium Development Goals Report 2011. UN. New York July 2011 p. 1732 ibid. p. 2633 Bruckner, P. Perpetual Euphoria - on the duty to be happy. Princeton University Press USA . 2010. p 224

30 Introduction

Portugal

AbstractThis work begins by presenting a view of social and emotional education in Portugal and high-lights the transformations that have taken place within the Portuguese education system. Thesechanges have gone hand in hand with the social and political changes that the country has ex-perienced, especially since the April 1974 Revolution. This revolution restored democracy andpluralism to society and triggered significant change in the roles played by women, the fam-ily and the school.

In Portugal, the personal and social education approach has been developed and assimilatedin the areas of civic, moral and affective education, especially as it is defined in the EducationAct of 1986 (the law which defines the current Portuguese education system). The EducationAct stressed the encouragement of the integrated and harmonious development of students,in several aspects beyond just the cognitive, including bringing into the Portuguese educationsystem the overall area of personal and social education.

In this context, two specific examples of schools and their practices are presented: a primaryschool – the Escola da Ponte (The Bridge School) – and a school for young people whose needshave not been met by the regular education system – the Escola de Segunda Oportunidade deMatosinhos (The Matosinhos Second Chance School). Both schools are known for their holis-tic and comprehensive approach to student development and their regard for personal and so-cial education.

Next I present, within the conceptual framework of social and emotional education, an inter-vention programme for children developed as part of a university research project.

Lastly, by way of a summary, I stress that both personal and social education and social andemotional education are based on a belief in the plasticity of human personality and its abil-ity to be positively altered through learning.

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Social and Emotional Education in Portugal: Perspectives and Prospects

Luisa Faria

Luísa Faria is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Education,University of Porto, Portugal. She has been based there since 1986, and lectures in the fields ofDifferential and Educational Psychology. She was the director of a Masters Programme on Themesof Psychology, and she was the leader of a Research & Development Project (supported by thePortuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, the Portuguese Ministry of Education, andEuropean Union) on pupils’ personal conceptions of competence and achievement, and schools’collective efficacy. She is the author of numerous books, chapters, reports and articles, in na-tional and international journals, on Motivation, Intelligence and Psychological Evaluation.

“Changes, however radical they may be,never manage to completely extinguishthat which is permanent.”

António Barreto (2000, p. 39)

Introduction: between change and permanencePortugal is an old country, “one of the oldestnation-states in the world”, but young interms of democracy, as democracy only ar-rived on 25 April 1974 (Barreto, 2000). Itis a country full of contradictions. Thesemake up its wealth and feed the hopes of de-velopment and renewal.

It is a relatively small (almost 10 millioninhabitants) and poor country, but just 37years ago it was the last multi-continentalempire; it is a country which, over the lastfour decades, has changed more than anyother in Europe, but has the greatest gap be-tween rich and poor. It is a country that haschanged the most within the Western world,but remains strongly divided between tradi-tion and modernity (Barreto, 2000).

Today Portugal is an open society, which isexperiencing a high degree of uncertainty(Barreto, 1995) and which has been under-going many changes. These changes have af-fected Portuguese society as a whole, alteringbeliefs, behaviours, practices and what hasbeen achieved. Portugal broke away from 48years of authoritarian and conservative dic-tatorship, and embraced democracy, change,pluralism, the debating of ideas and differingperspectives. This triggered an explosion ofreligious and ethnic diversity, as well as a di-versity of practices and customs, expecta-tions and aspirations, which demanded newways of being, living and behaving.

The traditional, rural country with a youngpopulation, a high rate of emigration, a pro-tectionist economy and bonds and networksof community solidarity and generosity, of

church and family, quickly gave way to a ter-tiary and aging population. It is a countrywhich is similar to other European countriesin terms of immigration, it is open to privateenterprise and the market economy, with awelfare state that cares for children, the un-employed, the sick and the elderly in a gen-eral, universal and standardised way (Bar-reto, 2000). The great issue that we face is toknow whether the balance of such changes ispositive and whether these changes have al-lowed the best in us to prevail.

My intention is thus to reflect on our mostpromising attainment, namely the constantattempt to educate and develop citizens whoare aware, free, responsible, and independ-ent, able to make and keep to commitments,to actively participate in social life, able toidentify with the nation to which they be-long, and respecting and exchanging viewswith others.

Social and political changes in Portugal

Education and the role of women within thefamily and societyThe education of the young population ofPortugal reached its peak following the April1974 Revolution, with adult illiteracyamongst the young becoming almost non-ex-istent and, in 2001, illiteracy among the pop-ulation at large having fallen to rates below9% (Table 1).

Compulsory education used to last 9 yearsand has, since 2009, been increased to 12years: Law No. 85/2009 of 27 August 2009considers children and young adults fromthe ages of 6 to 18 to be of school age. At-tendance at all levels of education is increas-ing exponentially: in public secondary edu-cation (10th, 11th and 12th grades, that is ages16, 17 and 181) attendance went from14,000 at the beginning of the 1960s, to350,000 pupils in 2008. However, it was inpre-school and in higher education where

Country Chapter #4 | Portugal

34

the greatest increases were recorded. Thenumber of pre-schoolers grew from 6,000children registered at the beginning of the1960s to 266,000 in 2008, with an increasein average duration of attendance from lessthan 1 year in 1988 to a current average of2.5 years. Alongside this an “explosion” tookplace in higher education, with the number ofregistered students between 1978 and 2009rising by 290,000. Government investmentin education between 1978 and 2008 expe-rienced a threefold increase, from 1.4% to4.4% of GDP. Between 1997 and 2003 gov-ernment funds allocated to the education sec-tor accounted for at least 5% of GDP (ValenteRosa & Chitas, 2010).

The increased take-up of education amongthe Portuguese population in the last fewdecades has been particularly strengthenedby the participation of women. From the endof the 1970s there were more young womenthan young men in secondary education(10th, 11th and 12th grades, i.e. 16, 17 and 18years of age). The ratio of female pupils atthis educational level reached its highest per-centage during the 1991/92 school year(56.1%), and was 52.7% in the 2007/8school year. In the first decade of the 21st

century, women students were in the major-ity in higher education, with 53.4 womenper 100 students registered in higher educa-tion in 2008/2009. This same trend has

been observed in academic performance: theratio of graduates per 100 students isfavourable to women, who accounted for67.1% of total graduates at the start of thedecade, and who accounted for 59.6% duringthe 2008/2009 academic year. Along withthe increase in the education of the popula-tion and of women in particular, from the1960s onwards we witnessed the progressiveand full inclusion of women into the work-force. The rate of female participation in theworkforce increased from 15% in the 1960sto 56% in 2009, with the majority of womenbeing employed in Public Administration, es-pecially in the areas of education and health(Valente Rosa & Chitas, 2010). Furthermore,the participation of Portuguese women in theworkforce is one of the highest within the Eu-ropean Union. In 2008, the rate of activity ofwomen living in Portugal was only slightlyexceeded by the rates in Sweden, Denmark,the Netherlands and Finland.

Portugal is therefore the country in Europewith one of the highest rates of double in-come households. This has a clear impact onthe social and legal status of women, and onthe organisation of family life, the care andeducation of children and teenagers and thesupport and care of the elderly, with familiesand society at large having to adapt to thenew role of women.

However, despite the family being the firstenvironment in which the child begins to de-velop as a social being, modern families mustresort to institutions and establishments thatspecialise in the care and education of chil-dren. This brings up the issue of the advan-tages and disadvantages of a child’s educationduring the first few years of life being en-trusted to “strangers”, as a result of themother’s professional commitments and ofthe social or support networks beyond thefamily that have emerged due to social trans-formations and the new social and profes-sional roles of women.


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Table 1. Evolution of illiteracy in Portugal

Year Situation Variation1900 73%1911 69% -4%1920 65% -4%1930 60% -5%1940 52% -8%1950 42% -10%1960 33% -9%1970 26% -7%1981 21% -5%1991 11% -10%2001 9% -2%

Source: http://projectoio.net/archives/tag/estatisticas

The role of the school and of formal edu-cation is thus becoming increasingly impor-tant in terms of the education and overall de-velopment of children and young people,given that the family is no longer the funda-mental source of socialisation: schools arecurrently required to share with families thetask of educating and socialising children andyoung people.

The role of the school in educating childrenand young peopleDespite the particular emphasis that schoolsplace on the development of cognitive skills,the focus has more recently shifted to the en-couragement of social and emotional, inter-personal and moral aspects in the develop-ment of students. In fact, the objectives ofschool do not remain the same throughoutthe school years. The first few years ofschooling focus on the overall development ofpupils, paying attention to the various as-pects of psychological development – cogni-tive, social, emotional, moral and creative. Inthe years corresponding to pre-adolescenceand adolescence, the objectives of school aremore focused on the students’ cognitive de-velopment and skills, with an increase in theformal organisation of teaching-learningstructures i.e., several academic subjects, avariety of teachers each using different eval-uation criteria, quantitative grades instead ofqualitative evaluation, more competitivelearning activities and structures instead ofmastery-oriented or cooperative ones.

The increase in the number of yearsspent at school by children and young peo-ple makes the school a particularly impor-tant social context for development. On theone hand and in the face of the constanttechnical and scientific development takingplace in society, it has become necessary toteach, train and teach how to learn. On theother hand, in the light of the changes in thesocial and professional roles of women inPortuguese society, the school is increas-ingly active alongside the family in assumingthe care and education of children. However,in addition to collaborating with families,the school, as an integral part of the com-munity and society, cannot distance itselffrom other organisations in the environ-ment, especially municipal authorities andsome civic associations. The relationship be-tween the school and the family tends to becomplex: teachers often blame the failureand behaviour problems of pupils on thefamily environment and parents complainabout the school, holding the teachers re-sponsible for the failure and bad behaviourof their children. It is therefore important toestablish strategies to encourage parentalparticipation and closer relationships be-tween the school and the family.

The transformation of education in PortugalThe various social and political transfor-mations that have taken place in Portugalover the last few decades have increasedthe relevance of encouraging non-cognitivedevelopment in formal education. In fact,


36

The role of the school and of formal education is thusbecoming increasingly important in terms of the educationand overall development of children and young people,given that the family is no longer the fundamental sourceof socialisation

the change in the role of women withinsociety and the family, the change in therole and influence of the family in the ed-ucation and socialisation of children andyoung people, the increase in drug abuse,violence, young offenders and teenagepregnancy, have rendered the school cur-ricula obsolete in terms of preparing youngpeople to cope with the new challenges andnew roles with which they are faced. Ur-gent reform is thus required.

In Portugal, after the 1974 Revolutionwhich brought down the authoritarianregime, which was based on a social and po-litical organisation that was bureaucratic andCatholic, (Campos & Menezes, 1996), notablechanges took place with regard to the roleplayed by the school in preparing young peo-ple for the new challenges of democracy.

Under the former regime, education wasbased on tradition and the love of God, coun-try and family. A stereotypical division ingender roles was emphasized, highlightingthe role of women in the family as house-wives and of men as breadwinners. Compul-sory schooling was for a short period only(lasting for 4 years up to 1964 and for 6years after 1964) and was marked by highrates of failure and absenteeism. Teacherswere poorly trained, especially those in pri-mary education, and used compulsory text-books that were centrally imposed and basedon the values of the regime (Stoer, 1986).

The influence of economic growth in theearly 1970s opened up the regime. Severalchanges were introduced to the educationsystem: the extension of compulsory educa-tion from 6 to 8 years, the inclusion of pre-school education, the reform of the universityand polytechnic system, which became ac-cessible to all social classes, and the reform ofteacher training. Nevertheless, many of thesechanges were not implemented and the dom-inant school management system, which wasnon-participative and non-democratic, pre-vailed.

The periods of unrest which followed the1974 Revolution were important for the es-tablishment of democracy and pluralism, in-fluencing the democratic management ofschools, the development of new curriculafor the various subjects, new textbooks, andthe emergence of student organisations andteachers’ unions.

The new democratic constitution broughtwith it new objectives for education, whichincluded the encouragement of personal andsocial development and the reinforcement ofsocial cohesion and a collective nationalidentity. In order to fulfil such objectives,new initiatives and disciplines were intro-duced into the school curricula. These in-volved the dissemination of concepts relatingto democracy through various subjects dur-ing the first 6 years of schooling; the creationof extra-curricular areas such as civic edu-cation, geared towards the development of


37

The various social and political transformations that havetaken place in Portugal over the last few decades haveincreased the relevance of encouraging non-cognitivedevelopment in formal education

community projects and undertaking civilservice prior to going to University; and thecreation of a subject known as “Introductionto Politics” in secondary education (Campos& Menezes, 1996). However, these measureswere suspended, after being in force for onlytwo years (1974 to 1976), due to the lack ofcontinuity and integration, the lack of propertraining of teachers and adaptation to the de-velopment levels of the pupils, as well as dueto accusations of indoctrination.

The 1980s were marked by the normali-sation of democratic life, which reached itspeak with the entry of Portugal into the Eu-ropean Community in 1986. These yearswitnessed (Grácio, 1981):

• the elimination from the curricula of allvalues relating to the previous regime;

• valuing the pedagogical and social role ofteachers;

• the establishment of a democratic form ofgovernance in schools;

• schools and teachers were gradually givengreater autonomy;

• the importance given to the bonds thatexist between schools and the surroundingcommunity;

• the full democratisation of the school, opento all social groups.

These years also saw the emergence ofseveral studies and research projects in areassuch as political socialisation, the psychologyof development and education. The overallconclusions of these studies paint a negativepicture of Portuguese young people (Campos& Menezes, 1996; Menezes & Campos,2000) including:

• a lack of participation in political life; • support for the democratic system but

scepticism about its results; • values focused on the search for immedi-

ate gratification instead of progress or thesearch for mid to long term objectives;

• a lack of cooperative and participatory at-titudes among young people;

• a lack of investment in schools in the per-sonal and social development of students,with curricula, teaching methods, prac-tices and organisations that overrate cog-nitive development.

With the publication in October 1986 ofthe Education Act which defined the currentPortuguese education system, principles suchas the democratisation of education and thefact that the State can neither determine nororganise the educational system on the basisof any type of religious, ideological, philo-sophical or political orientation were estab-lished (Campos & Menezes, 1998). Otherkey principles were the recognition of theright to education and culture, to equal op-portunities in terms of educational success,and to the freedom to learn and teach (Med-ina Carreira, 1996). Article 47 of the Edu-cation Act, which deals with curricular de-velopment, focuses on the integrated andharmonious encouragement of student de-velopment, in several areas beyond the cog-nitive, and includes an area of personal andsocial education, as shown in Figure 1. In or-der to fulfil such an objective, schools mustoperate as democratic institutions and in-clude personal and social education in theircurricula.

The teaching system now comprises 9years of compulsory schooling, with threecycles and a universal curriculum. In additionto the nine years of compulsory schoolingthere are 3 years of secondary education,which are divided into three main areas –general, technological and vocational. All stu-dents who have completed secondary educa-tion may continue on to higher education(Table 2).

The establishment of the personal and so-cial education area led to discussions about thebest way to put this into practice, with regard


38

to its format, contents, objectives and method-ologies (Menezes, 1993). In 1989 four meansof putting it into practice were suggested by theMinistry of Education (Campos & Menezes,1996, 1998):

• its dissemination throughout the cur-riculum;

• a non-instructional subject for project de-velopment (known as the Project Area forthe development and implementation ofpractical activities), of 110 hours per annum;

• specific instruction of 1 hour per week(Personal and Social Development), as analternative to Moral and Catholic Instruc-tion (agreed to by the Catholic Church);

• extra-curricular activities.

The Project Area included a national citi-zenship education programme during 7th, 8th

and 9th grades (13, 14 and 15 years old). Thenational citizenship education programmeaddresses areas such as defence of funda-mental rights, duties and freedoms, the or-ganisation of the democratic state and par-ticipation in democratic life. Teachers weretrained to teach these subjects and to de-velop work with the students in personal andsocial education, i.e., to help students to par-ticipate in the school as a democratic institu-tion by defining and discussing class organi-zation, by discussing school’s rules, and byhelping them to organize elections to choosethe student council representatives.

Project development was an importantpart of the Project Area. This area was de-fined as “a project for the development andimplementation of practical activities, with afocus on real-life projects, giving students


39

Balanced harmony between physical, and motor, cognitive, affective, aesthetic, social and moral

development of the students

Personal and Social Education incompulsory primary and secondary

education (ecological consumer,family, sex, accident prevention, and

health education, education forinstitutional participation, civic

services)

Optional teaching of Catholic religion and morals (separation

of church and state)

Flexible contents that includeregional elements

Figure 1. The curricular organisation regarding Personal and Social Education in theEducation Act (1986)

Table 2. The Portuguese education system

Cycles Number of Years Grades AgesCompulsory schooling (9 years)

1st 4 1st - 4th 6-102nd 2 5th - 6th 11-123rd 3 7th, 8th and 9th 13-15

Secondary 3 10th, 11th and 12th 16-18

Higher Education 3 - 6 Polytechnic and University >18

opportunities to take on relevant roles”(Campos & Menezes, 1998, p. 111). Theproject was designed to be carried through-out the year by the students, which chal-lenged the traditional organisation of schoolsand the curricula. Specifically, each class ineach school had to design a project that thestudents would develop during the year withthe support and assistance of their teachers.One of the goals of this was to enhance theautonomy of the students and the teachers inthe learning process (Campos & Menezes,1996). The Project Area was interdiscipli-nary, aiming to develop an integrated visionof knowledge, to promote cooperative workand to promote the construction of knowl-edge, connected with the real world, withreal problems (social, economic, technolog-ical, scientific, environmental, artistic andcultural) in a global perspective. Throughthis open process, the school could becomemore open to society and to people, morepluralist, democratic and inclusive.

The introduction of Personal and SocialEducation on a national level only came intoforce in 1991. It was piloted in 19 schools,and went hand in hand with the national cit-izenship programme which was implementedin these same 19 schools. The teachers wereaware of the difficulties entailed in imple-menting the objectives of personal and socialeducation across all school subjects due to thefact that the curriculum focused mainly onthe cognitive aspects. Nevertheless, the teach-ers involved in teaching this new subject wel-comed the challenge of developing innovativeprojects that would be different in each schooland in each year (Campos & Menezes, 1996).

An evaluation carried out in 1992 by theInstitute for Educational Innovation on Per-sonal and Social Education showed thatteachers, students and parents welcomed thecurricular reform, having observed the pos-itive influence of this new subject on teacher-student relationships and the overall devel-opment of students (Campos & Menezes,1996).

The assessment of the national citizenshipeducation programme, carried out by the In-stitute for Educational Innovation in 1993with teachers and board members from theschools, showed unanimity in the importancegiven to the programme, particularly withregard to the encouragement of the activeparticipation of students in society.

The programme was criticized in terms ofthe difficulty that teachers experienced in in-cluding it in the various subject areas in thecurriculum, difficulties in accessing coursematerials such as videos, films and booksand the fact that insufficient training wasgiven to teachers to enable them to handlecontroversial topics. In fact, the implementa-tion experiences of the programme have var-ied from school to school. Many schools havetaken a practical approach which often in-volved the participation of the whole schoolcommunity in the discussion and modifica-tion of school rules and regulations – basedon the rights and obligations of everybodywithin a democratic school – which werethen approved and put into practice by theboards of the various schools (Campos &Menezes, 1996). Some of the projects, con-ceived locally in each school, included:


40

The introduction of Personal and Social Education on anational level only came into force in 1991

• analysing and debating about The Univer-sal Declaration of Human Rights;

• discussing the political organisation of Por-tugal and understanding the roles of polit-ical parties, the parliament, and demo-cratic elections;

• promotion of students’ participation intheir class as a democratic organization, bypromoting and electing student represen-tatives to the school council;

• reflecting on the school’s rules and regu-lations and taking responsibility for thestudent’s voice in the school.

For example, in one school in Porto, afterthe examination of the school rules, studentsand teachers agreed that some of the ruleswere not valid in a democratic organisation,such as the teachers not respecting thequeues in the school canteen, and some ar-eas of the school being out of bounds to stu-dents. A commission made up of representa-tives from the teachers, students, otherpersonnel and parents revised the school’sregulations, discussed the new proposal for amore democratic school and presented it tothe school board, which then approved it(Campos & Menezes, 1996).

These activities and practical approachesallowed the students to actively and respon-sibly participate in the life of the school andin society at large. They enhanced students’capacities to deal with life’s problems and todiscuss moral and values-related issues.

The future of personal and social educationin Portugal

“Knowledge is not useful if it doesn’tturn us into better people.”

Miguel Santos Guerra (2011)

In the 1990s the debate about personaland social education was characterized byin-depth discussions about its aims and

methods. Some discussions revolved arounddefending its transmission through culturalknowledge and heritage, relating it to an ed-ucation in morals and values, such as re-sponsibility, justice, goodness and encourag-ing the socialisation of students throughmethods such as discussing dilemmas, theintroduction of role models representing suchvalues, and leading by example. Othersviewed personal and social education withinthe school milieu as a place of civic partici-pation (the ecological model, centred on con-text), encouraging the aspect of “doing”, thatis to say, making the student an active agentin his/her personal and social developmentand in transforming the social context inwhich s/he acts and interacts (Menezes,2007).

In fact, the development of personal andsocial education in the education systemseems to have slowed down in the 1990s,with only one Personal and Social Develop-ment programme having been approved forthe 3rd cycle (7th, 8th and 9th grades, that is 13,14 and 15 years of age), and one continuingprofessional development programme forteachers. This has occurred in the context ofthe increasing emphasis placed on basic skillsand evaluation in the curriculum.

In accordance with Decree Law 6/2001 of18 January, which defined the curricular re-organisation of compulsory education, per-sonal and social education was preserved asa subject area, including three curricular as-pects for all students – Civic Education, theProject Area and Supervised Study Periods.The 2001 Decree Law seemed, nevertheless,to steer more towards Citizenship Education(building of identity and development of civicawareness among students) than towardsPersonal and Social Development, following‘to the letter’ what is set out in Article 47 ofthe Education Act, already analysed herein(See Figure 1) (Menezes, 2007).


41

There are specific textbooks for Civic Ed-ucation, which include goals, suggestions andresources for activities. To give a few exam-ples of the goals outlined in the interpersonalrelationships unit (Santos & Silva, 2009):

Examples of goals:• To get to know your peers in your class;• To promote self-knowledge;• To get to know your teachers;• To understand your rights and duties as a

student;• To create empathy in the classroom;• To acquire habits of democratic participa-

tion and the debating of ideas;• To agree rules for the optimal functioning

of the class and to take responsibility forkeeping to the rules;

• To build a self-image according to yourpersonal values;

• To acquire personal capacities that allowyou to behave and act coherently in con-flict situations;

• To be able to deal with the consequences ofpoor communication;

• To learn to express and support youropinions;

• To develop skills in the organization andfunctioning of groups;

• To learn the competencies necessary to bea good and active citizen.

Examples of activities:• The reading of excerpts from adolescents’

published diaries and their discussion inthe classroom (small and large groups);

• Definition in small and larger groups of theduties and rights of each individual in theclass;

• Organization and supervision of the elec-tion of class representatives;

• Discussion of cases of violence and ag-gression in the school and in society andcoming up with the reasons for and solu-tions to them;

• Writing a letter to a friend in trouble, nam-ing his/her best strengths and qualities;

• Brainstorming about “What is friendship?”;• Discussing moral dilemmas;• Organization of a debate about aging in the

Portuguese population.

Examples of Approaches used: • Brainstorming;• Philips 6-6; (the participants are divided

into groups of six in order to discuss a sub-ject, a case study or a problem in 6 minutes)

• Role-playing;• Role-reversal;• Rotation; (the participants are grouped into

groups of 4 or 5 people to discuss a subject.Each group discusses the subject for 10minutes and the elected secretary makes asummary of the main ideas. After this, oneperson from each group leaves his/hergroup and goes to another group, in ananti-clockwise direction. Only the secre-tary remains in each group in order to in-form the newcomers of the main ideas thathave so far been discussed. Every 10 min-utes one participant in each group rotates toanother group and the activity finisheswhen all the groups return to their initialcomposition and come to a final conclusionthat is presented to everyone)

• Case-study;• Debate;• Wall-journal; (A wall-journal is dedicated

to a particular theme or to several themesat the same time. It is published on thewall. It includes written texts and graphicelements, drawings, pictures, photos, andimages);

• Writing a Prospectus; (This is a flyer thatusually accompanies a product, stressingits main characteristics);

• Writing a Biography; • Interview;• Exhibition and public presentation of work

created by the students at school.

Regarding the future of personal and socialeducation in the Portuguese education systemit should be noted that above all “the school


42

is a social institution within a larger macro-system and therefore inevitably reflects thehidden agenda of society i.e. the values trans-mitted by society at large, which are not ex-plicit goals of the curriculum, but have an im-pact on schools. This means that schools cancertainly make a difference, but cannotchange everything. Although schools are in-volved in the defence of democracy, dignityand diversity, we cannot rely solely on themto create more democratic, respectful andpluralist societies” (Campos & Menezes,1998, p. 112).

The role played by teachers in personal andsocial educationThe key ingredients for delivering successfulpersonal and social education have beenidentified in several studies. They are as fol-lows (Lopes & Salovey, 2004; Menezes &Campos, 2000; Puurula et al., 2001):

• interventions need time and continuity.Episodic, short and non-continuous inter-ventions have proved to be ineffective anddo not bring about change;

• the interventions must be comprehensive(not episodic or specific) and must be in-tegrated within the school curriculumand/or extra-curricular activities.

• interventions must have a theoretical ba-sis, must be adapted to the culture and tothe child or young person’s age or stage ofdevelopment. Interventions should in-clude actual experiences and concrete ex-amples. interventions must include strate-

gies that include participation in and serv-ice to the surrounding community, diver-sifying and transforming the contexts inwhich personal and social education usu-ally takes place;

• interventions must encourage the involve-ment of teachers, board members, non-teaching staff and parents, encouragingpartnerships between all these stakehold-ers, as this is the only way to encouragethe development of ethical values amongthe students;

• the interventions must be carried out bytrained personnel who continuously sup-port the intervention;

• lastly, they must be subject to systematicmonitoring and evaluation.

It is necessary to prepare teachers toachieve all of these challenges. The trainingshould include training in reflecting on theirpractice in order to make change and excel-lence possible. In addition to teachers beinggiven the knowledge and skills to teach spe-cific subjects they should be encouraged todevelop their own solutions and materials,utilizing and adapting best practice in per-sonal, social and values education as devel-oped by other cultures and countries, care-fully choosing those that are most appropriatefor their culture and encouraging educationalresearch. The areas that are crying out forfurther research include the curriculum andorganisation of schools, the attitudes andmethods of teachers who are attempting toinfluence the conceptions and development of


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“...schools can certainly make a difference, but cannotchange everything... we cannot rely solely on them tocreate more democratic, respectful and pluralist societies”(Campos & Menezes)

students in the social, personal and emo-tional realms (Menezes & Campos, 2000).

In fact, teachers in several countries inEurope perceive the social and affective di-mension of education as a core component oftheir work and professional responsibilities,and European students, on their part, alsoconsider the performance of teachers in thisregard to be a crucial ingredient of the edu-cational process (Puurula et al., 2001).

Therefore, the deep political, social, cul-tural, technological and economic changesthat we are experiencing require teachers tobe prepared to transform their roles, to offerskills for life and citizenship education sothat their pupils are equipped with the abil-ity to live in multicultural, inclusive and tol-erant societies, are aware of environmentalconcerns, and will encourage gender equal-ity within the family, the workplace and so-cial life. Students should be equipped to facechallenges and transformations during thedevelopment of their careers and their livesas citizens, not only in their own country butalso in Europe and the world at large (Cam-pos, 2006).

It is important that teachers have the skillsto deal with ethnic, social and cultural diversity

in their classes, encourage inclusion and suc-cess for all, create safe learning environmentsand offer help with learning processes. Insteadof merely transmitting content, they must workas a team with other teachers and profession-als involved in the learning process, thus mak-ing the role of the teacher a less solitary one.Teachers must also extend their work beyondthe school gates, and collaborate with parentsand other stakeholders in the community, suchas municipal authorities, members of civic as-sociations, and local entrepreneurs.

In short, one of the most significant as-pects of the educational process is related tothe feelings, beliefs, attitudes and emotions ofthe students, to their “emotional literacy”, tointerpersonal relationships and social skills,that is, to the non-cognitive aspects of indi-vidual development: in fact, in times of cur-ricular transformation, teachers must con-tinue to concern themselves with thepersonal, social, emotional and moral aspectsof the development of their students (Puurulaet al., 2001).

The capacity to work with others in a teamis a key feature of the school of the future. Stu-dents work better in an environment wherethere is not only discipline, but where the re-lationships between teachers and students and


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Therefore, the deep political, social, cultural, technologicaland economic changes that we are experiencing requireteachers to be prepared to transform their roles... Studentsshould be equipped to face challenges and transformationsduring the development of their careers and their lives ascitizens, not only in their own country but also in Europeand the world at large (Campos, 2006)

among the students themselves are positiveand constructive.

Two schools demonstrating good practice inpersonal and social developmentIn my search for specific examples from Por-tugal that were marked by the quality of theirwork in the area of personal and social de-velopment, including the aspects of moralityand values as part of student development,and where such aspects are seen as being anintegral part of academic development, I haveselected two schools that have developed suc-cessful educational projects for children andteenagers.

I shall begin by presenting the older of thetwo schools, the Escola da Ponte (The BridgeSchool), a primary school in the municipalityof Porto, founded in 1976, which caters forpupils between the ages of 6 and 15 years.Escola da Ponte, due to the importance of itsinnovative educational programme focusedon the student as a whole person, has beenthe subject of many academic studies andpublications. The school has worked in part-nership with several universities.

The second school I have selected, the Es-cola de Segunda Oportunidade de Matosinhos(The Matosinhos Second Chance School),founded in 2008 and the only one of its kindin the country, is part of the European net-work of “second chance” schools. Second

Chance schools are geared towards thoseyoung people, older than 15, who have leftschool without having completed compulsoryprimary education. These schools attempt toprovide these young people with alternativetraining opportunities and career paths,(re)inserting them into society and positivelyaltering the direction of their lives.

Case Study: Escola da Ponte2 (The Bridge School)

“Educating is like living, it requires con-sciousness of the unfinished, because thetime during which I become who I amalong with others (...) is a time of possi-bilities and not of determinism.”

Paulo Freire (1996)

The Escola da Ponte – is located in themunicipality of Porto. Catering for First (6 to10 years old), Second (11 to 12 years old)and Third (13 to 15 years old) cycles, with atotal of 220 students, the school uses the fol-lowing non-traditional educational methods:

• The school is organised in the form of a“team project” in which all students andteachers are engaged;

• there are no class or form teachers;• pupils are not divided into classes on the

basis of their age;


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The capacity to work with others in a team is a keyfeature of the school of the future. Students work betterin an environment where there is not only discipline, butwhere the relationships between teachers and studentsand among the students themselves are positive andconstructive

• students work in teams, in mixed groupsof students (mixed in terms of age, gender,etc.).

Within each group, the management of timeand space allows for opportunities to work insmall groups, group participation, “mutuallearning and teaching” and individual work.The refuge of the classroom has been elimi-nated in favour of shared educational spaces.The school has thus been designed in an open-plan style. Its educational practices are basedon the following guiding principles:

• to promote a range of effective learningactivities on the basis of a Human Rightsstrategy (e.g. promoting activities forlearning and participation in smallgroups);

• to guarantee equal opportunities in educa-tion and self-realisation to all pupils in theschool as citizens with rights and respon-sibilities;

• to promote active solidarity and responsi-ble participation in all educationalprocesses3.

The organisational structure of the Escolada Ponte, is based on the P3 model. The P3model is a Scandinavian architectural modelfrom the 1970s, with open areas and multi-use spaces, that facilitate the social integrationof students and the use of the school by thecommunity. This model, in terms of space,time and modus operandi, requires muchgreater student participation. Students workwith the teachers (who act more as educa-tional counsellors than as traditional teachersby working together with the students as partof the team, on a common educational proj-

ect) to run the school, plan activities, and tosupervise their own learning and assessment.The architecture of the building enables theadoption of an integrated school day, allow-ing the use of every space throughout the day,without breaks occurring in the organisationof the daily work. This takes place within theconcept of an open school where the class-room is an workshop where students learn alltypes of skills, techniques, habits, and aretrained to discover the world, also known asa cooperative (Freinet) or a laboratory(Dewey). This model provides all the spacesneeded by pupils to share learning, materials,communications, presentations, etc. through-out the day. The concept of having no wallsfrees the students and teachers from therigidity of traditional spaces and helps to de-molish other walls (Canário, Matos, &Trindade et al., 2003). Finally, the goal of theP3 model, working in the spirit of the ActiveSchool (where communication, interaction,discussion and agreement between teachersand students are promoted, where power isshared, and where teachers facilitate learningand students learn to be autonomous), is tofavour a variety of ways of learning, both in-dividually or in groups.

In order to provide a learning environ-ment in which pupils are able to increasetheir knowledge, the work areas are equippedwith many resources – such as books, ency-clopaedias, text books, dictionaries, books ongrammar, the internet, videos and CD ROMs– to encourage pupils to use a variety ofsources of information. In order to create alearning environment that facilitates concen-tration, attention and collaborative work,background music is played in all areas.


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The refuge of the classroom has been eliminated in favourof shared educational spaces

In the Escola da Ponte, the division intoschool years or cycles is based on the conceptof Core Areas. There are 3 Core Areas:

• Initiation;• Consolidation;• Deeper Approach.

For further details, see Figure 2.

The curriculum is made up of 6 subjectareas:

• Languages (Portuguese, English, Frenchand German),

• Individual, Local, and Cultural Identity(History, Geography and EnvironmentalStudies),

• Natural Sciences (Physics, Chemistry), • Logic-Mathematics (Mathematics), • The Arts (Music Education, Drama, Arts

and Crafts, Visual/Technological Educa-tion and Physical Education)

• and Personal and Social Development(Personal Skills Training, Psychology andthe education of the students with learningdifficulties and of students with other spe-cial needs, such as gifted students).

The progression of the students throughoutthe core areas, instead of school years or cy-cles, depends on the teachers’ evaluation of thestudents in the following areas: how respon-sible the student is, the quality of his/her re-lationships and willingness to help others, thedegree of persistence shown and concentra-tion on tasks, autonomy, creativity, the degreeof participation and pertinence of the student’sinterventions in the daily activities and dis-cussions, his/her capacity for planning, ca-pacity for self-evaluation, self-discipline, thecapacity to do research autonomously, to solve


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Students work with the teachers... to run the school, planactivities, and to supervise their own learning andassessment

CurriculumLanguages; Individual, Local and Cultural Identity;Natural Sciences; Logic-Mathematics; the Arts;

and Personal and Social Develpment

InitiationChildren who enter school for

the first time and begin to learn the rudiments of reading, writing

and counting

ConsolidationConsolidation of knowledge inseveral areas obtained in the

Initiation area.Children should be ready to work

in groups, to search for knowledge, to plan autonomously and to

self-evaluate

Deeper ApproachChildren/Adolescents develop

competencies in the several areas of the curriculum related to the 5thand 6th grades (11/12 years old)

They should be able to manage their time and activities at

school autonomously

Figure 2. The pedagogical organisation of the curriculum and the core areas in Escola da Ponte (The Bridge School)

problems wisely, the capacity to conceive anddevelop projects, to analyse problems/situa-tions and to make syntheses of the main as-pects of these, the capacity to clearly commu-nicate ideas and discoveries, and to use newtechnologies.

All of these constitute a profile of compe-tencies that is analysed for each student whenthe decision is being made about his/hertransition from the initiation to the consoli-dation area, and from the consolidation areato the deeper approach area.

The ideal profile of a student ready to leavethe deeper approach core area includes theattainment and mastery of the following com-petencies:

• follows and helps to fulfil the responsibil-ities of the group;

• maintains a good relationship with peersand adults, allowing others to help him/herand is willing to spontaneously help otherswhen they are in need of assistance;

• overcomes difficulties and obstacles with-out needing help, and contributes to theenhancement of the concentration ofhis/her peers;

• takes initiatives autonomously, revealingassertiveness in making decisions;

• innovates, is original and coherent;• participates actively in the school activities,

is capable of listening, participating,searching for consensus, and of presentingconstructive critiques,

• makes, develops and meets the goals inhis/her individual plan of learning;

• corrects his/her failures after analysingthe work, searching for solutions andstrategies for overcoming difficulties;

• follows the school rules,• searches for information using different

sources and means, collects it critically,and works with it constructively; being ca-pable of communicating about his/herwork;

• accepts and uses different points of view,works on solving and preventing prob-lems from occurring, and when problemsarise tries to solve them with justice andserenity;

• correctly uses the project work methodology;• uses complex processes of knowledge and

thinking, and analyses what has been pro-duced and the results of interventions;

• is capable of communicating coherentlyand with clarity;

• uses computer software programmesand resources (Excel, Word, e- mail, in-ternet searches, and can present digitalinformation).

As for the management of daily life in theschool, this is based on a collective approachwhere all tasks are divided into severalgroups of responsibilities, defined on the ba-sis of the needs of the school.

Several pedagogical approaches and in-struments for groups have been developed topromote a strong sense of the school as acommunity and to encourage students to par-ticipate in the life of the school and of thecommunity, and as a means of promotingsocial, personal, and emotional development.As a whole, these approaches support thework taking place in the school and encour-age responsible and joint independence,based on the use of one’s voice as an instru-ment of citizenship, in the sense of educatingto develop active and participative citizens.Some examples of key approaches are:

• The School Assembly. This is a live demon-stration of participative democracy, re-flecting the involvement of students in theorganisation and decision-makingprocesses. The assembly is a fundamentalpart of the school’s mission to develop itsstudents to be active and participative cit-izens. The students learn how to get onwith and work with others. The Assemblycommittee is made up of ten members


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(chair, vice chair, secretaries and boardmembers) and meets weekly with the en-tire school community. The agenda for theassembly is drawn up by the students andis posted on the school bulletin board. Min-utes are taken of every session. Every-thing that is deemed relevant to school lifeis subject to discussion and debate: pre-sentations of individual or group projects,decision-making, and conflict resolution;

• Discussions. Which serve as opportunitiesto develop a critical approach, communi-cation skills and the capacity for synthesis– are held whenever necessary. Regulardiscussions take place every day from15:00 to 15:30, with the entire core area,or in each work area. These are meetingswhich include collective reflection and dis-cussions, preparation of Assembly activi-ties, quizzes, presentations of individual orgroup projects, and educational games;

• Rights and Responsibilities. Every year, inthe school assembly, the students decidewhich responsibilities and rights are con-sidered essential. The students prepare alist of responsibilities and rights which isthen discussed. The duties and rightswhich are considered essential to theneeds of the school are then chosen bymajority vote;

• The Help Commission. A group of four stu-dents is assigned the task of solving themost difficult problems that are presentedto the School Assembly. Two of these stu-dents are chosen by the School Assemblyand the other two by the teachers;

• Secrets’ Box. In this box children andyoung people can leave messages, notes,and requests for help. The purpose of thebox is to help the teachers to understandthe students’ needs and problems, and tohelp them become happier people. It is away of helping children and young people

to share their needs and emotions withthe teaching body in a safe way;

• Little box of made-up texts. A place wherethe children and young people can sharethings that they have written themselves.The pieces of writing are read by theteachers and may be shared publicly ifthey are important or if they illustratesomething important for the other stu-dents.

An extract from a text written by an 8-year old female student:

“Ways of freedom”As our school tries to be a place wherewe learn how to become a good citizen,every fortnight, we have a book, whichtalks about this theme. The name of thebook is “How to become a good citizen,explained to young people and others”,written by the Portuguese poet José JorgeLetria. He says that, every day, we dothings related to being a good citizen .Healso says that a good citizen has the ca-pacity to guide him or herself by the re-sponsibilities and rights in the Por-tuguese Constitution. Solidarity is a wayof becoming a good citizen. To sum up,being a good citizen is to respect theothers.”

• Pieces of Me. This is a space and a timewhere the students can share importantthings about themselves, writing these ona wall, which has been designated for thispurpose or speaking about such topics inthe School Assembly. This approach pro-motes the expression, management andregulation of positive and negative feelings,emotions, and thoughts;

• Personal, Social and Emotional Develop-ment Sessions. The students volunteer totake part in these sessions at the beginningof the school year. They divide themselves


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into small groups and during the year theyorganize sessions, with the educationalcounsellor, on subjects such as: drugs, sex-uality, love, dating, friendship, relation-ships with peers or parents, racism, anddomestic violence. A variety of resourcesare used in the sessions, such as: audio andvisual media, news clippings, etc. Fictionalor true stories and dilemmas are used asthe main lens through which the studentsconsider and debate the problems, discusspossible resolutions and the consequencesof the decisions, and come to several pos-sible effective and adequate solutions. Theability to share and to trust is developedduring the course of the sessions, and insome cases these sessions act as a meansof psychological support.

With regard to teaching, the counsellorswork alongside the pupils, taking into ac-count the specific needs of each student. Thecooperation between educational counsellorsand the work of students in mixed age groupsbecomes common practice. The aim is to getstudents to create work that values reflectionand cooperation, demonstrates the capacityfor critical synthesis and investigation and, inaddition, also places value on the subjectswhich are part of the National Primary Edu-cation Curriculum (e.g. Mathematics, Por-tuguese, Natural Sciences). However it goesbeyond this. The school offers more than thenational curriculum. It offers a curriculumthat values both formal learning and “infor-mal” learning (i.e. those learning experiencesthat happen spontaneously: learning throughteamwork, through participating in the schoolassembly, etc.). In this way, the curriculum is

different for each person, as every student isthe author of and the actor in his/her edu-cational path.

Every fortnight each student meets withhis/her educational counsellor (who directsthe educational route of his/her pupils andensures that there is a strong connection be-tween family and school) to plan what theywish to learn in the next fortnight (Two-weekly Plan). This plan includes subjects thatare common to the whole school and whichare undertaken as collective activities (suchas the creation of the assembly) and individ-ual subjects that are negotiated with the ed-ucational counsellors responsible for thatsubject or skill area. The Two-weekly Plan isthe basis for each daily learning plan (DayPlan), which is almost always developed onthe basis of research and exploration, a learn-ing-by-discovery process, where learning todo goes hand in hand with learning to learn.The educational counsellor also observes theattitudes and behaviours of his/her pupilsand helps them to master everyday learningmanagement strategies.

The parents are actively involved in sup-porting the education of the pupils and themanagement of the school. Parent-schoolcontacts are made whenever necessary viathe educational counsellor who works along-side, guides and, in collaboration with theother educational counsellors, carries out adaily assessment of his/her pupils’ learning.There is a Parents’ Association, which is oneof the school’s most important partners. Inaddition to meetings and activities organisedby the Parents’ Association, monthly meetings


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The school offers a curriculum that values both formallearning and “informal” learning

are held between the parents and the teach-ing body in order to discuss and make deci-sions that affect school life.

This school is founded on values such assolidarity, a democratic approach, autonomy,responsibility, liberty and cooperation. Inshort, the mission of the school is to educateto enable reflection, constructive criticism,debate and change. Autonomy is a value thatpupils acquire as they advance in their learn-ing. The way that the school is organised isinspired by an inclusive and cooperative phi-losophy which translates into very simple as-pects: we all need to learn, we can all learnfrom one another and s/he who learns, learnshow to be a good citizen in his/her own way.

Several universities and a number of un-dergraduate and graduate students have ob-served and evaluated the Escola da Ponte’sapproach to education and have given excel-lent feedback about how it functions and howit is organised. In particular the evaluation re-ports highlight the school’s emphasis on theholistic development of its pupils, the closerelationship between learning and holisticpersonal development (i.e. not only cogni-tive/academic development), as well as thepositive academic results obtained by the stu-dents. An external commission appointed bythe Ministry of Education, in 20034, to eval-uate the Escola da Ponte, produced a report inwhich they concluded that the students ofEscola da Ponte were superior in almost all

the areas of the national examinations, espe-cially in reading comprehension and writing,in Portuguese, and in mathematical problemsolving. Compared to other schools in theregion Escola da Ponte had fewer pupils in thefifth and six grades who failed or dropped outof school.

Overall, the different evaluations show thatit is possible to obtain favourable results re-garding cognitive, personal, social, and emo-tional capacities by following the Escola daPonte’s approach.

There have been approximately 32 un-dergraduate, masters and doctoral theseswritten about this school, as well as many

internship theses and projects by universi-ties from across Portugal. In addition,around 30 books, both in Portuguese andBrazilian Portuguese, and articles in a widerange of journals and magazines with anextensive readership have disseminated theschool’s successful approach and its socialrelevance to the local community and to so-ciety at large.

The Escola da Ponte takes an implicit ap-proach to social and emotional education,through the whole range of educational ap-proaches that make up its ethos, and seeks topromote approaches which enhance students’development as socially and emotionally in-telligent citizens.


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In addition to meetings and activities organised by theParents’ Association, monthly meetings are held betweenthe parents and the teaching body in order to discuss andmake decisions that affect school life

Case Study: Escola de Segunda Oportunidadede Matosinho5 (The Matosinhos SecondChance School)

“Teaching is not only a way of earning aliving, but is fundamentally a way ofcontributing to the lives of others.”

Miguel Santos Guerra (2011)

Second Chance Education was born out ofthe awareness, which since 1995 has beengrowing in the European Union, that we mustoffer young people who have had negativeschooling experiences, the opportunity to at-tend new schools that work in alternativeways. The Second Chance Schools do not at-tempt to fit each pupil into predefined cate-gories and processes. Instead they create per-sonalised training plans which are adjusted tothe interests, abilities and experience of eachstudent. The strength of the second chancemodel lies in its flexibility and the fact that theeducation and training that is offered isadapted to the needs of its target population.The Escola de Segunda Oportunidade deMatosinhos was born out of a joint initiativeof teachers and other educational profes-sionals who, in 2005 founded the Associationfor Second Chance Education. The aim of theassociation was to open a second chanceschool in Matosinhos, in the district of Porto,Portugal, that would form part of the Euro-pean Association of Cities, Institutions andSecond Chance Schools (E2C Europe). Forapproximately four years, the Association for

Second Chance Education worked to createthe conditions to open the school, promotingthe concept among the various players in theeducational field. The association developed anumber of second chance educational activ-ities with young people, including three yearsof international young student exchanges aspart of the Arts and Dreams programme6.These activities provided a space for testingsome of the approaches and methodologies tobe used in the new school. The school was fi-nally opened on 1 September 2008, sup-ported by a partnership between the Associ-ation for Second Chance Education, the CityCouncil of Matosinhos and the Regional Officeof Education in the North.

The Matosinhos Second Chance Schoolemphasises its belief in the right of everyoneto have a second chance to discover that theyhave the capacities, the dreams and aspira-tions to make it in the world and that theyalso have a right to a future. It is not just aschool. It is a social and cultural project thatattempts to intervene at various levels in thelives of young people. Key aspects of theschool are as follows:

• Many other organisations are actively in-volved in the school, for example, the In-stitute of Employment and VocationalTraining, the local schools, the Centres forNew Opportunities (which are units thatare responsible for meeting the trainingneed of people older than 18 years, whodid not complete compulsory schooling),


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The Second Chance Schools do not attempt to fit eachpupil into predefined categories and processes. Insteadthey create personalised training plans which are adjustedto the interests, abilities and experience of each student

the Parish Councils, the Health Centres,the System for Protection of Children andYoung People, and Business Associations.The school is part of a more widespreadpolicy of urban regeneration and helpingyoung people back into society.

• The school works closely with local busi-nesses and industry, persuading busi-nesses to incorporate social responsibilityissues into their strategies, encouragingthem to sponsor school activities, to offeryoung people training/apprenticeship op-portunities while they are at the SecondChance school or even offer them jobsonce they have graduated. The school alsoseeks to work with business associationsand trade unions to make them aware ofthe future employment needs of theseyoung people.

In this way the Matosinhos Second ChanceSchool offers young people between 15 and25 years of age who have left school withouthaving obtained basic qualifications and skills,an experience of training that is motivatingand which is geared towards the develop-ment of personal, social, emotional and vo-cational skills based on the students’ aspira-tions and abilities. Of central importance isvocational training and the creation of lifeplans. The education offered includes:

• the acquisition of basic skills (literacy, nu-meracy, and social skills) and practical on-the-job training. The subject areas offeredby the school include:

(I) music, theatre, and movement (dance,physical education),

(II) computer software and hardware, (III) multimedia and web-design, (IV) arts and wood, ceramic and metal

technologies, (V) cooking, hotels and tourism, (VI) electronics, and (VII) building construction.

• the use of artistic education as an instru-ment for motivation and organisation oflearning. In addition to the subject areasoutlined above the students can share theirskills and knowledge with others outsidePortugal, through visits to partner organ-isations in Europe. In addition, the prod-ucts that the students create at school aresold in the local community, in order togive social meaning and relevance to theyoungsters’ work. Artistic education can beused as a space of learning and training,but is also a space where trust and skills inrelating to others can be developed, a mo-tivating environment and a more flexibleand informal educational offering;

• the education and training is based on theneeds and interests of each student. Eachpupil develops his/her Individual TrainingPlan, with the support of the school’s guid-ance professionals;

• students’ progress is closely supervised bythe school tutors, who suggest and negoti-ate with each pupil any necessary adjust-ments or reformulations to their trainingplan.

All young people at the school:

• take accredited vocational and academiccourses;

• participate in cultural, sports, and healthand safety activities, and go on field trips;take part in international exchanges;

• participate in identical programmes inother countries, mainly those organisedby other European Second ChanceSchools.

Many young people are interested in at-tending the Second Chance School. What at-tracts these young people to the programme?What makes this school different from otherschools?

(I) The school is a social area, a democraticorganisation where the opinions of young


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people are taken into account. The schoolhas a relatively flat structure and is not veryhierarchical. There is a strong prevalence ofhorizontal relationships, students are lis-tened to and participate in school decisions;(II) The school is based on a motivationalapproach that constantly attempts to meetthe needs and motivations of young people,fostering enthusiasm and providing rea-sons to come to school each day in orderto participate in the training activities andlive more satisfying lives;(III) The approach of the school includesa number of different theories and disci-plines: Student-Centred Learning (CarlRogers), Unconditional Acceptance, PositiveDiscipline (Jane Nelsen), Non-Use of Pun-ishment, Acknowledgement of Mistakes,Logic and Natural Consequences, ErrorCorrection, Attachment Theory (JohnBowlby and Mary Ainsworth), Encourage-ment of Emotionally Corrective Experi-ences, Modelling (Bandura), The Impor-tance of the Affective Valence inBehavioural Modelling, Zone of ProximalDevelopment (Vygotsky), Assessment, Di-agnosis and Support in Dealing with SpecialEducation Needs, Operant Behavioural The-ory, Positive Reinforcement (Skinner);(IV) The school offers a space for com-munication, where relationships based ontrust and affection are built day by day;(V) The school has a team of dedicated,young, and talented professionals that aredevoted to the project;(VI) The school is structured as an inte-grated project, with interventions takingplace on several levels: the individual level– cognitive, social, emotional, health; thefamily level – identification and solution ofproblems in the nuclear family; the socio-community – integration and participationin the local community; the labour level –training skills and competencies adapted tothe labour market. The school has a goodpublic image and makes a positive impacton the community;

(VII) The school offers a curriculum inwhich vocational and artistic training playsa central part as do both intercultural andinternational exchanges;(VIII) It places key importance on the de-velopment of personal, social and emo-tional skills, and the re-direction of stu-dents’ life paths away from socialexclusion;(IX) The school staff unconditionally ac-cept young people, in terms of the way thatthey speak, they dress, their personalstyles, what they eat and drink, and theirmood swings; (X) The school staff are prepared to takerisks and to work in spheres of explo-ration and uncertainty;(XI) The school values the talents of youngpeople, which are often hidden, seeking todiscover and recognise their potential.

Some facts and information about thepupils and the school:

(I) Almost 100 young people have at-tended the school. At the moment ap-proximately 40 students attend the school;(II) Some students were assisted in ob-taining Portuguese citizenship through theForeign and Borders office;(III) All young people were enrolled on ac-credited programmes. About 50 youngpeople (50%) took certificates for coursesat the level of the 6th to the 9th grades. Allstudents received vocational training andmany found jobs. Other pupils were di-rected towards other double certificationtraining programmes, and mainly returnedto ‘regular’ schools to take these;(IV) About 10% of the young peopledropped out of the training. Nevertheless,the school still keeps in contact with them;(V) In the case of a few students atten-dance was low and irregular, and al-most always related to situations of per-sonal vulnerability and the fragility oftheir support networks, as well as higher


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exposure to factors and processes of so-cial exclusion;(VI) A number of mental health disorderswere detected among the group of stu-dents – cases of Antisocial Personality Dis-order, Depression, Schizophrenia, Learn-ing Disabilities, Dyslexia and GeneralAnxiety. All cases were referred to spe-cialised institutions and were individuallyhandled by the Support and Guidanceservices;(VII) For most of the students, excludingthe abovementioned extreme cases, therate of attendance was high, at around75% to 80%;(VIII) The Matosinhos Second ChanceSchool develops collaborative initiativeswith regular schools, in terms of support-ing attendance and progress of pupils atrisk of dropping out;(IX) Young people feel a high level of sat-isfaction with what is offered by the school,and a strong sense of identification and be-longing;(X) The number of incidents and criseshas gradually been reduced, resulting in anormally calm and safe school environ-ment; (XI) A high level of satisfaction amongteachers and other professionals involvedin the school was observed which was as-sociated with a strong identification withand connection to the school;(XII) The school has an excellent publicimage; (XIII) The project is growing and showsclear signs of dissemination including thepossibility of creating new schools. Theschool staff have received invitations toparticipate in seminars, conferences, in-terviews, to write articles and take part inother forms of dissemination to schools;(XIV) The school has had a remarkableimpact internationally, at the level of theEuropean Second Chance School network(E2C Europe) which entrusted the schoolwith the task of organising its main annual

activity, the Youth Event, in the first year ofits membership. The school was active infounding INFACCT – International Networkfor Awareness, Creative Citizenship andTransformation based in Portugal. Theschool is a partner in many internationalprojects. This provides the young peopleand their teachers with a wide range of op-portunities for travel and cross-culturalexchange.

This school is successful in the communitywithin which it operates. In 2009 it receivedan excellence award for best practice in vo-cational training in Portugal from the Por-tuguese Ministry of Education. Others arekeen to replicate what the school is doing.Currently an identical school in Porto is in theprocess of being founded and other cities inPortugal are interested in creating identicalofferings. Several national and Europeanstudies have selected this project as a casestudy. The school has also been recognised ona European level, especially by members ofthe European networks to which it belongs7.

The emergence of social and emotional education in PortugalThe focus on personal and social education inPortugal, especially with regard to the na-tional curriculum and its intensification inthe 1980s with the publication of the Educa-tion Act (1986), strengthened in parallelwith the increase in academic and universityresearch, into the area of two of the “new in-telligences”, the social and emotional. In Por-tugal the projects which deal with social andemotional education, as opposed to personaland social education, are more clearly iden-tified with CASEL (the Collaborative for theAdvancement of Social and Emotional Learn-ing)8 and reflect the principles of many in-terventions inspired by North American ap-proaches, based on social and emotionallearning programmes.


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In fact, whether we speak of personal andsocial education, closer to values education(which is primarily concerned with the trans-mission of basic values, such as courage,goodness, etc.) and affective education (pri-marily concerned with the development ofpsychological processes which facilitate theacquisition of competencies to deal with adultlife, such as empathy, social-perspective tak-ing, principled moral reasoning, etc.) (Cam-pos & Menezes, 1998), or of social and emo-tional education, all share the belief in theplasticity of human personality, which is sub-ject to positive change through learning(Mayer & Cobb, 2000).

The 1990s witnessed new developmentsin the fields of intelligence and motivation,which broadened the traditional concepts ofwhat it means to be intelligent and motivatedand added new data to the ingredients forsuccess at school and in society. Such devel-opments are the natural corollary of the evo-lution, over recent decades, of the under-standing of the concept of intelligence, whichhas moved away from the results of the IQtests and towards emphasising the develop-ment of multifaceted intelligences and specificskills and abilities. Along the same lines, theset of abilities assessed by classic intelligencetests is now perceived to account for only asmall proportion of the abilities deemed to betruly relevant to success (Sternberg, 2005).As such, the conventional intelligence testsseem to favour a limited segment of the pop-ulation, in that they assess specific and lim-

ited abilities. The tests assume that the indi-vidual operates within a more or less de-contextualised environment. However, in dif-ferent cultural contexts, the abilities requiredand encouraged are different; from the prac-tical and the creative through to the emo-tional, well beyond the academic or analyti-cal (Sternberg, 2005).

Likewise, the focus of research with regardto motivation has also changed. Whereas thefirst motivational psychologists focused onthe activation of behaviour, i.e. that which ini-tiates behaviour, researchers are currentlymore interested in the type of activities car-ried out by individuals. The first researchers,working in the 1920s, were mainly con-cerned with observable actions, whereas re-searchers nowadays are concerned with cog-nitions and emotions.

Nowadays, the concept of intelligence as aheterogeneous and multifaceted concept isunderstood by laymen, children, young peo-ple and adults, who perceive many kinds ofintelligence, well beyond a merely cognitive-rational definition. In this way, both the lay-man and the expert have embraced multi-faceted conceptions of intelligence, placingvalue on attributes considered less traditional,such as social and emotional factors. Intelli-gence can be conceived in different ways bydifferent cultures (Sternberg, 2004).

Educational practices vary from culture toculture, encouraging different qualities in the


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The 1990s witnessed new developments in the fields ofintelligence and motivation, which broadened thetraditional concepts of what it means to be intelligent andmotivated and added new data to the ingredients forsuccess at school and in society

education of children and young people wellbeyond skills of a mere cognitive-rationalnature, advocating much broader concepts ofwhat it means to be intelligent including,among others, interpersonal relationshipskills, respect for others, the ability to live ina family and in society, mutual help and co-operation. Individuals, on their part, whenobserving models and situations of successand failure in different aspects of life, espe-cially in the home and at school, can identifythose intelligence models worth emulatingand, simultaneously, are able to build im-plicit theories on the factors leading to suc-cess, which will affect their future perform-ance (Sternberg, 2000).

An example of a social and emotional education programme for childrenTo paraphrase Zimbardo (2004), we have tofight to put “more psychology into our livesand more life into psychology”. Nowadays, theresults of longstanding studies carried out inthe field of psychology and similar sciencesenable us to draw conclusions as to whatmust be encouraged and how to do the rightthing in terms of social and emotional edu-cation of children and young people. Some ofthe examples that clearly illustrate the im-portance of research in psychology, morespecifically in the field of education, in im-proving the emotional wellbeing of childrenand teenagers, point to the conclusion thatteam work, which includes the sharing ofmaterial in learning groups where each per-son contributes information that is relevant tothe group, has a boosting effect on the ca-pacity of each student to listen to what othershave to say. Attention paid to others helps toachieve good results (Zimbardo, 2004).

But how do we choose among the differentintervention models in the challenging task ofproviding social and emotional education?What are the ingredients of a successful in-tervention? How to benefit the children? Howlong do such benefits last? How to transfer

such effects to other contexts and situations,beyond those for which the original inter-vention was designed? These are some of thequestions that are difficult to answer and thatwe shall attempt to illustrate by presentingone programme of social and emotional in-tervention carried out as part of a doctoralthesis in Portugal. This programme was se-lected because it was evaluated and it in-cluded an experimental and a control group,as well as a target population of children.

“Devagar se vai ao longe” (“Slowly butSurely”) Programme in the First Cycle of Pri-mary Education9 (ages 9 to 10)

This programme, under the name of “De-vagar se vai ao longe – Programa de desen-volvimento de competências sócio-emo-cionais no 1º ciclo de ensino básico” (Slowlybut Surely – Programme for the develop-ment of socio-emotional competencies inthe first cycle of primary education – forstudents between 6 and 10 years old) wasdeveloped by three researchers, RaquelRaimundo and Alexandra Marques Pinto,from the Faculty of Psychology of the Uni-versity of Lisbon, and Luísa Lima of the Uni-versity Institute of Lisbon (Raimundo, Mar-ques Pinto, & Lima, 2010).

This is a universal prevention programme,created within a school environment, aimingat developing social and emotional skills(specifically social and emotional efficacy,understanding, management and expression)among children. It aims to encourage:

• self-knowledge and self-control skills toachieve success at school and in life;

• use of social awareness and interpersonalskills to establish and maintain positiverelationships;

• demonstration of decision-making skillsand responsible behaviour in personal,school and community contexts.


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The programme was implemented duringthe 2007/8 academic year with 318 pupilsfrom the 4th grade (175 boys and 143 girls)from 6 schools. The average age was of 9.3years and the children were predominantlymiddle class. The programme was based notonly on the literature in the domain, but alsoon interviews with teachers and head teach-ers of schools with regards to the behav-ioural and social characteristics of the targetgroups, as well as the general organisationand functioning of the classes and schools.The interviews elicited information aboutgood practice in schools regarding all thesetopics. The Slowly but Surely programme in-cluded a total of 21 sessions, each lasting 45to 60 minutes, which were incorporated intothe school curriculum and delivered by apsychologist, in the presence of a teacher.The techniques and strategies used included:

• reading stories based on real or fictionalcases involving social and emotional is-sues;

• reflection based on the stories discussed inthe sessions;

• brainstorming ideas of the most efficientstrategies to deal with social and emotionalproblems;

• modelling and role playing the best atti-tudes and behaviours;

• feedback (reinforcement of positive be-haviour);

• pedagogical games; • teamwork; • training of daily skills, by direct instruction,

modelling, role-playing and reinforcementof positive behaviours and attitudes.

Of the 16 classes that formed part of thestudy, 11 comprised the intervention group(N=213 pupils) and 5 comprised the controlgroup (N=105 pupils). The control groupstook part in origami activities.

The evaluation of the efficacy of the pro-gramme included questionnaires handed to

pupils immediately before the implementa-tion of the programme (pre-trial) and after(post-trial), with follow-up to be imple-mented thereafter. The follow-up consisted ofan evaluation using the same questionnaires,which were completed by the pupils 6months after the post-trial evaluation. Like-wise, the teachers also completed pre- andpost-test questionnaires, whereas parentsonly did the post-test. The evaluation of theprogramme implementation process was alsocarried out by the researcher who imple-mented the programme, by means of weeklyrecordings of the sessions and through qual-itative post-test evaluation with the teachers.

Overall, significant benefits were observedin the intervention groups, especially withregard to social and emotional skills and psy-chological adjustment. The control groupsimproved very little in terms of emotionalawareness and anxiety and their peer rela-tionships worsened. Children with below av-erage social and emotional skills and psy-chological adjustment benefited more from allaspects of the programme. In terms of gen-der, boys benefited in terms of self-controland reduced levels of aggression. With regardto the social and economic context, the pro-gramme had a similar effect on all groups.

Evaluation of the contribution of the programmeThe authors concluded that the programmehas the potential to be extended to a largergroup of 4th grade pupils, as it proved to be ef-fective in the development of social and emo-tional skills and psychological adjustment.

My conclusions are that it is important tostrictly define the social and emotional di-mensions that will be the target of the inter-vention, to use samples from the normal pop-ulations as well as samples from populationsat social and emotional risk, and, above all, toquestion the role of episodic, short and non-continuous interventions, adopting a more


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systemic approach, with the involvement ofthe family and the various school agents, suchas teachers, board members and non-teach-ing staff.

Intervention proposals: The path towards abetter education for allThe issue of how best to educate for personaland social transformation poses a challengewith no easy answers. Nevertheless, the re-sults of many studies have shown that, aswell as the use of a range of pedagogicalmethods, the development of learning envi-ronments that emphasize the connection be-tween teaching and learning is fundamental.That is, environments in which pupils havethe chance to think in an independent andcritical manner and to reach their own con-clusions, i.e., for each pupil to recognise andlisten to their own voice (Tisdell, 1993).

Therefore, teaching strategies must in-clude activities of information research andproblem solving, and must diversify the ap-proaches to interaction used in the class-room, creating opportunities for discussionamong the pupils and encouraging teamworkand project work.

Teachers must try to use learning situa-tions that associate theory with practice andwhich involve different contexts, mainlythrough the use of experiences that directlyrelate to the reality and the lives of the pupils.In order to achieve this the learning situationsand contexts must foster reflection and theinvolvement of all pupils in the learningprocess, via the handling of materials andthe flexible use of textbooks, as importantsources to stimulate self-learning and a crit-ical approach. (Association of MathematicsTeachers – APM, 1998, in Faria, 2004; Tis-dell, 1993). Furthermore, the evaluation ofknowledge, skills, attitudes and values mustbe conducted through the use of methodsother than traditional tests, and be basedmore on learning over time, by recording

the performance of pupils throughout theyear (APM, 1998, in Faria, 2004).

In addition, all material related to minor-ity groups that is included in the curriculummust analyse and consider the inequality inthe power of minorities. When we speak ofminorities we still cannot avoid includingwomen and individuals from disadvantagedsocial and economic backgrounds and othergroups at risk of social and cultural alienation(Tisdell, 1993).

In addition, it is paramount that we de-velop and make use of strategies to encour-age the involvement of parents, in order tobring school and home life closer together.The role of teachers is critical, as “… like theparents, they act as privileged interpreters ofthe objective development of children andteenagers, transmitting beliefs and expecta-tions, encouraging and reinforcing behav-iours, evaluating skills and helping to developtheir personal perceptions of competence, ina more or less coherent and adjusted sense”(Faria, 2002, p. 64).

In fact, the role of the teacher and his/herpersonal theories of competence, as systemsof meaning or theories of self with regard tocompetence which lead people to think, feeland behave differently in the same situations(Dweck, 1999), acquire special relevancehere. A teacher with more dynamic or mal-leable concepts of competence (as opposed tostatic concepts) who views competence assomething that can be developed through ef-fort, instead of a quality that “dwells within usand that we can’t change” (Dweck, 1999, p.2) will need fewer strategies to defendhis/her professional image and will spendless time searching for external explanationsfor the failure of pupils. Such a teacher willlearn from setbacks and make a greater ef-fort to try to resolve problems and challengesthat arise. In other words, in light of the factthat the personal theories of teachers affect


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their daily performance at school, those withmore dynamic concepts will make use ofstrategies and practices of interaction withpupils that will encourage the development oftheir overall abilities through hard work, self-respect and respect for others.

In fact, personal theories with regard tovarious personal attributes, including com-petence, form the manner in which individ-uals perceive themselves and perceive whatsurrounds them in competence-relevant sit-uations (Dweck & Molden, 2005). Conse-quently, these conceptions integrate, influ-ence, attract or highlight other personalconstructs, such as achievement goals, self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, all ofthem meaningful in achievement situationsand contexts (Faria, 2006).

The two qualitatively different systems ofmeaning represent two distinct forms of con-ceiving the self – one static and the other dy-namic – so that the static conception con-ceives the self as a group of static traits, aperception which leads the individual to pur-suing performance goals in order to protecthis/her self-esteem or his/ her feeling ofpersonal competence. In the dynamic con-ception, the individual perceives the self as acollection of characteristics and attributeswhich can be developed through his/her ownactions, which leads to the pursuit of learn-ing goals so as to maintain and promote feel-ings of personal competence and personalvalue (Dweck, 1991, in Faria, 2006).

The greatest challenge of all is how to be-come a dynamic oriented teacher, that is, “ateacher who believes in the growth of com-petence and talent, being fascinated with theprocess of learning” (Dweck, 2006, p. 194).Therefore, he/she must set high standardsfor all the students, not only for the high-achievers, and create a nurturing atmospherefor learning, full of genuine affection andconcern for the students, believing in im-provement for all, instead of creating an at-mosphere of judgement (Dweck, 2006). Be-sides challenge and love, it is important towork hard and with energy with the students,teaching them to love learning, and to thinkand learn for themselves. But above all, dy-namic-oriented teachers use teaching to growand to continue to learn along with the stu-dents (Dweck, 2006). Therefore, everyonecan change towards a path “of valued skillsand knowledge accrued over time and put touse for oneself and others … [towards] a lifeof strong commitments and earnest effort”(Dweck, 1999, p. 155).

Moreover, regarding the way in whichteachers understand the external mediatorsthat affect students, if teachers are well in-formed about the psychosocial mediators (i.e.the role of the social, economic and culturalbackgrounds of each pupil, the role of thebeliefs that live in each family, and the role ofgender differences) through which the envi-ronment influences relevant psychological at-tributes such as competence, it will be possi-ble to expect some degree of positive


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Teachers must set high standards for all the students, notonly for the high-achievers, and create a nurturingatmosphere for learning, full of genuine affection andconcern for the students, believing in improvement for all(Dweck, 2006)

intervention by the teacher, mainly by way ofencouragement of more dynamic and moreflexible concepts and practices. For instance,the teacher’s knowledge of the research evi-dence on gender and socio-economic statusdifferences in psychological attributes suchas competence, can pave the way towards theadoption of teaching-learning strategies moresuited to these groups.

Finally, education professionals must alsochallenge their own implicit beliefs, repre-sentations and theories with regard to com-petence, analysing how these affect their ac-tions on a daily basis (Faria, 1998, 2008;Tisdell, 1993). Becoming aware of whatmakes us act in particular way is the first steptowards making the changes required.

Only in this way, will teachers – and theschool – be able to offer all pupils, withoutexception, intellectually stimulating activities,rich and meaningful educational experiences,enabling everybody to decide on their courseof action, now and in the future, in an in-creasingly autonomous, responsible and ef-fective way.

Notes

1 Pupils in Portugal begin their schooling as of the ageof 6; children who are 6 before the 15 Septemberof the school year can be registered to start school.Therefore, to know the age pertaining to each gradewithin the Portuguese education system, you justhave to add 6 to the grade in question.

2 I wish to acknowledge the collaboration and wel-come offered to me by the principal of the school.In addition, I would like to especially thank Drª. AnaMoreira, teacher and member of the Board of Es-cola da Ponte, who allowed me to visit the school,gave me access to several written documents, andparticipated in the discussion and compilation ofthis text about the school.

3 Education Project “Fazer a Ponte” (“Making theBridge”).

4 Commission of External Evaluation of the Project“Making the Bridge” (2003). Report to the State Sec-retary of Education. Coimbra. In http://www.esco-ladaponte.com.pt/document/CAEPonte consulted onthe 15th June 2011.

5 I wish to acknowledge the collaboration and wel-come offered to me by the principal of the school,Dr. Luís Mesquita, who allowed me to visit theschool, gave me access to several written docu-ments, and participated in the discussion and com-pilation of this text about the school.

6 The Arts and Dreams programme is a European ex-change programme for teachers and students fromthe artistic education domain, promoting and sup-porting visits of teachers and students to partnersin Europe (i.e., Spain, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria,Romania, Poland, Portugal, etc.), for learning, teach-ing, performing, and innovating in their arts spe-cialism (dance, music, theatre, painting, etc.).

7 Editor’s Note: The chapter on Singapore also in-cludes a case study on a second chance school inthat country.

8 Editor’s note: For further information on CASELplease refer to the chapter on the USA in “Socialand Emotional Education, An International Analy-sis, Volume 1” (published by the Foundation M.Botin, 2008)

9 I wish to thank Prof. Alexandra Marques Pinto ofthe Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon forproviding the bibliography of the programme.


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Australia

AbstractThis paper seeks to offer a broad, Australian perspective on innovative approaches to educa-tion that may facilitate the social and emotional education of children. The paper begins witha brief overview of the unique history of education in Australia including insights into the strongpassion and commitment of Australians for freedom of choice and diversity of educational ap-proaches. This is followed by a discussion of the youth mental health crisis during the 1990s,which it is argued, has precipitated the Australian government’s current strong commitmentto social and emotional education. The paper then traces several phases of development of so-cial and emotional education in Australia, before providing an overview of many kinds of ap-proaches, including both explicit, curricular programmes and implicit, contextual and wholesystem approaches. Three case studies are then discussed: a whole system approach (Steinereducation system), a whole population approach (all Australian five-year olds) and a targetedprogramme (for those experiencing grief and loss). The first is a national project to developan Australian National Steiner Curriculum, which attempts to include the important featureof social and emotional education as part of its broader philosophy within the larger projectof the development of the first Australian National Curriculum. The second case is the Aus-tralian Early Development Index—a whole population project to monitor the social and emo-tional wellbeing of all Australian five year old children; Thirdly, Seasons for Growth is specif-ically aimed at children and young people experiencing grief and loss.

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From Crisis to Confidence: The Development of Social and Emotional Education in Australia

Jennifer M. Gidley

Dr. Jennifer Gidley is a psychologist, educator and futures researcher. She works as a Re-search Fellow in the Global Cities Research Institute, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, andis President of the World Futures Studies Federation. Jennifer has researched and publishedwidely in the area of educational futures, including co-editoring/authoring: The University inTransformation (2000); Youth Futures (2002) and Futures in Education (2004) as well asdozens of refereed journal articles and book chapters. Jennifer co-designed, developed andinstructed the online component of the Masters in Strategic Foresight at Swinburne Univer-sity, Melbourne (2003-2006) and also founded and pioneered a Steiner school in rural Aus-tralia between 1984 and 1994. She lives in Melbourne and works globally in the areas of ed-ucational and cultural transformation.

1. Historical Context for Social and Emotional Education in Australia

1.1 Australian Education. A relatively shorthistory of formal schooling

If you lived in the country in the 1800s,you might be lucky enough to have asmall, one room school house on landdonated by a local farmer. In the city, ifyou could not afford to attend one of theschools set up by the various churches,you would most probably be tutored bythe wife of the local doctor, lawyer, mag-istrate or other professional. No stan-dard for education existed. Educationwas only available to the wealthier mid-dle and upper classes, who could affordto pay tuition.

Marion McCreadie (2006)1

Australia has a rather unique history, com-pared to other Anglo-European countries,when it comes to the development of formalschooling. A brief illustration follows becausethe history provides important backgroundcontext for understanding the diversity of Aus-tralian schooling today. Notwithstanding Aus-tralia’s long indigenous history of 40,000 yearsor more, when it comes to the history of formaleducation, one needs to keep in mind that Aus-tralia has only existed as a nation for just overa century. Prior to 1901, when it became theCommonwealth of Australia, the large is-land/continent was made up of six colonies op-erating relatively independently of each other.Little formal schooling existed during the firstcentury of European settlement in Australia. Asnoted in the opening quotation, what did existwas a potted mixture of Church schools andsmall isolated country schools on donated landwith limited resources. The Catholic Churchwas quite prominent in those early years as aneducation provider and the ten Catholic schoolsin Australia by 18332 received some govern-ment support, as did other church schools. By

1848 government and non-governmentschools both existed.3 However, by the 1860s,“legislation was passed in each of the Aus-tralian colonies, which effectively abolishedState assistance to schools that were not undergovernment control” (Wilkinson, Caldwell, Sel-leck, Harris, & Dettman, 2007).

In 1901 the six independent colonies be-came six states and two territories federatedunder the Commonwealth of Australia.4 From1901 until 1964 the only funding non-gov-ernment schools received came from Stateand Territory Governments. Until very re-cently, the states and territories were alsolargely responsible for establishing and run-ning public schools and determining curric-ula and policies, albeit with some financialsupport from the Commonwealth govern-ment.5 In 1964 the Australian governmentbegan to also provide some capital fundingfor non-government schools. This was fol-lowed in 1970 by the introduction of addi-tional recurrent funding, which, by 1973,was set at the rate of 20 per cent of the costof educating a child in a government school.6Based on the latest data available (2006):“81.1 per cent of total expenditure on Aus-tralian schools was from governmentsources, compared to the OECD average of90.3 per cent. Australia ranked the fourthlowest of the 25 OECD countries for whichdata was available.”7

1.2 Diversity of Schooling in Australia Australians have continued to express theirstrong commitment to freedom of choice inschooling as evidenced by the gradual growth ofthe (only partially funded) non-governmentschooling systems in addition to the (fullyfunded) government schooling system. Fur-thermore, over the last few decades the non-government schooling system, which previ-ously had largely consisted of Catholic schoolsand a few other religious schools, began to di-versify. The early 1970s was a crucial point inthe furthering of these developments. Coincid-

Country Chapter #5 | Australia

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ing with the introduction of some Common-wealth government recurrent funding8 to non-government schools, the National Council of In-dependent Schools (NCIS) was established in1970, significantly changing Australia’s educa-tional landscape. This organization, which isnow named the Independent Schools Council ofAustralia (ISCA) has been consistently com-mitted to the core values of “independence, au-tonomy and the provision of choice and diver-sity in schooling” for forty years.9 During thatforty year period, the independent sector—thatis, schools that were neither governmentschools nor part of the Catholic schooling sys-tem—has grown from “400 schools and114,000 students, four per cent of total schoolenrolments” to “1,100 schools and over half amillion students… 16 per cent of total school en-rolments” in Australia.10

In a somewhat parallel development theAustralian Bishops Commission for CatholicEducation held a conference in 1974 to es-tablish the National Catholic Education Com-mission (NCEC).11 At that time, there were1,730 schools, which made up 18% of allAustralian schools. Of interest is that thenumber of Catholic schools has remainedfairly constant in the intervening years. As of2010, “there are approximately 1,700Catholic schools in Australia, with an enrol-ment of almost 704,000 students – that’s20% of all Australian school students.”12

In summary, the proportion of students at-tending government schools in Australia hasbeen gradually falling. Even since 1995, theproportion of students attending governmentschools has fallen from 71% to 66% in 2010.Over the same period independent schoolshave gradually increased their share of thestudents. Between 1995 and 2005 “the num-ber of students enrolled in Independentschools has increased by 46% (or 135,300students) compared with Catholic schools(11% or 65,200 students) and governmentschools (2% or 38,200 students).”13

In terms of overall number of schools, theproportion of government schools has alsobeen steadily falling for almost fifty years. In1962, government schools made up 79% of allschools in Australia, with Catholic schoolsmaking up 18% and other non-governmentschools less than 4 %. As of writing this chap-ter, the proportion of students attending thethree sectors of Australian schools comprise ofgovernment schools (66%), Catholic schools(20%) and independent schools (14%).

The significance of this shift towardsgreater diversity and philosophical independ-ence will be discussed further below for itsrelevance to social and emotional education.

2. Why Social and Emotional Education in Australia?

While most young people in Australiaare doing well, there are areas wherefurther gains in health and wellbeingcould be achieved, particularly amongyoung Indigenous Australians, youngpeople in regional and remote areasand young people suffering socioeco-nomic disadvantage.

(Australian Institute of Health and Wel-fare, 2007, p. x)

The most important driver behind the in-troduction of social and emotional educationin Australia has arguably been the revelationa couple of decades ago that a major mentalhealth crisis had arisen among Australianyoung people. In the intervening period therehas been a gradual shift from focusing on thecrisis itself to working with protective factorsand prevention. This development is de-scribed in the next two sections.

2.1 The Crisis of Youth Mental Illness in AustraliaYoung people who become depressed, suici-dal or fatigued in response to the hopeless-


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ness that confronts the world are living sym-bolic lives. Their struggles with meaning arenot just personal struggles. They are trying tosort out the problems of society, and theirsufferings, deaths and ruptures are not justpersonal tragedies but contributions to thespiritual dilemmas of the world. (Tacey,2003, p. 176)

Australians were shocked during the1990s when national figures were releasedshowing that Australia had one of the high-est rates of male youth suicide in the westernworld. The high and apparently growing ratesof youth suicide, particularly affected youngmales aged 15 to 24. Research began inearnest and numerous interventions weredeveloped across the health, education andcommunity sectors, from help-lines, to pro-fessional development of doctors and teach-ers, to community awareness, to nationalschool programmes. A series of reports havebeen produced since the late 90s, providingcrucial data on the mental health and well-being of young Australians to provide a firmbase from which to develop policies, inter-ventions, and educational programmes.

The Australian Institute of Health and Wel-fare (AIHW) has produced a series of na-tional statistical reports on young people aged12–24 years (1999, 2003 and 2007). Intheir most recent report Young Australians:their health and wellbeing 2007 a major areaof concern with respect to my interests in thischapter was the finding that:

Mental disorders were the leading con-tributor to the burden of disease and in-jury (49%) among young Australiansaged 15–24 years in 2003, with anxi-ety and depression being the leadingspecific cause for both males and fe-males. (Australian Institute of Healthand Welfare, 2007, p. 23)

Based on levels of psychological distress asmeasured using the Kessler 10 (K10) scale—“a 10 item questionnaire asking about feel-ings such as nervousness, hopelessness, rest-lessness, depression and worthlessness”—itwas found:

In 2004–05, the proportions of youngmales and females aged 18–24 yearsreporting high or very high levels ofdistress were 12% and 19% respec-tively, an increase from 1997 when thecorresponding proportions were 7% and13% respectively. (Australian Instituteof Health and Welfare, 2007, p. 24)

From within this broad picture, the reportnotes: “Depression, anxiety and substance usedisorders are the most common mental dis-orders, accounting for 75% of the burden gen-erated by all mental disorders” (AustralianInstitute of Health and Welfare, 2007, p. 25)(citing Andrews & Wilkinson 2002). Unfor-tunately, there are no current figures for inci-dence of these or any other of the more spe-cific psychological disorders, the most recentdata being from 1997. What the 1997 figuresshowed was disturbing but also instrumental


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Australians were shocked during the 1990s when nationalfigures were released showing that Australia had one of thehighest rates of male youth suicide in the western world

in the shift to a more positive focus on pro-moting social and emotional wellbeing in Aus-tralia in more recent years. It is reported:

In 1997, just over one in four youngpeople aged 18–24 years (an estimated481,600 young people) experiencedanxiety, affective or substance use dis-orders. Rates were similar for malesand females—27% for males and 26%for females. (Australian Institute ofHealth and Welfare, 2007, p. 26)

Other concerning and interrelated find-ings included the following:

• Over 47,000 hospital admissions for men-tal disorders in 2004–05. Over half ofthese were for psychoactive substance use,schizophrenia and depression;

• Over 7,000 hospital admissions in 2004–05 for an injury caused by assault amongyoung people aged 12–24 years—a rate of203 per 100,000;

• Injury (including poisoning) continues tobe the leading cause of death for youngpeople, accounting for two-thirds of alldeaths of young people in 2004. Inten-tional self-harm (suicide) accounted for27% of all injury deaths;

• 25% of young people in 2004–05 wereoverweight or obese;

• Almost one-third (31%) of young peopledrank alcohol in amounts that put them atrisk or high risk of alcohol-related harm inthe short term, and 11% at risk of long-term harm;

• Young adults (those aged 18–24 years)accounted for 20% of the total prison pop-ulation in 2006, and there were over9,000 12–17 year olds under juvenile jus-tice supervision in 2003–04;

• One in three (34%) clients of agencies...providing assistance to homeless peoplewere aged 12–24 years in 2004–05.(Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,2007, p. xi-xii, 32)

In 2008, the Australian Research Alliancefor Children and Youth (ARACY) ReportCard14 on the wellbeing of young Australianswas published. It provided a comprehensivepicture of the health and wellbeing of youngpeople, revealing that Australia lags behindmany other developed nations. With respect toits broad overall measure of the mental healthof young Australians, the ARACY Reportfound that Australia ranked 13th of 23 OECDcountries. However, with respect to young in-digenous Australians, the rank dropped to23rd of 24 OECD countries (Australian Re-search Alliance for Children and Youth, 2008,p. 4). With respect to a more subtle measureof social and emotional wellbeing, such assense of belonging, one of the indicators foundthat nine out of every 100,000 young people“feel awkward and out of place at school” com-pared with only five out of 100,000 in Swe-den—the best international result. IndigenousAustralians fared even worse with 17 in100,00 feeling out of place at school (Aus-tralian Research Alliance for Children andYouth, 2008, p. 9).

It is perhaps not surprising that whenyoung Australians were surveyed in 2010about what they most valued, they placedfamily relationships and friendships as thetop two items. This was the case for bothgenders and all age groups. About threequarters of respondents highly valued familyrelationships and about 60% valued friend-ships (Mission Australia, 2010).

Although the rates of youth suicide in Aus-tralia have stopped increasing and leveledout, the number of young Australians who“die from intentional self-injury” is still one ofthe highest among OECD countries. TheARACY Report Card (2008) reported that the“intentional self-injury death rate for youngpeople aged 15-24 years (not counting in-digenous young people who are counted sep-arately)” is 10 in 100,000. Of interest, fromthe perspective of this project, as it is funded


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by the Foundation Botin, a Spanish Founda-tion, is that according to these figures Spainhas the lowest rate among OECD countries (4in 100,000). Given that there is also a con-tribution from Finland in this volume it is in-teresting to note that: “Indigenous Australianshave a rate of death from self-injury (18 in100,000) that is second only to Finland.”

While the likely causative factors and thepotential preventative factors for psycholog-ical distress, self-harm and violence amongyoung people are complex and multi-faceted,the ARACY Report cites school context aspotentially being either a risk factor or a pro-tective factor. It is the recognition of the im-portance of protective factors that led to thepositive turn to social and emotional wellbe-ing research, policy and practice in Australia.

2.2 The Positive Turn to Social and Emotional Wellbeing

The main (negative) focus of researchinto [Social and Emotional Wellbeing]SEWB is on mental illness, depression,anxiety, self-esteem, and so on. The de-velopment of positive psychology hasattempted to remedy this with a focus onpersonal strengths, and the enhance-

ment of a person’s quality of life, givenunderstanding of her social context. (p.viii)15

In 2006 Australian government ministersfrom several departments concerned withhealth, education, and community and dis-ability services, undertook a major feat ofinterdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collabo-ration. They developed and endorsed whatthey called a “Headline Indicator16 priorityarea for social and emotional wellbeing.” Theterm wellbeing has become the new buzz-word for a broad based, more holistic con-ceptualisation of human health, following inthe footsteps of the shift in psychology fromclinical models to positive psychology ap-proaches. Because of the multi-dimensionalnature of social and emotional wellbeing, fur-ther work was commissioned. The Social Pol-icy Research Centre (The University of NewSouth Wales) was selected to undertake thisresearch “to conceptualise and identify themost important aspects for children’s health,development and wellbeing.” An extensiveresearch report has been compiled compris-ing two major parts: the conceptualization ofsocial and emotional wellbeing, and the de-velopment of indicators to appropriatelymonitor its development.17


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While the likely causative factors and the potentialpreventative factors for psychological distress, self-harmand violence among young people are complex and multi-faceted, the ARACY Report cites school context aspotentially being either a risk factor or a protective factor.It is the recognition of the importance of protective factorsthat led to the positive turn to social and emotionalwellbeing research, policy and practice in Australia

While this major social research project at-tempted to focus on both these aspects, thischapter will primarily draw from the former.The two critical components the authors em-phasised with respect to this conceptualiza-tion of social and emotional wellbeing werethe importance of linking it to wider conceptsof wellbeing and the need to address concernthat any monitoring will take into accountbroader issues about society such as creating“the good life.”

The researchers and authors of the report,Myra Hamilton and Gerry Redmund, drewfrom several approaches to “philosophy andsocial theory (proposed by Martha Nussbaum,Len Doyal and Ian Gough, and Sarah White) toelaborate on the key components of what Ar-istotle called ‘the good life’ — the search for hu-man wellbeing” (Hamilton & Redmund, 2010,p. viii). The researchers note that these theo-ries are all consistent with ‘whole child’ ap-proaches and also point to “the social essencein humanity — that wellbeing is not an indi-vidual statement, but is solidly situated in asocial context” (p. viii). Furthermore they alsoprioritise three important issues: the principlesof positivity, an aim toward universality, andfinding ways to pay attention to the views ofchildren and young people as part of their con-

ceptualisation (Hamilton & Redmund, 2010, p.x). In an attempt to cohere the philosophicaland theoretical work they considered, Hamil-ton and Redmund conclude with the followingconceptualisation:

[W]hereas for younger children issues ofcompetency and dependency raise ques-tions about who is qualified to speak forthem, and to what extent their ownvoices should be heard, for older chil-dren and young people, issues of identitythrough significant transitions can raisequestions about how a state of wellbeingcan be captured in a fast-moving dy-namic environment. For both childrenand young people, Bronfenbrenner’secological model speaks to the impor-tance of the whole child, and supports tosome extent the interdependence of dif-ferent dimensions of wellbeing… (Hamil-ton & Redmund, 2010, p. 18).

With respect to the more applied approachto social and emotional wellbeing, it isnoted –as discussed above– that there are both“negative” and “positive” approaches. Whilethe negative approaches focus on mental illhealth, risky behaviours and underachieve-ment, they list the positive features of social


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Hamilton and Redmund point out that in addition to themore static notions of wellbeing of applied researchers,there are also the more dynamic theories of well-becoming—which tend to arise from the morephilosophical and theoretical literature that regardswellbeing as a culturally defined and ever-changingrelational process(Hamilton & Redmund, 2010, pp. 23-24)

and emotional wellbeing in children and youngpeople as including: “resilience, attentiveness,confidence and social skills, and positive affectand self-concept including happiness, self-worth, sense of belonging, and enjoyment ofschool” (Hamilton & Redmund, 2010, p. 21).They also add that for young people, the fol-lowing factors may also be seen to contribute:“civic action and engagement, trust in and tol-erance of others, social competence, and lifesatisfaction” (p. 21).

Several issues remain contestable in theconceptualisation of social and emotionalwellbeing in children and young people. No-tably, Hamilton and Redmund point out thatin addition to the more static notions of well-being of applied researchers, there are alsothe more dynamic theories of well-becom-ing—which tend to arise from the more philo-sophical and theoretical literature that re-gards wellbeing as a culturally defined andever-changing relational process (Hamilton &Redmund, 2010, pp. 23-24).

Finally, in a manoeuvre that places thenotion of social and emotional wellbeingwithin the realms of both developmental psy-chology and education—when developmen-tally conceived—they note: “the terms socialand emotional wellbeing and social and emo-tional development are sometimes used in-terchangeably” (Hamilton & Redmund, 2010,p. 16).

2.3 Current Understanding of Social and Emotional Education in AustraliaAs Christopher Clouder pointed out in the in-troduction to the first report in this series, so-cial and emotional education can be viewedas both a curricular intervention or in abroader, more contextual way that involvesthe whole school and even the parents andwider community (Clouder, 2008, p. 37).With respect to the curricular aspect, themain approach to conceptualization of socialand emotional education in Australia has

arisen from the Collaborative for Academic,Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) proj-ect, co-founded in 1994 by Daniel Golemanand others (Goleman, 1997). This approachis strongly skills-based with the primary em-phasis on children learning and acquiringseveral core competencies identified byCASEL researchers and practitioners. Thesecore competencies include: self-awareness,self-management, responsible decision-mak-ing, relationship skills and social awareness.They have been adopted as essential compo-nents in both the Australian government ed-ucation projects: MindMatters: Leading Men-tal Health and Wellbeing—initiated in 2000and serving Australia’s high schools; andKidsMatter: Australian Primary Schools Men-tal Health Initiative—piloted in 2007 and cur-rently being expanded.18

It is important however not to be restrictedto the prescriptive, curriculum based ap-proaches to “social and emotional learning” ofCASEL and other programmes which focusonly on learning particular skills. In thebroader contextual territory of “social andemotional education” that includes family andcommunity enculturation, the work of theBotin Foundation in Santander, Spain, canprovide some important guiding parameters.19

The development of theories, policies andpractices related to social and emotional well-being of young Australians appears to havefollowed several phases. From the late 90sthere was a lot of discussion focused on themental illness and at risk behaviours of youngpeople. Much of this discourse was about ring-ing alarm bells. This was followed by a grad-ual shift towards focusing on the positiveview—of identifying protective factors as wellas risk factors. This led on to the recognitionof the need to conceptualise what social andemotional wellbeing might actually look like.Arising from this positive turn some very sig-nificant educational programmes were devel-oped and implemented in schools to deal with


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the issues of mental illness—especially by pro-moting protective factors. Programmes such asMindMatters grew out of the realisation thatthe issues are too complex and multi-facetedto be dealt with only by specific targeted pro-grammes and shifted the emphasis further tomore holistic conceptualizations (e.g. wholechild, whole school). Very recently, particularlyover the last two to three years, various policydocuments have emerged from a range ofAustralian government departments, focus-ing on the importance of social and emotionalwellbeing in whole education systems—not justas curricular add-ons.

New Australian government educationalpolicies focusing on social and emotionalwellbeing, include:

• The Melbourne Declaration on EducationalGoals for Young Australians (2008), whichpromotes the idea that children and youngpeople should be successful learners, con-fident and creative individuals, and activeand informed citizens; and also that chil-dren’s and young people’s social, eco-nomic, ethnic or indigenous backgroundsshould not be seen as determining theirfuture place in society.

• The National Education Agreement” (Coun-cil of Australian Governments 2008),which emphasises the importance of socialinclusion for all young Australians.

• Investing in the Early Years (2009), whichprioritises: “a focus on the whole child,across cognitive, learning, physical, social,emotional and cultural dimensions andlearning throughout life” (Council of Aus-tralian Governments, 2009, p.4). In a sur-prising and innovative move—given thecontext of a “high-achievement oriented”society—the new Early Years frameworkwhich “has a strong emphasis on play-based learning as play is the best vehiclefor young children’s learning providingthe most appropriate stimulus for braindevelopment.” The Framework also recog-

nizes the importance of “social and emo-tional development.”20

• The Australian National Curriculum is partof the Australian government’s nationalagenda for school reform begun in 2007.This new curriculum from Kindergarten toYear 12 is the responsibility of the Aus-tralian Curriculum, Assessment and Re-porting Authority (ACARA). It will be dis-cussed in more detail under case studies.

3. Overview of Social and Emotional Education in AustraliaThis section provides a broad overview ofsome of the key social and emotional educa-tion initiatives that are operating in Australia.The first sub-section describes major curric-ular and whole school initiatives developedand implemented by the Australian govern-ment that explicitly identify and include socialand emotional education theories and prac-tice. The remainder of this section offers abroad sample of several other initiatives thatare less curriculum-based and prescriptivebut nevertheless fall into the broad social andemotional education domain—including somefamily and community initiatives.

3.1 Explicit SEE Approaches: Curricular andWhole School Interventions By “explicit SEE approaches” I am referring tothe prescriptive, curriculum based ap-proaches to “social and emotional learning” ofCASEL and other programmes which focusprimarily on learning particular skills.

3.1.1 MindMatters: Leading Mental Health andWellbeing (2000 - current)As mentioned above the Australian govern-ment has developed a number of school-based initiatives in response to the significantmental health issues of young Australians.The most established and probably bestknown is MindMatters, which is funded by theAustralian Government Department of Healthand Ageing and is in its tenth year of imple-mentation in Australian Secondary Schools.


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MindMatters was developed as a primary pre-vention strategy aimed at promoting and pro-tecting the mental health and wellbeing of allmembers of the school community. It takes awhole school approach.

MindMatters is a resource package thatadvocates a comprehensive whole-school ap-proach including professional development ofteachers. Throughout Australia, over 80% ofschools with secondary enrolments have sentstaff to the free MindMatters training. Mind-Matters provides curriculum resources foruse in the classroom, as well as materials tohelp schools create a caring and supportiveenvironment and develop productive part-nerships with their community, includingfamilies and the health sector. One of its aimsis to enhance the development of school en-vironments where young people feel safe,valued, engaged and purposeful.

This is extended, where necessary, to helpschool communities to develop strategies toenable a continuum of support for studentswith additional needs in relation to mentalhealth and wellbeing.

Among other items, the kit includes mod-ules on bullying, suicide prevention, enhancingresilience, loss and grief, and diversity. Of par-ticular interest to my focus in this chapter isthat one of the aims of MindMatters is to “de-velop the social and emotional skills required tomeet life’s challenges.” Drawing from the fivecore competencies identified by CASEL, Mind-Matters uses a slightly adapted framework ofthree “social and emotional learnings”:

• Self-awareness and self-management; • Social awareness and relationship skills;

and• Responsible decision-making.

They also note the importance of “spiritualunderstandings”, illustrating the MindMatters“whole student approach.”

MindMatters Professional Development. Over 120,000 school-based or school-re-

lated participants have attended MindMattersprofessional development sessions since2000. Sessions have been attended by stafffrom:

• 86.8% of state schools nationally• 73.3% of independent schools nationally• 88.9% of Catholic schools nationally.

MindMatters has been extensively evalu-ated over ten years since its introduction in2000.21 A multi-faceted evaluation over sev-eral years showed that MindMatters can be apowerful catalyst for positive change inschools.

3.1.2 KidsMatter: Australian Primary SchoolsMental Health Initiative (2007 - current) Following on from the established success ofMindMatters in Australian secondary schools,the Australian Government Department ofHealth and Ageing developed a parallel ini-tiative for implementation in Primary Schoolsaround Australia. This second major initia-tive, KidsMatter, was developed in partnershipwith several other key organizations: be-yondblue: the national depression initiative,the Australian Psychological Societyand Principals Australia and is supported bythe Australian Rotary Health. KidsMatter Pri-mary began as a pilot project from 2007-2008 with 101 participant schools nation-ally. Approximately 300 additional schoolsbecame involved during the 2010 schoolyear. Partnerships are currently underwaywith school systems in every state and terri-tory to support the rollout of KidsMatter Pri-mary to more schools across the country.The Australian government has recentlycommitted an additional $18 million to en-able KidsMatter Primary to be expanded to afurther 1700 primary schools by June 2014.

The rationale for the development and im-plementation of KidsMatter is firmly based in


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the analysis presented above with respect tothe high incidence of mental health issuesamong young Australians.

“It is estimated that one in seven chil-dren of primary school age have a men-tal health difficulty, the most commondifficulties being depression, anxiety,hyperactivity and aggression. There is asolid body of evidence indicating thathelping children develop social andemotional skills, including resilience,leads to better mental health. In addi-tion, if children experiencing mentalhealth difficulties are identified earlyand supported, they will be less likely tohave poor mental health outcomes asadults.”22

Of particular relevance is that one of thefour key components of the programme issocial and emotional education. The four corecomponents of KidsMatter are:

• Component 1: A positive school community• Component 2: Social and emotional learn-

ing (SEL) for students• Component 3: Parenting support and ed-

ucation• Component 4: Early intervention for stu-

dents experiencing mental health difficulties.

A closer look at Component 2: Social andEmotional Learning indicates that it drawsheavily on the five core competencies iden-tified by CASEL.

• Self-awareness, • Self-management, • Responsible decision-making, • Relationship skills, and • Social awareness.

It has imported the SEL Framework fromCASEL as a basis for its programmes.

3.1.3: Social and Emotional Learning23 inQueensland Government State Schools The Queensland State Government Depart-ment of Education and Training also has astrong focus on social and emotional learning.Unlike the Federal government whole schoolprogrammes, MindMatters and KidsMatter,the Queensland Government does not provideany particular programmes. Rather it offersan introduction on its website to social andemotional learning, again based on theCASEL approach. However, it also makes anadditional valuable contribution to the Aus-tralian resource pool by providing a guide tosocial and emotional learning. This documentincludes a comprehensive listing of commer-cially available programmes for social and


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There is a solid body of evidence indicating that helpingchildren develop social and emotional skills, includingresilience, leads to better mental health. In addition, ifchildren experiencing mental health difficulties areidentified early and supported, they will be less likely tohave poor mental health outcomes as adults(KidsMatter)

emotional learning being operated in Aus-tralia. In addition to MindMatters and Kids-Matter, there are numerous other commer-cially available programmes that can beaccessed from the Queensland governmentwebsite.24

3.2 Implicit Approaches to Whole School, Family and Community Contexts By implicit SEE approaches I mean thebroader contextual territory of “social andemotional education” that includes holisticeducational styles, and family and communityenculturation.

3.2.1 Broader Cultural Pedagogical practices that facilitate Social and Emotionaleducation in the broader communityBeyond Blue. National Depression Initiative:beyondblue is a national, independent, not-for-profit organisation working to address is-sues associated with depression, anxiety andrelated substance misuse disorders in Aus-tralia. http://www.beyondblue.org.au/in-dex.aspx

The Inspire Foundation: The InspireFoundation was established in 1996 in di-rect response to Australia’s then escalatingrates of youth suicide. It combines technol-ogy with the direct involvement of youngpeople to deliver innovative and practicalonline programmes that prevent youth sui-cide and improve young people’s mentalhealth and wellbeing. Their mission is tohelp millions of young people lead happierlives. http://www.inspire.org.au/about-in-spire.html

Reach Out, Australia: Reach Out is a web-based service that aims to inspire young peo-ple to help themselves through tough times,and find ways to boost their own mentalhealth and wellbeing. Their aim is to improveyoung people’s mental health and wellbeingby building skills and providing information,support and referrals in ways that work for

young people. Reach Out is run by the InspireFoundation. http://au.reachout.com/

National Advisory Group on Body Image:The Advisory Group will help to develop a newVoluntary Industry Code of Conduct on BodyImage and provide advice to the Governmenton young Australians’ concerns about negativebody image and the impact that it has on them,their friends and the community. Seven out often high school girls consistently choose anideal figure that is thinner than their own, andonly 16 per cent of young women say they arehappy with their body weight.http://www.deewr.gov.au/Youth/Pages/Na-tionalAdvisoryGrouponBodyImage.aspx

Social Inclusion Board: The AustralianSocial Inclusion Board was established inMay 2008. It is the main advisory body to thegovernment on ways to achieve better out-comes for the most disadvantaged in ourcommunity and to improve social inclu-sion in society as a whole. http://www.so-cialinclusion.gov.au/Partnerships/Board/Pages/default.aspx

Parenting Australia: Parenting Australia is anonline support community for pregnantwomen and families with babies and childrenunder five. http://parentingaustralia.com.au/

Raising Children Network: The Australianparenting website: comprehensive, practical,expert child health and parenting informationand activities covering children aged 0-15years. http://raisingchildren.net.au/

3.2.2 Social and Emotional Education at theMargins of SocietyIndigenous Cultural Festivals and Wellbeing25

In recognition of the disadvantage and alien-ation experienced by a high proportion of In-digenous youth, many of whom may aspire tobe university students, RMIT University GlobalCities Research Institute has initiated a proj-ect called “Globalizing Indigeneity: Indigenous


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Cultural Festivals and Wellbeing in Australiaand the Asia-Pacific”, which aims to work atthe deeper levels of empowerment that are of-ten invisible. The project received AustralianResearch Council linkage grant funding in2008 to partner with the Telstra FoundationLimited. The project examines the relationshipbetween Indigenous Australian Festivals andthe health and wellbeing of indigenous youthand community.

The rationale for such a project is that In-digenous communities in Australia (and else-where) suffer from extreme disadvantage.Northern Australia and many other places inthe region, face a demographic time bomb ofalienated, self destructive and culturally dis-oriented youth. This manifests as violence inplaces like Wadeye, Palm Island and PortMoresby. Cultural festivals are one of the fewconsistently positive spaces for indigenouscommunities to assert a more constructiveview of themselves both intergenerationally,and as part of their struggle for respect asdistinct cultures in the broader national com-munity. Cultural festivals also provide a rarespace for novel intercultural accommoda-tions to be negotiated on indigenous terrain,for example, the Croc Festival, held in multi-ple sites around Australia, the Dreaming Fes-tival, held annually in Woodford, SouthernQueensland; and the Garma Festival, NorthEast Arnhem Land.

As a brief case example, the Croc Festi-val “is a sister event of the Rock EisteddfodChallenge, a subsidiary of the Global RockChallenge, which engages young people incountries around the world in drug-freeperforming arts events” (Phipps & Slater,2010). The first Croc festival, initially calledCroc Eisteddfod Festival, was held in Weipa,West Cape York, Far North Queensland, inJuly 1998, involving 350 students fromseventeen schools from across Cape Yorkand the Torres Strait (Croc Festival). By2007, there were seven sites around thecountry with an estimated 19,000 studentsparticipating. It aimed to inspire and en-courage Indigenous and non-Indigenousstudents and communities to celebrateyouth and culture and in particular to cele-brate indigenous forms of culture and thediversity among them (Phipps & Slater,2010). It is claimed that the festival builtself-esteem and social skills and a sense ofidentity and belonging among indigenousyoung people, thus contributing to their so-cial and emotional development.

This RMIT indigenous festival projectthereby goes beyond the neoliberal rationaleof providing mere access to Indigenous stu-dents in order to increase Indigenous par-ticipation in the national economy, and be-yond mere social justice issues of equity andparticipation. Rather it has the potential to


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Cultural festivals are one of the few consistently positivespaces for indigenous communities to assert a moreconstructive view of themselves both intergenerationally,and as part of their struggle for respect as distinct culturesin the broader national community

empower and indeed transform Indigenousstudents and their relationship with RMITUniversity by deeply honouring their partic-ular ways of knowing as expressed in theirown cultural festivals. More details of howthese festivals operate as a collaborativeevent between indigenous communities andthe university can be found in the full reportof this project.26

In summary the report found that “Festi-vals are important to Indigenous communi-ties for their contribution [to] Indigenouscommunity wellbeing, resilience and capac-ity. They increase individual and communityself-esteem and cultural confidence, developlocal leadership, social, cultural and eco-nomic initiatives, open creative spaces ofindividual and collective opportunity, andprovide a focus for governments and otherservice providers to better engage commu-nity needs and aspirations.” (Phipps &Slater, 2010, p. 86).

Refugees and Asylum seekers. Hope Projectin South AustraliaThe project “Doing social sustainability: theutopian imagination of youth on the mar-gins” aimed to find out how young people onthe margins of society imagine the futureand what hope means to them. The premiseof the project was that the utopian imagina-tion of marginalised young people can con-tribute to the development of two key themesfor social sustainability: hope and the future.The project conducted research in alternativeeducation schools in South Australia in late2006 and early 2007. The schools cater formales and females that may be ‘at risk’, un-able to cope in mainstream education, andhave problems with violence, substanceabuse or with the juvenile justice system. Theyoung people were aged between 14 and 17.The researchers talked with students in class,encouraged them to draw, interviewed themand gave them a camera to take some pho-tographs of places, people and things that

they associate with hopefulness and ‘the fu-ture’. The results of these activities and in-terviews were the basis for an exhibition atthe Migration Museum, South Australia. Theexhibition, entitled Hope, was part of the2008 Adelaide Festival of Arts. The projectwas undertaken at the Hawke Research In-stitute for Sustainable Societies and was anAustralian Research Council funded LinkageProject 2006–2008.27 The importance ofhope in the prevention of youth suicide hasbeen well-documented and it is consequentlyan important key feature to be cultivated incontextual approaches to social and emo-tional education.

STREAT. Social Enterprise for HomelessYoung People, MelbourneSTREAT = Street youth + street food + streetculture. Inspired by their concern for the100 million young people who live or workon the world’s streets, STREAT is a socialenterprise providing homeless youth with asupported pathway to long-term careers inthe hospitality industry. They run street cafesin Melbourne where the young people gettheir hospitality training. The food is inspiredby street hawker food from around the world.STREAT believes large intractable socialproblems like youth homelessness and dis-advantage are not acceptable and work to-wards a creative, large-scale response. Theirfood service social enterprise is dedicated toproviding a supported pathway to longterm employment for young people whohave been living on the street or at risk of be-ing on the street. They combine wrap-aroundsocial support with industry training and em-ployment opportunities in their street cafes.As a social enterprise all of their commercialactivities are dedicated to generating funds toaddress areas of acute social need. As such,they model a different way of doing business:innovative and responsible market engage-ment that resolves large-scale issues whilemeeting a known consumer need.


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STREAT social enterprise28 is based on thefollowing five values:

• Discover. We believe in lifelong learning • Create. We tackle problems with imagina-

tion and passion• Nourish. Our meals nourish customers

and youth• Connect. We bring ideas, individuals and

communities together• Sustain. We strive for sustainability in all

our activities

In summary, this project is a very good ex-ample of how young people how can be en-couraged to learn important social and emo-tional skills they clearly did not have, througha naturalistic, contextual setting, rather thanthrough the contrivance of social skills pro-grammes, which would be unlikely to be ef-fective in these cases.

3.2.3 Postformal Pedagogies As noted in the earlier section on the historyof education, Australian people have alwaysprized freedom of choice and diversity in ed-ucation. This has led to the large and grow-ing proportion of independent schools inAustralia, many of which operate from a spe-cific philosophy, approach or niche orienta-tion. In addition to the explicit social andemotional education initiatives discussedabove, several educational approaches dealimplicitly with social and emotional educationin a broader, more contextual manner.

Following on from my research on theevolution of consciousness and educationalapproaches that support it, I have identifieda dozen or more postformal educational ap-proaches—or postformal pedagogies—whichalthough not explicitly focusing on socialand emotional education, are contributing tothe broader, more holistic education of thechild that is so necessary in the fragmentedworld of the 21st century. Somewhat para-doxically, many of these alternative ap-proaches to education are quite independentof each other, and often seemingly unawareof other quite similar approaches. My inter-est is to map these different approaches,explore relationships among them, and re-flect this back to them.

In previous research I identified the theo-retical relationships between several themesarising from the evolution of consciousnessdiscourse and a diversity of postformal edu-cational discourses (Gidley, 2007, 2009).Four core pedagogical values emerged fromthe intersection between these two clusters:pedagogies of love, life, wisdom and voice.Although there is considerable overlap andinterpenetration between and among the corepedagogical values and the postformal educa-tional approaches, the latter have been clus-tered under the pedagogical value that theyappear to most strongly support (See Table 1).This clustering can be viewed as a type of del-icate theorising29 to be distinguished fromformal categorisation into discrete territories


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The importance of hope in the prevention of youth suicidehas been well-documented and it is consequently animportant key feature to be cultivated in contextualapproaches to social and emotional education


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Table 1. Postformal Pedagogies Supporting four Core Pedagogical Values

Postformal educational approaches supporting the Pedagogy of Love[Educational styles that emphasise care, contemplation, empathy, love and reverence]

Holistic and integral education Includes broad, eclectic holistic education and also specific integral/integrative approaches (Bronson & Gangadean, 2006; Miller, 2000; Stack, 2006).

Social and emotional education There are primarily two types: explicit, conceptual, curricular approaches and implicit, contextual, relational (Refer to chapters in this volume).

Spiritual and transformative education Diversity in spiritual values, non-denominational, and also contemplative and other transformative approaches to learning (Glazer, 1994; Hart, 2001a).

Postformal educational approaches supporting the Pedagogy of Life[Educational styles that support shifts from static concepts to living thinking]

Imaginative education Imagination is an important dimension in bringing concepts tolife, and thus supporting the development of vitality in thinking (Egan, 1997; Nielsen, 2006).

Ecological education and sustainability Approaches grounded in ecological perspectives, environmental awareness, respect for natural surroundings and sustainability (Jardine, 1998; Orr, 1994).

Futures and foresight education Encouraging foresight, long-term thinking, and imaginative visioning of preferred futures, not merely perpetuating the past (Gidley, Bateman, & Smith, 2004; Hicks, 2002).

Postformal educational approaches supporting the Pedagogy of Wisdom[Educational styles that stimulate creativity, complexity and multiperspectivality]

Wisdom in education There are specific educational theories addressed to the cultivation of wisdom (Hart, 2001b; Sternberg, 2001).

Complexity in education Educational approaches that draw from and embrace the science and philosophy of complexity (Davis, 2004; Morin, 2001).

Creativity in education Beyond creativity as an “add-on” in education, and recognizingcreativity as a fundamental educational underpinning (Neville, 1989; Sloan, 1992).

Postformal educational approaches supporting the Pedagogy of Voice/Language[Encouragement of sensitivity to linguistic, cultural and paradigmatic contexts.]

Aesthetic and artistic education Approaches that cultivate aesthetic sensibility through exposure to and participation in a wide range of artistic activities (Abbs, 2003; Read, 1943; Rose & Kincheloe, 2003).

Postmodern and poststructuralist pedagogies Integrating the contributions of continental, especially French,philosophy in identifying the politics of voice and marginality (Elkind, 1998; Peters, 1998).

Critical, postcolonial and global pedagogies Further enhancing awareness of dominant political voices and the rights of marginal cultures and sub-cultures to have a voice (Freire, 1970; Giroux, 1992).


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as one might see in formal analysis (See alsoFigure 1).

More information about these ap-proaches can be found elsewhere (Gidley,2007a, 2008, 2009). While it is beyond thescope of this paper to discuss these ap-proaches in detail, the first case study belowis based on the holistic, integral approach ofSteiner education.

4. Case Study 1: Social-Emotional Education within a Whole System

4.1 The Australian National Steiner Curriculum Initiative

The Australian Curriculum recognisesthe entitlement of each student toknowledge, understanding and skillsthat provide a foundation for success-ful and lifelong learning and partici-

Wisdom

Life Love

ComplexityEducation

FuturesEducation

EcologicalEducation

ImaginativeEducation

Holistic-integralEducation

Social-EmotionalEducation

SpiritualityEducation

CreativeEducation

AestheticEducation

CriticalPedagogies

WisdomEducation

PostmodernPoststructuralistPedagogies

PostformalPedagogies

Voice

Figure 1. Postformal Pedagogies and the Core Pedagogical Values of Love, Life, Wisdom and Voice

pation in the Australian community.30(p. 9)

As a foundation for the new Australian Na-tional Curriculum, recent strategic policy doc-uments emphasise the importance of the wholechild. As a major goal for education it has beenclearly stated that: “children and young peopleshould be successful learners, confident andcreative individuals, and active and informedcitizens.”31 The Australian National Curriculumallows for four possible alternatives:

• National Steiner Curriculum• National Montessori Curriculum• International Baccalaureate Curriculum• University of Cambridge International Ex-

aminations32

The remainder of this sub-section will fo-cus on the recent process of development ofthe National Steiner Curriculum, in particu-lar how it works within the national curricu-lum guidelines to bring through the importantemphasis on social and emotional education.It should be noted here that information onthese alternative curricular approaches is notyet widely available.

4.2 Holistic education integrating social andemotional needsOriginally developed in Germany in the early20th century by Rudolf Steiner (1861 –1925), there are now some 1,000 au-tonomous, non-systemic and non-denomi-national schools and around 1,600 kinder-gartens in the world today. In keeping withother holistic approaches Steiner educationcultivates and integrates the cognitive-intel-lectual, physiological, psycho-emotional andethical-spiritual dimensions of the developingchild. The nurturing of each child’s individualpotential is therefore valued within the‘whole’ context of society and in relation tothe ever wider local, national and globalspheres of activity. It provides an implicit so-cial and emotional education of children

through nurturing a sense of reverence forlife, feelings of wonder and awe, and a love oflearning (Gidley, 2009; Nielsen, 2004).

A social and emotional dimension is implicitacross the approach: the students know and un-derstand the content, but as their feelings havebeen touched by the learning process, they alsocare about the phenomenon under observationand are more likely to awaken to the ethical di-mension of the learning experience. Guided bythe perspectives that Nel Noddings (2003,2008) emphasizes in her writings on the ped-agogies of care and happiness, Steiner educa-tion promotes the practice of ‘looping’ wherebyideally one teacher stays with the same classthrough the middle period of childhood (7 to 14years). The continuing relationship betweenthe child and the class teacher, as well as theregular communications with parents, enablesthe teacher to continuously assess the child’swork in a discrete yet accurate way, and to un-derstand individual strengths and weaknesses.The teacher is able to monitor the child’sprogress along a continuum, covering aca-demic, developmental and social aspects, ratherthan relying heavily on formal testing. TheSteiner approach recognises the spiritual di-mension of the child, and draws on the diverseliterary traditions associated with the leading re-ligions of the world to inform the festival cele-brations and the rich narrative elements of thecurriculum. Daily learning experiences also in-clude teamwork, collaboration and conflict res-olution to encourage citizenship.

4.3 Relevance of Steiner Pedagogy for the21st CenturySteiner education in Australia is part of a di-verse and active international movementthat has an implicit global orientation. Re-spect for differing linguistic, religious andcultural groupings is embedded in the edu-cational perspectives. In Australia curricu-lum content includes Indigenous and Asianmaterial as aspects of cultural inclusion,which is an important part of social andemotional education.


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Building on experiential, phenomenologi-cal, and evidence-based research in the areasof imaginative education and social and emo-tional education Steiner educators are nowworking alongside mainstream researchersin these and other related fields. Some of thecharacteristic features of the changing edu-cational landscape that resonate with theSteiner educational approach include atten-tion to creativity, complexity, imagination andspiritual awareness. There is also an ex-panding interest among educators in theoriesof holism, pluralism, multiculturalism andhumanism (Gidley 2009; Slaughter, 2004).

Over the last twenty years, educational fu-tures researchers have identified key com-ponents of a 21st century education that willbetter prepare young people for the com-plexities and uncertainties of the future. Aus-tralian research with Steiner-educated stu-dents demonstrated that many of thesefeatures form core aspects of Steiner educa-tion (Gidley, 1998, 2002).

The Steiner educational approach identi-fies developmental change at work in bothpsychological processes and cultural life. Acore feature of the Steiner approach rests onthe understanding that the course of growthof each child into adulthood recapitulates as-pects of the developmental pathway of hu-manity through history (Steiner,1923/1996; Gidley, 2009). This philosoph-ical orientation provides a framework for in-tegrating curriculum content from Kinder-

garten to Class Twelve (ages 5 to 17 approx-imately) and also informs the method bywhich the curriculum is delivered to differentage groups. Three main stages of childhooddevelopment are identified (Steiner1907/1996) based on observations and re-search relating to the physiological, socialand emotional and cognitive growth changesthat take place in the life of the child. A coreaspect of the pedagogy aligns the areas ofcognitive (thinking), emotional (feeling-af-fect) and physical/behavioural (willing) de-velopment to the three main stages of child-hood: adolescence (14-21 years old),childhood (7-14 years old) and early child-hood (0-7 years old).33 The introduction ofskills and knowledge is therefore based on aconcept of child-readiness (see Elkind (1981,1998) and age-appropriate education.

As a pioneering, yet well-established, de-velopmental pedagogical approach Steiner ed-ucation equips students to meet the complexneeds of the 21st century. A range of recentresearch articles can be found on the websitesof the Waldorf Research Educators Network(WREN www.ecswe.org), Steiner EducationAustralia (SEA www.steineroz.com), and theacademic journal Research on Steiner Educa-tion (RoSE www.rosejourn.com).34 The designof the new National Steiner Curriculum in-corporates relevant elements of the identifieddevelopmental stages of thinking and learninginto the educational framework (Mazzone,1993; Nielsen, 2004, Gidley, 2007, 2008,2009). In meeting this objective the education


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Some of the characteristic features of the changingeducational landscape that resonate with the Steinereducational approach include attention to creativity,complexity, imagination and spiritual awareness

encompasses a deep ‘understanding and ac-knowledgment of the changing nature ofyoung people as learners and the challengesand demands that will continue to shape theirlearning in the future’ (The Shape of the Aus-tralian Curriculum, May 2009, p.6).

4.4 Alignment of Steiner Educational Guidelines with the Australian National Curriculum Since its origins in the early 20th centurySteiner pedagogy continues to strive towardsthe building of a conceptual bridge to connectthe fields of science, art and the humanities,morality and spirituality (1923/2004).Steiner educational philosophy resonatesstrongly with research in the areas of imagi-native education (Egan, 2007; Nielsen, 2004)and social and emotional learning (Clouder,2008), and with contemporary educationaltheories that emphasise care and happiness(Noddings, 1992, 2003), the role of the arts inlearning (Eisner, 2003; 2008), the impor-tance of spirituality (Glazer, 1999; de Sousa,

2009) and values education (Lovat et al.,2009). My own educational futures researchidentifies educational approaches that supportthe development of higher stages of thinkingand learning (Gidley, 2009) through four corepedagogical values: love, life, wisdom and voice(See Table 1 and Figure 1). These four corevalues have been utilised in the framing of theNational Steiner Curriculum to provide con-ceptual bridges between Steiner education andthe Australian National Curriculum Guidelines.

The table below illustrates the alignmentbetween the four main categories of the na-tional curriculum guidelines (skills, under-standing, knowledge and active and in-formed citizens) and their application in thecontext of the Steiner curriculum, via hands(skills), heart (understanding), head(knowledge) and moral capacity (active andinformed citizens). These interrelated cate-gories are used in the National Steiner Cur-riculum design as templates for content de-scription and subject curricula.


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Table 2. Alignment of Australian National Curriculum with Steiner Education

Australian National Australian Steiner Core Pedagogical PrinciplesCurriculum Guidelines Curriculum Guidelines of Steiner Education

SKILLS HANDS -SKILLS, HEART- LIFE (VITALITY). Pedagogy of LifeTranslating theory into . Knowledge transformed Process, discovery, movement,practical application into experience. ecological awareness. Bringing

learning to life imaginatively.

UNDERSTANDING UNDERSTANDING -HEAD- LOVE (WARMTH). Pedagogy of LoveConfident and creative Confident and creative Warmth, care, relationships, community,individuals individuals sense of belonging, reverence,

connectedness.

KNOWLEDGE KNOWLEDGE WISDOM (LIGHT). Pedagogy of WisdomSuccessful Learners Powerful Learners Multi-modal learning modes, multiple

intelligences, versatility, creativity and complexity.

ACTIVE and MORAL CAPACITY BALANCE (EMBODIED VOICE)INFORMED CITIZENS Pedagogy of Voice

Active and Informed Citizens Students finding their own authentic voice, integration, balance through deep knowing.

5. Case Study 2: Social and Emotional Development within a Whole Population: Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) The Australian Early Development Index(AEDI) is a whole population measure ofyoung children’s development, funded by theAustralian Government Department of Edu-cation, Employment and Workplace Relations.The AEDI is conducted by the Centre forCommunity and Child Health, Royal Chil-dren’s Hospital, Melbourne and a key re-search centre of the Murdoch Children’s Re-search Institute, in partnership with theTelethon Institute for Child Health Research,Perth.35

In 2009, for the first time, the AEDI wascompleted nationwide, with as many as 98%of five-year olds having been assessed bytheir teachers, using the index. This has pro-vided a unique snapshot of the early child-hood development outcomes of Australianchildren. Between 1 May and 31 July, infor-mation was collected on 261,203 children(97.5 per cent of the estimated national five-year-old population). This involved 15,528teachers from 7423 Government, Catholicand Independent schools around Australia.Although the development index was firsttrialled in British Columbia, Canada, Aus-tralia is the first nation in the world to un-dertake such a massive project.

The AEDI involves collecting informationto help create a snapshot of children’s devel-opment in communities across Australia.Teachers complete a 95-item checklist foreach child in their first year of full-timeschooling (five-year olds). The checklistmeasures five key areas, or domains, of earlychildhood development:

• Physical health and wellbeing;• Social competence;• Emotional maturity;• Language and cognitive skills (school-

based);

• Communication skills and general knowl-edge.

It is noteworthy for this research that twoof the five measures (social competence andemotional maturity) relate to social and emo-tional wellbeing. However, all five domainsare regarded as being closely linked to thepredictors of good adult health, educationand social outcomes.

For the purposes of this chapter, I willbriefly expand on the two most relevant do-mains, how they are measured, and what theoverall population sample indicated.

Editor’s note: Results of the Canadian EDI (Early De-velopment Index) are discussed in the chapter “Social andEmotional Education in the Canadian Context” in this In-ternational Analysis.

5.1 Social Competence DomainThis domain measures children’s overall so-cial competence, responsibility and respect,approaches to learning and readiness to ex-plore new things (See Table 3). Bear in mindthat these criteria are designed to evaluatefive-year-olds.

5.2 Emotional Maturity DomainThis domain measures children’s pro-socialand helping behaviour, anxious and fearfulbehaviour, aggressive behaviour and hyper-activity and inattention.

A brief summary of the findings for theoverall evaluation suggest that approximately75% of all Australian five year-olds are ‘ontrack’ with their development in these twodomains. However, almost 10% are in thedevelopmentally vulnerable range and a fur-ther 15% are developmentally at risk (SeeTable 5).

As a population measure, the AEDI placesthe focus on all children in the community,examining early childhood developmentacross the whole community. It is argued that


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Table 3: Adapted from AEDI Social Competence Domain36

Children developmentally Children on trackvulnerable

Overall social Have average to poor overall social Have excellent or good overall socialcompetence skills, low self-confidence, and are development, very good ability to get

rarely able to play with various along with other children and play withchildren and interact cooperatively. various children, usually cooperative and

self-confident.

Responsibility Only sometimes or never accept Always or most of the time show respectand respect responsibility for actions, show for others, and for property, follow

respect for others and for property, rules and take care of materials, acceptdemonstrate self-control, and are responsibility for actions, and showrarely able to follow rules and take self-control.care of materials.

Approaches to Only sometimes or never work neatly Always or most of the time work neatly,learning and independently, are rarely able to independently, and solve problems, follow

solve problems, follow class routines instructions and class routines, easilyand do not easily adjust to changes in adjust to changes.routines.

Readiness to Only sometimes or never show Are curious about the surrounding world,explore new things curiosity about the world, and are and are eager to explore new books,

rarely eager to explore new books, toys or unfamiliar objects and games.toys or unfamiliar objects and games.

Table 4: Adapted from AEDI Emotional Maturity Domain

Children developmentally Children on trackvulnerable

Pro-social and Never or almost never show most of the Often show helping behaviours includinghelping behaviour helping behaviours including helping helping someone hurt, sick or upset,

someone hurt, sick or upset, offering to offering to help spontaneously, andhelp spontaneously, and inviting others inviting others to join in.to join in.

Anxious and Often show most of the anxious Rarely or never show anxious behaviours,fearful behaviour behaviours; they could be worried, are happy, and able to enjoy school,

unhappy, nervous, sad or excessively and are comfortable being left at school.shy, indecisive; and they can be upset when left at school.

Aggressive Often show most of the aggressive Rarely or never show aggressivebehaviour behaviours; they get into physical fights, behaviours and do not use aggression as

kick or bite others, take other people’s a means of solving a conflict, do not havethings, are disobedient or have temper tantrums, and are not meantemper tantrums. to others.

Hyperactivity Often show most of the hyperactive Never show hyperactive behaviours andand inattention behaviours; they could be restless, are able to concentrate, settle to

distractible, impulsive; they fidget and chosen activities, wait their turn, andhave difficulty settling to activities. most of the time think before doing

something.

by moving the focus of effort from the indi-vidual child to all children in the communitya bigger difference can be made in support-ing efforts to support optimal early childhooddevelopment.

6. Case Study 3: Social and Emotional Educationas a Targeted Programme: Seasons for Growthfor Children experiencing Grief and Loss37

Experiences of loss and grief (separa-tion, divorce, death, illness, disability, mi-gration, adoption, etc.) feature signifi-cantly in the lives of many children andyoung people. In Australia, for example,24% of 18-24 year olds report that theirparents had divorced or separated be-fore they turned 18 years of age and 5%experienced the death of a parent dur-ing their childhood (Australian Bureau ofStatistics, 2008)… Common emotionalresponses such as sadness, anxiety,anger, resentment, confusion, guilt andloyalty tensions (Graham, 2004; Worden,1991; Worden, 1996) need to be heard,acknowledged and respected.

The Seasons for Growth (SfG) programmeis a research based Kindergarten to Grade 12curriculum intervention that aims to pro-mote the social and emotional wellbeing ofchildren and young people (aged 6-18 years)who have experienced significant change intheir lives, usually as a result of death, sepa-ration or divorce. It was developed in re-

sponse to community concerns about the im-plications of a burgeoning divorce rate onchildren in Australia, but also to redress thelack of support available to children adjustingto death in their families (Graham, 1996a;Graham, 1996b; Graham, 2002a; Graham,2002b). The SfG programme involves smallgroup, like-to-like peer learning processes(facilitated by an adult), creating a space forchildren to ‘have a say’ and providing an in-vitation to learn and practise new ways ofthinking and responding to changes in theirfamilies. The emphasis is on understandingthe effects of change, loss and grief, whilstdeveloping skills in communication, decision-making and problem-solving through a peersupport network so as to help restore selfconfidence and self-esteem.

SfG is an eight-week group programme(usually 4-7 children with an adult ‘Compan-ion’), with a ninth ‘Celebration’ and two sub-sequent ‘Reconnector’ sessions (ranging from40-60 minutes each). There are five SfG ‘Lev-els’: three for primary school-aged children(6-8 years, 9-10 years and 11-12 years) andtwo for secondary school-aged young people(13-15 years and 16-18 years). Each SfGLevel has a sound curriculum structure and in-corporates a wide range of age-appropriatecreative learning activities including art, mime,role-play, stories, discussion, playdough, mu-sic and journaling. Children’s learning is gen-erated through respectful conversations, facil-itated (but not dominated) by an appropriately


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Table 5: AEDI Results for Social Competence and Emotional Maturity

Number of Average Developmentally Developmentally On trackchildren* score# vulnerable at risk

0 – 10Below the 10th Between the Between the Above the 50thpercentile 10th and 25th 25th and 50th percentile

percentile percentile% % % %

Social 245,356 9.2 9.5 15.2 22.8 52.6Competence

Emotional 244,363 8.7 8.9 15.5 25.4 50.2Maturity

trained adult ‘Companion’, whose role requiresthem to have the skills to listen to children andhear their voices but also to support them todiscover and negotiate who they are and theirplace in the world.

The grief theory underpinning the pro-gramme is based on Worden’s ‘tasks’ (Wor-den, 1991; Worden, 1996), a conceptualisa-tion of grief which is significant in that itsignals a shift from passivity to action/re-sponsibility in managing one’s experience,hence more closely reflecting notions of chil-dren’s competence and agency—or self-di-rection. In acknowledging the complex in-terplay between children’s agency and

vulnerability, the programme assists themnot only in understanding what happenswhen significant change and loss occurs intheir lives but, importantly, how they mightbest respond to this.

As the name of the programme suggests,it uses the imagery of the four seasons to il-lustrate that grief is cyclical, and is not a lin-ear journey with a clear end. Each of theeight weekly sessions explores a concepttheme such as “I am Special”, “Life Changeslike the Seasons” and “My Story is Special”.Each theme interweaves the imagery of oneof the seasons and one of Worden’s four‘tasks’ of grief:


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As the name of the programme [Seasons for Growth]suggests, it uses the imagery of the four seasons toillustrate that grief is cyclical, and is not a linear journeywith a clear end

AutumnTo accept the reality of the

change/loss

SummerTo emotionally relocate

the person

SpringTo adjust to an environment inwhich the person/object is no

longer present

WinterTo experience the

pain of grief

Figure 2. Seasons for Growth and Worden’s Four ‘Tasks’ of Grief

The Seasons for Growth programme wasdesigned and first implemented fifteen yearsago and has gone through several research-based iterations and developments. AlthoughSfG is primarily used in schools, it can also beused with adults. Since its launch in 1996, theprogramme has reached over 150, 000 chil-dren and young people across five countries.

The core aims of Seasons for Growth arethe development of resilience and emotionalliteracy to promote social and emotional well-being.38 However, it should not be regardedas providing (or substituting for) therapy incircumstances of grief and loss. Multiple in-dependent evaluations have consistently con-cluded that the SfG programme has a strong,positive effect on children and young peo-ple.39

7. Teacher Education relating to Social andEmotional EducationIn addition to the many school-based mentalhealth and wellbeing approaches, the Re-sponse Ability40 initiative supports the pre-service education of teachers. Response Abil-ity is another initiative of the AustralianGovernment Department of Health and Age-ing, and is implemented by the Hunter Insti-tute of Mental Health in partnership with uni-versities and tertiary educators aroundAustralia. Response Ability provides freemulti-media teacher education resources tohigher education institutions and offers on-going practical support to teacher educators.The project team also distributes informationthrough meetings, conferences and publica-tions. The multi-media Response Ability ma-terials use problem-based learning to helpteachers develop practical skills. Topics in-clude promoting resilience and identifyingyoung people who need additional support.The existing resources focus on secondaryteacher education and are used at around90% of Australian campuses offering relevantprogrammes. Evaluation data show that theResponse Ability materials are effective in

raising pre-service teachers’ self-reportedunderstanding and confidence. Plans are un-derway to develop material for primary andearly childhood teacher education.

In addition to such pre-packaged profes-sional development it is important to re-member our own personal social and emo-tional development.

8. Concluding ReflectionsIn conclusion, I would like to briefly draw at-tention to the big picture context of why it istoday that social and emotional educationneeds to be “added” to most existing educa-tional approaches. Why is it not part of edu-cation already? How did education become sofragmented? My research over the last decadehas indicated that the initial impulse for masspublic education in, for instance, Germanyover two hundred years ago was actuallyquite holistic. It was initiated by Humboldt, incollaboration with German idealists and ro-mantics such as Goethe, Hegel, Schelling andNovalis. These 18th century philosopher-po-ets were inspired by the notion of the holis-tic development of the human being and theon-going evolution of consciousness. How-ever, after the deaths of these leading Ger-man philosophers, by the middle of the 19thcentury the idealist-romantic educationalproject was largely hijacked by the gradualinfluence of the British Industrial Revolution,so that schools increasingly became traininggrounds to provide fodder for the factories.While it is acknowledged that England, likeGermany, had its share of romantic poetssuch as Blake, Coleridge, Wordsworth, toname a few, their presence did not seem toinfluence educational thought in the way thatthe German romantics influenced the shap-ing of educational philosophy in continentalEurope. The educational thought that devel-oped in England from the 17th century untilthe late 19th century was dominated by con-cerns about “practical problems of the cur-riculum, teaching methods and school or-


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ganisation” (Curtis and Boltwood, 1953) incontrast to the more idealistic educationalphilosophy of German and Swiss educatorswho were pre-eminently concerned with thedevelopment of the whole human being, ‘bil-dung’. The more pragmatic, utilitarian modelof school education that developed in Englandwas picked up in the USA. Notwithstandingthe different philosophies, theories and meth-ods within mainstream formal education,there is a tacit industrial era template onwhich most contemporary educational insti-tutions are based that has been the main in-fluence on mass education for at least onehundred and fifty years (Dator, 2000).

The modernist phase of formal school ed-ucation is trapped within industrial, mecha-nistic and technicist41 metaphors. Its en-trenchment hinders the development of thewhole person and the appropriate develop-ment of new ways of thinking suitable for thecomplexity of our times. Industrial era edu-cational practices limit cultivation of otherways of knowing, such as social and emo-tional, in several ways:

• They fragment and compartmentaliseknowledge in ways that many young peo-ple find meaningless (Eckersley, Cahill,Wierenga, & Wyn, 2007; Gidley, 2005).

• They privilege one way of knowing (cog-nitive) over significant others, such as aes-thetic, contemplative, emotional, imagina-tive, intuitive, kinaesthetic, musical, inter-and intra-personal and social (Egan,1997; Gardner, 1996; Nielsen, 2006;Noddings, 2005).

• They privilege the neoliberal businessmodel of education as commodity over allother orientations (Giroux, 2001; Stein-berg & Kincheloe, 2004).

• They encourage the transmission of dead-ening, stale concepts rather than evokinga process of awakening mobile, livingthinking (Deleuze & Conley, 1992; White-head, 1916/1967).

• They educate for the past, for forms ofunderstanding that are becoming out-moded and are no longer adequate for thecomplexity of 21st century life on a fragileplanet (Gidley, 2007b; Morin, 2001);

• They support the status quo: valuing sci-ence over literature, maths over art, intel-lect over emotion, materialism over spiri-tuality, order over creativity (Finser, 2001;Glazer, 1994).

Prior to the Industrial Revolution, whichembedded these modernist ideas into the so-cio-cultural fabric of Western society, educa-tion for children was not a formal process,even in the Western world. Children were en-culturated by their extended families and cul-tures and only the children of the wealthy—who could afford private tutors—or whowished to become clerics, had any ‘formal’education. Thus, education of children hasundergone two phases, roughly aligned withmacro-phases of socio-cultural development(see Table 6 below):

• An informal phase which lasted from thebeginnings of early human culture to theIndustrial Revolution,

• A formal phase of mass education of chil-dren in schools, modelled on factories.

By contrast, early 20th century educationalcontributions of Steiner (1909/1965) andMontessori (1916/1964) in Europe, fol-lowed by Sri Aurobindo42 in India, pointed tothe educational possibilities that support thedevelopment of the whole child. A drivingforce underlying their educational approacheswas the idea of the evolution of consciousnessthat embraces more spiritual perspectives.

A plurality of educational alternatives tothe factory model has arisen since then andhas been discussed elsewhere (Gidley,2007a, 2008). I refer to these as postformalpedagogies drawing from 1) the idea of“postformal reasoning” put forward in the


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last few decades by adult developmental psy-chologists who identify one or more stages ofreasoning beyond Piaget’s formal operations;2) the educational research building on crit-ical theory and postmodernism which is re-ferred to as post-formal education or post-formality; and 3) my own transdisciplinarypostformal approach in which I bring thesetwo discourses together via the term “post-formal pedagogies.” Postformal pedagogieswill be further discussed in a later section.

Based on these insights, I suggest that ed-ucation—at least in much of the Anglophone43

world—is in a transition from formal to post-formal (see Table 6). Social and emotionaleducation is an essential component of thisimportant transition.

Finally, to speculate on the long-term fu-tures of social and emotional education, I be-lieve that the movement towards more holis-tic, ecological education approaches willcontinue, thus reducing the need in the longerterm for specific curricular programmes.

9. AcknowledgementsI wish to acknowledge the important contri-butions of several persons, particularly withrespect to the three case studies. For theSteiner National Curriculum initiative, I ac-knowledge the significant contribution ofBronwyn Haralambous to the draft document

on which I relied heavily for this case study.For the Seasons for Growth programme, I ac-knowledge the originator and developer ofthe programme, Professor Anne Graham, Di-rector, Centre for Children and Young People,Southern Cross University, and also SallyNewell for the evaluation of the programmefrom which the text of my case study waslargely extracted. For the AEDI initiative, I ac-knowledge the support and encouragement ofProfessor Jill Sewell, Paediatrician, RoyalChildren’s Hospital, Melbourne.


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Table 6: Socio-Cultural, Political and Educational Phases

Prehistory to 18th 18th to 20th 20th to 21stCentury Century Century and Beyond

Socio-Cultural Pre-modern Modern Post-modernPhases

Political City-states Nation-states Global-planetaryPhases

Education Informal family/tribal Formal schooling, Pluralism of postformal Phases enculturation, or mass education, pedagogies, integral,

elite tutoring factory-model planetary sensibility

Notes

1 The Evolution of Education in Australia by MarionMcCreadie (2006). http://www.historyaus-tralia.org.au/ifhaa/schools/evelutio.htm

2 [History of] Catholic schools. http://www.catholi-caustralia.com.au/page.php?pg=austchurch-history

3 “Government and Non-government Schooling.”Australian Social Trends, 2006. Australian Bureauof Statistics.http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Pre-viousproducts/9FA90AEC587590EDCA2571B00014B9B3?opendocument

4 The Australian States are Victoria, New SouthWales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Aus-tralia and Tasmania, while the Territories areNorthern Territory and the Australian Capital Ter-ritory.

5 This would be similar to what might be referred toas central government funding in other nationalcontexts.

6 Australian Government Funding for Schools Ex-plained. Parliament of Australia. 17th November,2010. P. 3. http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bn/sp/SchoolsFunding.pdf

7 Ibid. p. 24.8 See note 8 above.9 “1970-2010: Forty Years in Review.” Independ-

ent Schools Council of Australia (2010).http://www.isca.edu.au/html/PDF/Year_in_Rev i e w / Ye a r % 2 0 i n % 2 0 Re v i e w % 2 0 1 9 7 0 -2010%2040%20Years%20in%20Review.pdf

10 Ibid. 11 National Catholic Education Commission. About

NCEC. http://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/index.php?op-tion=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=56

12 Ibid. Insight: Catholic Education in Australia, 2010.13 “Government and Non-government Schooling.”

Op. cit. 14 The ARACY Report Card was developed with the sup-

port of UNICEF Australia and the Allen ConsultingGroup. ARACY is chaired by child health expert Pro-fessor Fiona Stanley. http://www.aracy.org.au/pub-licationDocuments/REP_report_card_the_wellbe-ing_of_young_Australians_A5.pdf

15 http://www.aracy.org.au/cmsdocuments/SEWB%2007_071%20(2).pdf

16 Children’s Headline Indicators are nationally agreedmeasures for children’s health, development andwellbeing. Australian Institute of Health and Wel-fare. http://www.aihw.gov.au/childyouth/

17 The report on the ‘Conceptualisation of social andemotional wellbeing for children and young people,and policy implications’ is available at the followinglink. http://www.aracy.org.au/index.cfm?page-Name=Social_and_emotional_wellbeing_indi

18 For more information about KidsMatter, see thefollowing link: http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/so-cial-and-emotional-learning/

19 More information about these parameters can be

found at: http://www.fundacionmbotin.org/edu-cacion-responsable_educacion.htm

20 For more information on the Early Years LearningFramework of the Australian Government Depart-ment of Education, Employment and WorkplaceRelations, see http://www.deewr.gov.au/Early-childhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Pages/Ear-lyYearsLearningFramework.aspx

21 Reports are available for reading at the MindMatterswebsite.http://www.mindmatters.edu.au/about/evalua-tion/evaluation_-_landing.html

22 For more information about KidsMatter, see the of-ficial website:http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/faqs/

23 By Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) I amspecifically referring to skills taught according to theapproach developed by the Collaborative for Aca-demic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)project, co-founded in 1994 by Daniel Golemanand others (Goleman, 1997). This is in contrast towhat I refer to as Social and Emotional Education(SEE) in this paper, which both includes the teach-ing of social and emotional learning skills and goesbeyond it to include broader, contextual and holis-tic approaches referred to above as implicit ap-proaches.

24 http://education.qld.gov.au/studentservices/pro-tection/sel/commercial-programs.html

25 For more information on the current situation with re-spect to social and emotional wellbeing of indigenousyoung people in Australia, please see the followinglink: http://healthbulletin.org.au/category/top-ics/health/social-and-emotional-wellbeing/

26 http://mams.rmit.edu.au/ufwg124fk6adz.pdf27 http://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkeinstitute/re-

search/utopia/default.asp28 http://www.streat.com.au/about29 I coin the term delicate theorising in reference to

Goethe’s delicate empiricism (Holdrege, 2005; Rob-bins, 2006).

30 For more information on new Australian NationalCurriculum, please see:http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/curricu-lum.html and/or http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/Pro-grams/SmarterSchools/Pages/_NationalCurricu-lum.aspx

31 See Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals forYoung Australians. This declaration was launchedby the Australian Education Ministers in 2008.http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_re-sources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educa-tional_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf

32 For more information, see ACARA, Annual Report2008-2009. http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/ACARA_AnnualReport_08-09.pdf

33 While not regarded as hard and fast rules or cate-gories, these developmental stages are well sup-ported by research.

34 Waldorf Research Educators Network (WREN) re-search papers on Steiner pedagogy can be found at:http://www.ecswe.org/wren/researchpapers_ped


96

agogy.html Steiner Education Australia (SEA) re-search section: http://www.steineroz.com/arti-cles/328 Research on Steiner Education (RoSE)journal:http://www.rosejourn.com/index.php/rose

35 The AEDI is also endorsed as a national progressmeasure of early childhood development in Aus-tralia by the Council of Australian Governments(COAG).

36 http://video.wch.org.au/aedi/National_Report-March_2011_Reissue_final.pdf

37 This section is largely extracted from a recent eval-uation of the programme by researchers at theCentre for Children and Young People (CCYP),Southern Cross University (SCU), Lismore, Aus-tralia.http://ccyp.scu.edu.au/index.php/99/?hl=Sea-sons+for+Growth

38 More information about the Seasons for Growthprogramme can be found at Good Grief:http://www.goodgrief.org.au/Seasonsfor-Growth/ChildrenYoungPeoplesProgram/tabid/65/Default.aspx

39 See Evaluating the Seasons for Growth Program:http://ccyp.scu.edu.au/index.php/99/?hl=Sea-sons+for+Growth

40 http://www.responseability.org/site/index.cfm?dis-play=183492

41 Technicism is an over reliance or overconfidence intechnology as a benefactor of society. Taken to theextreme it is the belief that humanity will ultimatelybe able to control the entirety of existence usingtechnology.

42 Sri Aurobindo’s spiritual philosophy was developedthrough his spiritual collaborator, The Mother.

43 I am not sufficiently informed to comment on thetrends in European and other non-Anglo nations,except that in the so-called developing world, thereis a strong, modernist, political and economic move-ment to transplant the formal factory-model ofschooling into these diverse cultures. There is alsoa postcolonial critique of this neo-colonialist agenda(Gidley, 2001; Inayatullah, 2002; Jain & Jain,2003; Jain, Miller, & Jain, 2001; Visser, 2000).

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Finland

AbstractThis chapter introduces the reader to the present academic and psychosocial situation of Finnishchildren and adolescents, and focuses on the initiatives being taken to improve the social andemotional well-being of the young people of Finland. The chapter starts with describing theFinnish school system and explores the presumed reasons for the high level of academicachievement, taking into account Finnish society’s positive attitude towards education, the prin-ciples of educational equity, equality, and integration, the national curriculum, and the high levelof pre-primary and teacher education which all play a significant role. From governmental,commercial and research-based approaches to social and emotional education, four examplesare described in more detail. The initiatives are the following: a physical activity-based inter-vention in northern Finland to improve kindergarten children’s social and emotional skills; theschool-based intervention MUKAVA where social and emotional education is provided as partof the integrated school day; a nation-wide school-based anti-bullying programme called KiVa;and a study module on mental well-being for health education in schools. The selected casestudies represent both skill-based and more contextual perspectives, and they show how so-cial and emotional education has been found to be important for children of various ages aswell as for the adults working with them. To conclude, I discuss the current delights and fu-ture concerns of social and emotional education (SEE), and suggest how Finland could moveforward towards its social and emotional education (SEE) goals.

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Multi-Level Promotion of Social and Emotional Well-Being in Finland

Marja Kokkonen

Marja Kokkonen (PhD in Psychology, MA in Sport Sciences) is a Senior Lecturer at the Facultyof Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. In the domains of person-ality and developmental psychology and sport and exercise psychology, she has been interestedin the role of personality traits, emotional skills, and emotional intelligence in both psycholog-ical and physical health, and health-related behaviour. Her specialist topics in teaching for var-ious audiences (student teachers, teachers, coaches, health care professional, IT-specialists etc.)are concerned with social and emotional skills as an occupational resource, emotions as partof working life and the emotional development of children.

Introduction

What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?(The Wall Street Journal, February 29, 2008)

Why do Finland’s schools get the bestresults? (BBC World News America, April 7, 2010)

In Finland’s Footsteps - If We’re So Richand Smart, Why Aren’t We More Like Them? (The Washington Post, August 7, 2005)

Thoughts for the week: Why Finland isbest for education (The Times, August 8, 2009)

These are examples of the headlines fromwell-known journals and newspapers thathave flattered the Finns over the past tenyears. Even greater praise was lavished onthe Finns in August 2010 by Newsweekwhich ranked Finland as the world’s bestcountry. The headlines and the rankingsmostly reflect the findings of the Programmefor International Student Assessment (PISA),an internationally standardized comparativesurvey of academic performance, coordi-nated by the Paris-based Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD). Based on the academic perform-ance of 15-year-olds studied worldwide in2000, 2003, 2006, and most recently in2009 Finland has established its placeamong the top countries/economies in read-ing, mathematics, and science. Also, the In-ternational Civic and Citizenship EducationStudy (ICCS) by the International Associa-tion for the Evaluation of EducationalAchievement, exploring the ways in whichyoungsters are prepared to undertake theirroles as citizens, showed that the civicknowledge of 14-year-old Finns is out-standing. Regardless of their minimal inter-est in politics and societal issues, they re-ceived the top score, with Denmark, in the2009 study of 38 countries (Schulz, Ainley,Fraillon, Kerr, & Losito, 2010).

This chapter aims to offer a general pictureof the current status of the social and emo-tional well-being of Finnish children and ado-lescents, and of the Social and Emotional Ed-ucation (SEE) approaches that are designed tomake the future of the Finnish youth brighter.After a brief overview of the presumed rea-sons for the high academic achievement ofFinnish children and adolescents, I will turnto their psychosocial well-being (or the lackof it) that clearly speaks to the need for SEEinitiatives. Next, I present four research-based case studies covering different agegroups (i. e children at kindergarten, schoolchildren, and teachers). Finally, I discuss thecurrent delights and future concerns of SEE,and suggest how Finland could move for-ward with its SEE goals.

The Finnish educational system and otherexplanations of the high academic successachieved by Finnish studentsThe academic success of Finnish studentshas been explained by a number of inter-twined cultural and educational factors, suchas the Finnish culture, the structure of theeducational system and its comprehensivepedagogy, research-based teacher education,and autonomous and inclusive school prac-tises (Välijärvi, 2003). Sometimes Finland isbelieved to achieve academically due to thegeographical, socio-historical and culturalcharacteristics of the country: i.e. a smallnumber of inhabitants (5.4M), cultural ho-mogeneity (fewer than 156.000 foreigners),a remote location and strange language(Välijärvi, Kupari et al., 2007), harsh natu-ral conditions (Hautamäki et al., 2008), astrong sense of national solidarity (Sahlberg,2007), people traumatized by the bloody civilwar in 1918, an authoritarian, obedient andcollectivist mentality (Simola, 2005), a rathersecularized society but with a prevailingLutheran work ethic (Kupiainen, Hautamäki,& Karjalainen, 2009) together with a ten-dency to appreciate self-reliance, pre-dictability and hard work more than fun or

Country Chapter #2 | Finland

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happiness (Crittenden & Claussen, 2000).More often, though, the high academicachievement of Finnish children and youngpeople is recognized as being due to the gen-eral philosophy behind and the everydaypractices of the Finnish educational system(see Figure 1), which is perceived as beingone of the best performing educationproviders in the world (OECD, 2007).

In Finland, education is a civic right. TheFinnish education system is based on a phi-losophy of equity and equality. The structureof the education system is as follows: Thereare over 3 200 basic schools (basic educationincludes both primary and lower secondaryschools for children between the ages of 7 to16 and lasts for 9 years). In addition thereare about 750 upper secondary schools (vo-cational and general education; which lastsfor 3 years, from age 17 to 19). Higher ed-ucation is provided by 16 universities andnumerous polytechnics. In practice, equityand equality mean that basic education, up-per secondary education, and universities arepublicly funded by both the state and localauthorities, and are thus accessible, free ofcharge, to all pupils and full-time students, ir-respective of where they live in Finland, theirfinancial situation, gender, or native language(Education and Science in Finland, 2008).Free hot school lunches served daily andhealth and dental care are provided in bothbasic and in upper secondary schools, as is

transport to school if the child lives over 5 kmfrom school. In all schools, except in generalupper secondary education, text books andother resources are also provided.

The principles of educational equity andequality can also be seen in the low nationalrate of homeschooling, and the co-educa-tional and inclusive nature of Finnish schools.Although compulsory education does not re-quire pupils to attend school, and can belegally completed by studying at home, theFinnish Home Educators Association esti-mates that the number of homeschoolers isless than 300. In comparison, the basicschools had 546 400 pupils in 2010 (Statis-tics Finland). Most pupils attend medium-sized schools of 300-499 pupils, rangingfrom rural schools with fewer than ten pupilsto urban schools with over 900 pupils. Ac-cording to the Quality criteria for basic edu-cation (2010) by the Ministry of Educationand Culture, the recommended maximumnumber of children in each school class is20–25 but this is not compulsory; for in-stance there will be 33 first-graders in myson’s class this autumn.

In Finland’s co-educational and inclusiveeducational system there are neither schoolsnor special programmes for gifted children,or single-gender schools. There are only veryfew private schools (mostly faith-based orSteiner schools). To found a private school


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More often, the high academic achievement of Finnishchildren and young people is recognized as being due tothe general philosophy behind and the everyday practicesof the Finnish educational system, which is perceived asbeing one of the best performing education providers inthe world (OECD, 2007)

requires a political decision by the Council ofState. When founded, they are part of theformal education system, and their activitiesare closely monitored and strictly regulated:tuition fees cannot be charged and studentadmissions have to be based on the samecriteria as the corresponding municipalschools. Private schools are given a stategrant comparable to that given to a munici-

pal school of the same size, and children thatattend private schools (fewer than3%;Kumpulainen, 2010) must be given all thesocial entitlements that are offered to thestudents of municipal schools.

Finally, every student must be given equalopportunities for learning within the school.In practice this means the integration of spe-cial needs education within regular education(Välijärvi, Kupari et al., 2007). Screening ofat-risk children for various learning difficul-ties starts before compulsory schooling inpre-primary education and continuesthrough the lower grades in basic education.A student’s right to special needs educationand student counselling (e.g. guidance instudy skills and planning of post-compulsorystudies) is stipulated in Finnish law. Schoolsare obliged to provide remedial teaching forthose students who have difficulty followingregular classroom teaching. In autumn 2009,8.5% of comprehensive school children re-ceived special education (Official Statistics ofFinland, 2010). Although each student withspecial learning needs (i.e. a disability, illness,delayed development, or an emotional disor-der) has an individual teaching and learningplan, students with minor learning or adjust-

ment problems (e.g. problems with reading,writing, or mathematics) are entitled to re-medial teaching alongside regular educationin the regular classroom. Teachers are paidfor the hours of extra tuition they provide tostudents with learning difficulties. There arealso special education teachers, whose workis partly inclusive, but also entail segregativeelements. They attend regular classes to teach

students with problems in a certain subject orsubjects, or they offer students the possibil-ity of studying in small groups or individuallya few times a week (Takala, Pirttimaa, & Tör-mänen, 2009). If absolutely necessary for thechild, he or she may be assigned the status ofa special needs student via professional as-sessment and be placed in a special educationclass in his/her initial school or in a specialschool (about 2 % of students attend separatespecial education institutions; Välijärvi, Ku-pari et al., 2007).

Finland’s decision to aim at inclusive ed-ucation with integrated, heterogeneousteaching groups seems to work. Firstly,Finnish children in basic education rarelyrepeat a grade (2% of pupils; Education inFinland, 2008), (although it is arguable thatat times repeating a grade would be in theinterest of the child). Secondly, there is ev-idence of a uniform PISA performance.Means for the lowest and highest perform-ing percentiles in PISA have been generallythe highest in Finland among all countriesparticipating in PISA, the share of poorlyperforming students has been small and theeffects of the status of students and schoolson students’ PISA performance have been


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Finland’s decision to aim at inclusive education withintegrated, heterogeneous teaching groups seems to work

minimal (Hautamäki et al., 2008). Thismeans that even the weakest Finnish stu-dents have excellent relative academic per-formance compared to the students in manyother countries, and that students’ social andeconomic background has hardly any impacton their performance. The preliminary re-sults of PISA 2009 show, however, that thedifferences between schools seem to begrowing (Sulkunen et al., 2010).

Another advantage of the Finnish educationsystem is that a Finnish child does not usuallystart compulsory schooling until the age of 7.It takes 9 years (190 school days per year, 4- 7 hours per day) for a child to effectivelycomplete compulsory basic education (see Fig-ure 1). Between the ages of 7 and 12 (classes1- 6), children are taught by a classroomteacher. Typically the class teacher teaches thesame class for at least two and sometimeseven four consecutive years. Between the agesof 13 and 16 (classes 7 - 9), children aretaught by more specialized subject teachers.

In 2009, fewer than 1% of 9th graderswere not awarded the basic education certifi-cate, the admission requirement for generalupper secondary education. In 2008, 51%

and 42 % of basic school graduates moved onto upper secondary school and vocational ed-ucation and training, respectively, while 2%continued their studies in voluntary additionalbasic education (Kumpulainen, 2010). Uppersecondary education consists of academicallyoriented general education and vocational ed-ucation and training. General upper second-ary education is based on courses with nospecified year-classes. By choosing theircourses the students can differentiate theirupper secondary education to some extent, forexample, to be more language-oriented orscience-oriented. Some upper secondaryschools specialise in a certain subject, such assports, art or music. Other schools may offerspecial sport and art streams. General uppersecondary education commonly takes 3 yearsto complete, and ends with a matriculation ex-amination consisting of four compulsory tests,which provides eligibility for further practi-cally oriented polytechnic and more research-oriented university studies that are free ofcharge to full-time students.

Pre-primary EducationHowever, the current academic achieve-ments of Finnish students rest partially onthe education that Finnish children receive


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The current academic achievements of Finnish studentsrest partially on the education that Finnish childrenreceive before they start school

Even the weakest Finnish students have excellent relativeacademic performance compared to the students in manyother countries, and students’ social and economicbackground has hardly any impact on their performance


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6

5A

4

3

2

y

1

0

ISCEDClassification

Doctoral degreesLicentiate-degrees

Universities

Master’s degrees

Special vocationalqualifications*

Vocational institutions* Also available as apprenticeship training

Matriculation examinationGeneral upper

secondary schools

ISCED classification 19970 Pre-primary education1-2 Primary education or lower secondary education3 Upper secondary education4 Post-secundary non-tertiary education5 First stage of tertiary education6 Second stage of tertiary education

Basic education, 7-16 years-oldComprehensive schools

Pre-primary education, 6 years-old

Vocationalqualifications*

Further vocationalqualifications*

Bachelor’s degreesUniversities

Polytechnicbachelor’s degrees

Polytechnics

Polytechnic master’s degrees

Polytechnics

Work experience 3 years

Dura

tion

in y

ears

1-9

1-3

4-5

THE FINNISH EDUCATION SYSTEM

before they start school. Since 2001, all chil-dren have had the right to participate, free ofcharge, in voluntary pre-primary educationduring the year preceding compulsoryschooling. In 2009, 56 985 children (99.4% of the entire age group) received pre-pri-mary education provided by schools(12 580) and by day care centres(44 405) (Finnish National Board of Edu-cation). (Pre-primary education covers onlythe year before going to school (ages 6-7),but day care is available from ages 1 to 7).Almost 70% of the children also attendedday care in 2009.

Each municipality is obliged to offer pre-primary education. It is aimed at preparingchildren for compulsory primary education,and includes play-based exercises and activ-ities in pairs and small groups that promotechildren’s initiative and positive outlook onlife. There is no stress on academics in pre-primary education. Pre-primary teachersusually have either a kindergarten teacherqualification (Bachelor’s degree from a uni-versity or a polytechnic) or a class teacherqualification (Master’s degree in Education).The fact that pre-primary teachers are wellqualified to monitor children’s developmentmeans that they are able to notice and inter-vene when there are any early signs of learn-ing difficulties. Pre-primary education usuallylasts for a minimum of 700 hours per yearand a maximum of 4 hours per day. TheMinistry of Culture and Education recom-

mends that a pre-primary teaching grouponly includes 13 children, but if there is an-other trained adult in addition to the teacherthe class may include up to 20 children (andin practice sometimes even more).

Teacher EducationThe high educational level of teachers, oneclear explanation for the academic achieve-ments of students in Finland, is not limited topre-primary education. Important landmarksin Finnish teacher education include the es-tablishment of the first professional chair ofeducation at the University of Helsinki in1852 and the founding of the first teachertraining college for the education of elemen-tary school teachers in Jyväskylä in 1863. In1974, teacher education for basic schoolswas reassigned to the universities (Kansanen,2003). Since then, a qualified class teacherand subject teacher in basic education in Fin-land must have a Master’s degree (300 ECTS)from a university. There are also strong ex-pectations for teachers to model the impor-tance of life-long learning (Innola & Mikkola,2011), and to undertake continuing profes-sional development throughout their careers(Westbury, Hansen, Kansanen, & Bjorkvist,2005). Education providers, usually local au-thorities, have an obligation to provide teach-ers with a minimum of three days of contin-uing professional development (free ofcharge) every year (Education and Science inFinland, 2008).


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Pre-primary education is aimed at preparing children forcompulsory primary education, and includes play-basedexercises and activities in pairs and small groups thatpromote children’s initiative and positive outlook on life.There is no stress on academics

The academic status of teacher educationand the possibility of continuing on to doc-toral studies have contributed to the popu-larity of the teaching profession. Stringentadmission requirements and demanding en-trance examinations send out a message tothe potential students of how intellectuallystimulating teacher education will be. Theacceptance rate for class teacher studentswas 12 % in 2010 (Karhu & Väistö, 2011),which is the same or even lower than formedicine or law. The aim is to draw into theteacher education programmes the most mo-tivated, committed, and multi-talented stu-dents, who are good not only at academicsubjects but are strong in the arts, music, and

physical education. Most often these studentsare women; 73% of the teachers in basiceducation are female (Ojala, 2011). Theteaching profession is also very appreciatedand respected in Finnish society; primaryschool teachers used to be called ‘the candlesof the nation’. Parents trust their children’steachers, and there is a positive attitude to-wards education in Finnish society, whichmakes teaching socially rewarding. However,concern has been expressed about the signsthat have been observed more recently withregard to the decreasing appreciation ofschool teaching. The anti-school subculturesthat are visible in the media might be havinga negative influence on the attractiveness


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A qualified class teacher and subject teacher in basiceducation in Finland must have a Master’s degree from a university

Figure 2 “My 6-year-old son Joona currently attends pre-primary school at the same kindergarten where my 3-year-old daughter Neela attends day care.”

and the image of the teaching profession(Innola & Mikkola, 2010).

The research-based teacher education, in-cluding educational theory, subject didactics,educational research, and guided teachingpractice in both the university practiceschools and in field schools, equip studentteachers to deal with everyday life at school(see Välijärvi, Kupari et al., 2007 and Niemi& Jakku-Sihvonen, 2011 for more detailsabout teacher education). Teachers aretrusted and given great freedom in teaching.There is no separate school inspectorate andstate authority inspection visits to schoolshave been abandoned. Teachers are not su-pervised by principals, who typically tend tobe administrators rather than pedagogicalleaders. Instead, teachers may choose theirown teaching methods, textbooks and otherteaching materials, and plan their own les-sons as long as they adhere to the NationalCore Curriculum for Basic Education. Thiscurriculum forms the basis for both the mu-nicipal curriculum and, ultimately, theschool’s own curriculum, which includes theteachers’ work plans. The teachers even pre-pare the school curriculum cooperatively withthe principal(s) and other school staff, andhave a say in the school budgets.

The culture of trust and pedagogical au-tonomy –and the more general learning phi-losophy which emphasizes learning– is alsoreflected in valuing teachers’ and ’principals’professionalism in judging the progress ofstudents’ learning. Assessment of studentachievement is the responsibility of teachers

and of schools, but not by means of obligatoryand comprehensive national testing duringcompulsory education. To evaluate how wellthe students have learned the content of thestudy unit in question, teachers can, for ex-ample, set their own exams based on thelearnt content, take advantage of the exampapers included in the teaching materials ac-companying most text books, use portfoliosand students’ self-evaluation - which I see asill-advised due to the possibility of negativeself-evaluation and discouraging experiences.Testing students’ intelligence or cognitive ca-pacities is seen as irrelevant to students’learning and motivation. On the contrary,standardized tests would presumably gener-ate undue stress in students, which is partiallywhy the only externally standardized test thatis administered is the national matriculationexamination, which students take at the endof upper secondary school.

Beyond Academics: The Psychosocial Well-Being of the Finnish YouthFinnish students have unquestionably beenamong the best PISA performers for the en-tire decade, but the whole picture is not asrosy as it seems. In December 2010 theFinnish Minister of Education and ScienceHenna Virkkunen claimed in an interview fora French news agency Agence France-Presse(AFP) that PISA does not measure the biggestchallenges faced by Finnish schools, such asthe relatively high number of suicides amongyoung people and the levels of poor mentalhealth. Although the suicide rate has gener-ally decreased, suicide is still the leading causeof death in the age group of 15 to 24 years,


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The academic status of teacher education and thepossibility of continuing on to doctoral studies havecontributed to the popularity of the teaching profession

and the suicide rate for that age group isamong the highest in the world. A recentstudy of 901 suicides committed in Finlandfrom 1969 - 2008 by persons under 18years of age showed, firstly, that the youngestsuicide victims were 8 years of age, and sec-ondly, that after the year 1990 the youthsuicide rates decreased for males, but in-creased in females (Lahti, Räsänen, Riala,Keränen, & Hakko, 2011). In 2005, 31young people in the age range of 10 to19-years-old committed suicide (3.1 % of all sui-cides in Finland; Uusitalo, 2007), and ac-cording to the statistics of the World HealthOrganisation (WHO), three boys between theages 5 – 14 committed suicide in 2007 (3%of all the suicides in Finland). A longitudinalstudy looking at the prevalence of and factorsassociated with suicidal behaviour among580 adolescents showed that 14% of girlsand 7% of boys reported suicidal thoughts orpreoccupations at age 16. Emotional and be-havioural problems at age 8 were correlatedwith suicidal thoughts and behaviour 8 yearslater (Sourander, Helstelä, Haavisto, &Bergroth, 2001).

The School Health Promotion study, car-ried out in all secondary schools, upper sec-ondary schools and vocational schools since1995, also highlights some forms of psycho-logical ill-health in Finnish adolescents thatseem to be increasing, especially in girls (Lu-opa, Lommi, Kinnunen, & Jokela, 2010). Inthe academic year 2008-2009, 16% (21 % ofgirls, 11 % of boys) of the 14-16-year-oldrespondents (8th and 9th graders) sufferedfrom daily tiredness, 13 % (18% of the girls,8 % of the boys) were moderately or severelydepressed, and 13 % experienced school

burnout (14% of girls, 12 % of boys). Also, a16-year population-based time-trend studyon 8-year old children’s psychiatric prob-lems showed that self-reported depressivesymptoms among girls increased from 1989to 2005 (Sourander, Niemelä, Santalahti, He-lenius, & Piha, 2008).

There is also evidence that the social well-being of school-aged Finns might not be asgood as it might seem at first sight. Theschool environments are also an issue. In asample of 784 adolescents, aged 12-17,there was a 12-month prevalence of 3.2%for social phobia, and 4.6% for sub-clinicalsocial phobia. These adolescents were alsoimpaired in their academic and global func-tioning. Social phobia was comorbid withother anxiety disorders (41%) and depressivedisorders (41%), and 68% of socially phobicadolescents reported having been bullied bypeers. The prevalence rose and the genderratio shifted to female preponderance with anincrease in age (Ranta, Kaltiala-Heino,Rantanen, & Marttunen, 2009). In a sampleof 985 children emotional and social loneli-ness seemed to be relatively stable, although10-year-old boys seem to experience moreemotional loneliness than girls of the sameage (Junttila & Vauras, 2009). As for thesocial environment in the schools, the 2003PISA study showed that 15-year-olds’ schoolengagement and satisfaction were below av-erage (Kupari & Välijärvi, 2005) and thatthere were groups of students who werestrongly disengaged from school, learning,and social relationships. Although teachersare addressed by their first names and un-necessary hierarchy is avoided, problematicpeer and teacher relationships and feelings of


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There is no separate school inspectorate and stateauthority inspection visits to schools have been abandoned

unfairness and of not being accepted werepresent in Finnish schools (Linnakylä & Ma-lin, 2008). For example, during health edu-cation classes almost 20 to 25 % of 15-year-old students do not dare to express theirviews and feel that teachers are not interestedin their opinions (Aira, Välimaa, & Kannas,2009). The result of the World Health Or-ganization (WHO) collaborative cross-na-tional study called the Health Behaviour inSchool-Aged Children 2006 revealed thatalthough students’ perceptions of their schoolenvironment were quite positive, a remark-ably large proportion of the students reportednegative attitudes towards school (Haapasalo,Välimaa, & Kannas, 2010). Along these lines,the School Health Promotion study in 2008-2009 has shown, in addition, that, regardlessof the positive changes that have taken placeduring the past decade, a substantial propor-tion of 14 to16-year-old students did notlike school at all (6 %; 3 % of girls and 8% ofboys), considered their school workload asbeing too heavy (39%) and that the workingclimate was problematic (28-28%; Luopa etal., 2010). The negative school climate inFinnish schools is positively related to symp-toms suggestive of burnout among both com-prehensive and upper secondary school stu-dents (Salmela-Aro, Kiuru, Pietikäinen, &Jokela, 2008).

Finally, the results of a study conducted bythe National Institute of Health and Welfare(THL) in 2009 in 2865 comprehensiveschools, covering 67% of all the pupils incomprehensive schools, revealed serious in-dicators of violence in 74% of the schools.Teachers had been both threatened (reportedby 20% of the schools) and harmed (13%) by

students. As for bullying, 4% of the schoolsreported that a pupil had been bullied by ateacher. Individual cases of bullying betweenstudents were recorded by 64% of the schools(7% of the schools had reported the bullyingincidents to the police; (Rimpelä, Fröjd, &Peltonen, 2010). Although Finnish students- like students in other Nordic countries - re-port the lowest prevalence of bullying others(Craig et al., 2009), 8% of 14-16-year-olds(10% of the boys, 7% of the girls) get bulliedat least once a week at school (Luopa et al.,2010). For the general public, the home-made bomb which exploded in a shoppingcentre in 2002 (claiming 7 victims), and theschool shootings in 2007 (which claimed 9victims) and 2008 (11 victims) suggest thatFinnish school-aged children are crying outfor help. This leads to the conclusion thatchanges to the school environments also needto be made.

In the light of several comparative stud-ies, the Finnish compulsory education sys-tem has proved to be quite a success. Despitethe educational glory, a number of Finnishchildren are experiencing problems in theiremotional and social lives. At approximatelythe same time that the basic education sys-tem was established in Finland in the late1960s, pioneering researchers at the uni-versities became increasingly interested inchildren’s social and emotional behaviour. Adecade later, the first battles to addressFinnish children’s psychosocial ill-health be-gan. In the next section I will describe theangles from which the psychosocial well-being of the Finnish children and youth hasbeen approached.


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There is evidence that the social well-being of school-agedFinns might not be as good as it might seem at first sight

Promotion of psychosocial well-beingamong Finnish children and youth: Governmental, commercial, and research-based approaches The attempts to improve the social and emo-tional well-being of Finnish children andyouth have been threefold: governmental,commercial, and civic-scientific. In Finland,education is generally the responsibility of theMinistry of Education and Culture, with whichthe Finnish National Board of Education(FNBE) develops educational aims and corecontents. Fundamentally, the basis for en-hancing children’s psychosocial well-beingcan be found in the national core curricula forpre-school and basic education. According tothe Core Curriculum for Pre-School Educa-tion 2010, pre-primary education aims tomonitor and support preschoolers’ physical,

psychological, social, cognitive, and emotionaldevelopment and to prevent any conceivableproblems. As for basic education, an oppor-tunity for holistic growth, learning, and thedevelopment of a healthy sense of self-esteemis emphasized, and the focus is very much onpupil welfare. The National Core Curriculumfor Basic Education 2004 states that pupilwelfare, including basic learning prerequi-sites, and children’s physical, psychological,and social well-being, is the concern ofeveryone in the school community. Conse-quently, the national starting point for SEE inFinland is less the promotion of academicachievement than the well-being of the chil-dren and adolescents. The strong argument

for feeling better instead of achieving morehas recently been reflected in the argumentthat by enhancing students’ social and emo-tional skills the occupational well-being andjob satisfaction of teachers would be in-creased (Kokkonen, 2005, 2010).

In addition to the general mission and aimsthat essentially value students’ psychosocialwell-being and optimal development, the na-tional core curriculum for basic educationalso specifies more detailed learning objec-tives and core contents of cross-curricularthemes and individual subjects. In basic edu-cation, one particular cross-curricular themethat should be implemented in all subjects,namely ‘Growth as a person’, shares manyobjectives and core contents with SEE, such asthe identification and management of emo-

tions and the observation and interpretationof aesthetic experiences. More specifically,health education (an independent subjectsince 2001) aims to develop students’ cogni-tive, social, functional and ethical capacities,as well as their ability to regulate their emo-tions. Psychological and social growth anddevelopment (e.g. self-esteem, tolerance) aswell as resources and coping skills (e.g. in-teraction skills, emotions and their expres-sion) are among the core contents of healtheducation. Already student teachers seem toview health education, among other things, asa context for delivering theoretical knowl-edge (focus on learning facts), a means ofpromoting students’ knowledge with regard to


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The national starting point for social and emotionaleducation in Finland is less the promotion of academicachievement than the well-being of the children andadolescents

self-regulation (focusing on critical and con-scious reflection on ways of behaving andfeeling), and a context for personal growth(Paakkari, Tynjälä, & Kannas, 2010a). Whenit comes to teaching methods, there is greatconfidence in both theoretical knowledge (onwhich the examination questions are based)and practical, functional exercises generatingpersonally meaningful experiences. Along thesame lines, in student teachers’ understand-ing, teaching of health education can be seenas transferring both knowledge and skills andsupporting holistic personal growth(Paakkari, Tynjälä, & Kannas, 2010b). Cre-ating an encouraging, safe, and accepting at-mosphere and a feeling of community in theclassroom is also essential. Furthermore, thecore subjects of religion/ethics, music, vi-sual arts, crafts, and physical education all in-clude learning objectives that are social andemotional in nature, for example, the appre-ciation of others, tolerance, being responsibleand considerate, cooperation, and emotionalexpression.

Conceptually, it is noteworthy that the na-tional core curriculum uses words such as‘capacities’ and ‘skills’ and defines teachers’tasks as being to guide and help students, andto support their personal growth and devel-opment. This choice of words reflects theconcept of learning as an individual and mu-tual process of building knowledge and skillsand of individual and collective meaningmaking that requires each student’s own pur-poseful activity. In my opinion, the generalpreference in Finland for the concept oflearning instead of education, also in the con-text of the promotion of social and emotionalwell-being, is due to the wish to approachthings from the students’ perspective. In ad-dition to this child-centredness, as a contrastto adult-centredness, the preference for theconcept of learning is linked to a strong em-phasis on seeing students as active, inde-pendent learners, not as passive absorbers ofinformation provided by educators.

The national core curriculum works as anational framework on the basis of which thelocal curricula – the municipal curriculumand the curriculum of each individual school- are formulated. Local administration of ed-ucation is the responsibility of the local au-thorities (municipalities) or joint municipalboards, who give a great deal of autonomy toschools and, ultimately, to their autonomousteachers. Therefore, the implementation ofSEE depends largely on the activity and mo-tivation of the local schools and their (teach-ing) staff. Since the mid- 1980s, Finnishschools have collaborated closely with nu-merous non-governmental, civic organisa-tions which have provided schools with com-mercial tools for enhancing children’s socialand emotional skills and capacities. As anexample of this skill-based approach, since1982 the Evangelical Lutheran Associationfor Youth in Finland (www.nuortenkeskus.fi)have offered teachers, parents, and childrenvarious interaction and human relationstraining imported from the U.S.A, such asYouth, Parent, and Teacher EffectivenessTraining based on the work of Dr. ThomasGordon. The Christian Association of Boysand Girls in Finland (www.ptk.fi) has organ-ised Aggression Replacement Training (ART)developed by Dr. Arnold P. Goldstein. The as-sociation Children of the Station (www.ase-manlapset.fi) has aimed to develop a per-sonal and living interaction between adultsand young people since 1990. One of theiractivities is to provide training, lectures andteaching materials for the teaching of copingand emotional skills, such as the Australianchildhood anxiety and depression preven-tion programme FRIENDS. Teachers, par-ents, and other adults working with childrenand youth have been trained by the Associ-ation of Finnish Lions Clubs using the LionsQuest since the beginning of 1990s (www.li-ons.fi). The Second Step programme, devel-oped by the American organisation, Com-mittee for Children (www.cfchildren.org), hasbeen available in Finnish for kindergarten


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teachers, pre-primary educators, class teach-ers and the like since 2005 (seewww.psykologienkustannus.fi for more in-formation). Kindergarten teachers teach chil-dren from 1–6 who attend day care, but pre-primary educators mostly teach childrenbetween 5 and 6 (the year before formalschooling).

Following the first written, national SEEprogrammes (e.g. the book by Pulkkinen,Heikkinen, Markkanen, & Ranta, 1977),more and more original Finnish social andemotional education programmes have beenmade available, such as Tunnemuksu (Pelto-nen & Kullberg-Piilola, 2005), a programmefor enhancing the identification, acceptance,expression, and regulation of emotions of 4– 9-year-olds, and Steps of Aggression (Cac-ciatore, 2008), an age-appropriate, stagedset of teaching materials to explore aggres-sion and anger, and to prevent aggressivebehaviour in children and young people un-der the age of 25.

In addition to the utilisation of the skill-based commercial SEE programmes often of-fered by civic organisations, there has beenthe third way for kindergartens and schoolsto enhance the social and emotional well-being of children: active and voluntary en-

gagement in scientific research. As a nation,Finland is very ‘pro-research’, and theFinnish kindergartens and schools are usuallydelighted to be able to participate in and sup-port various scientific projects. In Finland,scientific studies do not generally have to beapproved by school boards, and the projectscan be implemented as soon as the principalhas given his or her permission, and the par-ents of the participating students have signedthe informed consent. In addition to basicresearch on social and emotional behaviourconducted in Finland as early as the 1960s,the past decade has seen many collaborativeapplied and intervention studies. The aim ofthese studies has been to enhance the socialand emotional well-being of school-aged chil-dren in a more contextual and holistic way,that is, involving the whole school, families,and the wider community. Very often thestudies have been planned and carried out byFinnish universities or other research insti-tutes, such as the National Institute for Healthand Welfare operating under the FinnishMinistry of Social Affairs and Health, typicallyin collaboration with civic organisations.Some of the most important supporters of theSEE projects have been the Ministry of Edu-cation and Culture, the Finnish NationalBoard of Education (FNBE), the Academy ofFinland, and civic organizations such as the


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In addition to basic research on social and emotionalbehaviour conducted in Finland as early as the 1960s, thepast decade has seen many collaborative applied andintervention studies. The aim of these studies has been toenhance the social and emotional well-being of school-aged children in a more contextual and holistic way, thatis, involving the whole school, families, and the widercommunity

Finnish Association for Mental Health(FAMH), the Mannerheim League for ChildWelfare (the largest child welfare organiza-tion in Finland), the Association of FinnishLocal and Regional Authorities, and Finland’sSlot Machine Association. Many of these or-ganisations have contributed to the four se-lected case studies that I will now review inmore detail. The selected cases are from awide geographical spread, represent bothskill-based and more contextual approaches,and target various age groups from kinder-garten children to health educators workingwith children and adolescents.

Case Study 1: Promoting kindergarten children’s social and emotional skills through physical exercise In Finland, the role of language, artistic ac-tivities and experiences, and the possibilitiesfor versatile interaction with different peopleare considered central to the development ofpreschoolers’ social and emotional skills(Core Curriculum for Pre-School Education2010). In addition, the recommendations forphysical activity in early childhood education(2005) that constitute a part of the NationalCurriculum Guidelines on Early ChildhoodEducation and Care in Finland (2003) also

pay attention to forms of play and physicalactivity that can enhance children’s self-es-teem and self-image, offer experiences ofjoy and opportunities to express feelings,learn to take other children into considera-tion, and to regulate their own behaviour andemotional expression.

In the 8-month intervention conducted in2003 – 2004 in the northern towns of Ka-jaani and Sotkamo, physical activity was cho-sen as a way to enhance the social and emo-tional skills of 3 to 4-year-olds. Theintervention was inspired by the recommen-dations of the Collaborative for Academic,Social, and Educational Learning (CASEL;www.casel.org), and thus focused on skillssuch as connecting with others, cooperationduring pair and group work, helping others,apologising spontaneously, waiting one’sturn, and listening to instructions, feedback,and the opinions of their playmates. An ex-perimental group of 31 children (15 girlsand 16 boys from five kindergartens) and acontrol group of 10 children (6 girls and 4boys from three kindergartens) participatedin the study. Prior to the intervention thekindergarten teachers received ten hours oftraining (5 x 2 hours) on how to enhance


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Table 1. Timetable and the contents of the physical exercise sessions

TIMING CONTENT/THEME

September 2003 Become acquainted with others through exercise and play

October 2003 Ball games with different balls, cones, goals, combined with music

November 2003 Different exercise equipment (bean bags, swimming rings, ropes, scarves, skipping ropes etc.)

December 2003 Exercise with music, traditional games

January 2004 Balancing acts and exercise with apparatus and various equipment; rubber bands, ropes, milk canisters, cloths etc.

February 2004 Imagination and creativity with unusual equipment: teddy bears, newspapers etc.

March 2004 Creative exercise, emphasis on rhythms and music

April 2004 Ball games

May 2004 Adventurous exercise in nature, emphasis on endurance, jumping skills, orienteering,and respect for nature; wandering in the woods, outdoor activities

June / August 2004 Swimming and summer sports (e.g. football, the Olympic Games); emphasis on bodilyawareness, respect for nature

and observe kindergarten children’s socialand emotional skills. In 22 physical exercisesessions the kindergarten teachers used, forexample, traditional games, ball games, gym-nastics, creative exercises, and different ex-ercise equipment once a week in order to en-hance the selected skills (see Table 1 on page17 for the session contents).

Each session included four phases: warm-ing up, actual training of the social or emo-tional skill(s), cooling down, and closing dis-cussion. For example, during the warming upof the ball games session children weremoved around creatively in time to the mu-sic. When the music stopped, one child at atime told the others what body part had totouch the floor. In this way the childrenlearned the names of the body parts, to waittheir turn, and to listen to instructions. Dur-ing the actual training phase, the teacherthrew different balls onto the floor, and chil-dren had to work collaboratively to collect theballs back into a huge bag. In addition, theteacher rolled a ball to each child, one at atime, and the children had to wait their turn.Afterwards the children lay down on thefloor, and the teacher rolled a soft ball overthe children in a calm way, to relaxing back-ground music. At the end of the ball gamessession, the whole group discussed their ex-periences and the importance of the trainedskills (waiting one’s turn, cooperation) usingpictures with animal figures and the childrendescribed their own feelings and self-evalu-ated their own success. The kindergartenteachers evaluated the children’s skills duringthe physical exercise sessions using a four-point observation form at the beginning ofthe research period and six months later(Takala, Kokkonen, & Liukkonen, 2009).

The kindergarten staff (4 kindergartenteachers and two children’s nurses) were32-52 years old and their working experi-ence ranged between 4 and 26 years. Theywere interviewed twice during the interven-

tion. The results show that the kindergartenstaff considered the following as being im-portant for the development of children’s so-cial and emotional skills through physical ed-ucation sessions: listening to the children andtaking their views into account, children’ssense of belonging to a group, encourage-ment and support for children, including per-sonal feedback for each child, and goal-di-rected activities. Furthermore, preparation ofphysical education sessions in advance, goalinternalisation, the available pre-plannedprogramme, and cooperation between all theadults involved (commitment, shared re-sponsibilities, sticking to the timetables) wereregarded as central day care centre activitiesby the interviewed kindergarten teachers(Takala, Oikarinen, Kokkonen, & Liukkonen,2011).

For the kindergarten staff, the uppermostdiscomfort and a factor that might have hada negative impact on the children’s learningwas the general busyness and lack of time inthe kindergarten. Moving the necessaryequipment from one building to another,adopting the content of the physical educationsession and tailoring it to the needs of the ed-ucator’s own group of children also createdextra work. One children’s nurse fretted overthe fact that following the contents of thepre-planned programme, which was part ofan ongoing investigation, made it impossiblefor the educator to go back to those exercisesthat the children liked the best. However, shewas pleased to see that participating in thestudy also enriched other kindergarten ac-tivities and improved the quality and quantityof the children’s observations. In her opinion,children became more helpful outside of thephysical exercise sessions (in free play),more accurate at identifying their emotionsand giving reasons for their own emotionalreactions. For these reasons and others shehas kept the programme alive in her kinder-garten.


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Case Study 2: The Integrated School Day sub-project in the school-based interventionprogramme MUKAVA The acronym, MUKAVA, is derived from theFinnish words ”muistuttaa kasvatusvastuusta”,which means, “to remind Finnish adults oftheir responsibility for raising and educatingtheir children”. ‘Mukava’ is also a Finnish ad-jective meaning ‘nice’. The MUKAVA pro-gramme which took place from 2002 to2005 ( www.mukavahanke.com) was de-signed and directed by psychology professorLea Pulkkinen, an expert on children’s socialbehaviour since the 1960s, from the Uni-versity of Jyväskylä, in Central Finland. Themain objectives of the programme, which

was aimed at facilitating the growth of sociallycompetent individuals, were: 1) to decreasethe amount of time pupils spend without adultsupervision in the mornings and the after-noons; 2) to enhance the personal growthand socio-emotional development of the stu-dents, and 3) to strengthen the “social capi-tal” of the school and the students.

The MUKAVA programme was rooted inthe ongoing Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study ofPersonality and Social Development (JYLS), inwhich the same individuals have been stud-ied from the age of 8 to age 50. The JYLS wasinitiated at the University of Jyväskylä by LeaPulkkinen in 1968 as her doctoral disserta-tion (Pitkänen, 1969; Pulkkinen, 2006,2009) and has provided evidence on devel-

opmental continuity and the accumulativerole of emotional and behavioural regulationin individuals’ social and psychological func-tioning. The findings of the JYLS have beenapplied to school settings through MUKAVA.MUKAVA focused on the students and theirsocial and emotional development at variouseducational levels, as well as the relation-ships between the seven experimentalschools and the communities around them.

In the MUKAVA programme, the empha-sis was placed in varying degrees on the child,on the school as a learning environment, andon the relationship between the school andthe surrounding community, in seven sub-

projects. There were two sub-projects thataimed to support children’s social and emo-tional development: 1) A kindergarten proj-ect that enhanced the development of kinder-garten children’s social skills, and 2) A HealthEducation project that supported the begin-nings of health education, a new individualschool subject since 2001, by actively com-menting on the core contents of the subjectand supporting the broader definition ofhealth as a physical, mental, and social state.The project provided teaching materials andteacher training, workshops and further ed-ucation on the role of emotions, their identi-fication and regulation in health and well-be-ing, and the applicability of social andemotional education to different school sub-jects. Two other sub-projects focussed on the


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The reorganization of the school day made it possible tooffer to school children not only compulsory lessons, butsupervised rest periods, free play, and goal-orientedleisure activities in clubs and hobby groups

school as a learning environment: 3) TheIntegrated School Day (ISD) implementedvarious practices for integrating extracurric-ular activities into the school day, and 4) ATeacher Education project that developedteachers’ basic and continuing education withregard to children’s social and emotional de-velopment. The local community was broughtcloser to the everyday life of the schoolthrough three sub-projects: 5) The Introduc-tion to Working Life Project facilitated thedevelopment of students’ social skills relevantto working life, offered students the oppor-tunity to work at work places outside theschool for a time, and developed informationtechnologies to coordinate activities betweenschools and employers, 6) A Volunteeringproject which supported volunteering in thecommunity, and 7) The Home-School projectthat strengthened cooperation between thehome and school (for further details seePulkkinen, 2004).

Although the MUKAVA project officiallyended in 2005, its impact can still be seen inFinnish society. The Integrated School Day(ISD) has been the most visible and influen-tial of all the MUKAVA sub-projects. It wasfunded by the Finnish Innovation Fund

(SITRA), an independent public fund pro-moting the welfare of Finnish society underthe supervision of the Finnish Parliament.The core of the matter in the ISD was the re-organizing of the structure of the school dayto provide more scheduling flexibility by giv-ing up the half-day school structure that wasinherited from the German and Swiss schoolmodels. The reorganization of the school daymade it possible to offer to school childrennot only compulsory lessons, but supervisedrest periods, free play, and goal-orientedleisure activities in clubs and hobby groupsorganized in cooperation with several pro-fessions (Table 2; Pulkkinen, 2004). Theidea was to provide solutions to the typical sit-uation of each family with working parents;the 7-8-year-old children typically comehome from school after four hours of study-ing, whereas their parents come home 4 to 5hours later. Alternatively, the children spendseveral hours alone at home in the morningsbefore going to school.

In practice, optional, adult-supervised ac-tivity groups of self-organised recreationand indoor and outdoor activities as well asclubs with goal-oriented activities (e.g. mu-sic, cooking, sports, arts and crafts, movies,


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Table 2. A traditionally structured and the Integrated School Day (modified from Pulkkinen& Launonen, 2005, 18)

Typical, non-integrated school day Integrated School Day

Hours 1. day 2.day Grades 1 - 6 Grades 7 - 9

7-8 Activity Groups >> Clubs

8-9 1. lesson Studying Studying >> Clubs

9-10 2. lesson 1.lesson Studying Studying

10-11 3. lesson 2.lesson Studying

11-12 4. lesson 3. lesson Lunch Lunch

12-13 4.lesson Activity Groups >> Clubs Studying >> Clubs

13-14 Studying Studying >> Clubs

14-15 Studying >> Clubs

15-16 Activity Groups >> Clubs

16-17

drama) led by teachers, youth workers, andother qualified instructors were availablebefore school, during lunch break, betweenlessons and after the end of the regularschool day. Teaching at school was delayedfor one hour (starting at 9 instead of at 8).In addition to the free lunches, that havebeen offered to Finnish students for over 60years, the integrated school day extendedthe lunch hour from 20 minutes to onehour, and students were offered free snacksin the afternoons. The seven experimentalschools which had in total about 2000 stu-dents and 160 teachers were advised to bemore flexible and creative with their sched-ules and to try to match their teachingschedule to students’ parents’ working hours(Pulkkinen, 2004). As a result, school chil-dren did not have to remain unsupervisedbefore their parents came back from work.The recent findings of the MUKAVA pro-gramme show that the 9- to 10-year-oldswho chose not to participate in the pro-gramme had more internalizing problembehaviours (social anxiety and depressivesymptoms) than those children who hadparticipated in the extracurricular activities(Metsäpelto, Pulkkinen, & Tolvanen, 2010).Teachers of the experimental schools re-ported decreased bullying, increased schoolenjoyment, and improved collaboration be-tween the school and the home all resultingfrom the integrated school day (Pulkkinen &Launonen, 2005).

Feedback from two principals of theMUKAVA experimental schools in Jyväskyläconfirms that many of the MUKAVA prac-tices are still alive today. According to theprincipal of Keljo School, founded in 1896,the morning activities are still available tothe schools’ 7 to 12-year-old students. Com-pulsory education starts at 9 o’clock, but thechildren can come to school an hour be-forehand to read, draw, finish their home-work, or just socialize with friends under thewatchful eye of one staff member. Theschool has also stuck to the longer break atlunch time, another characteristic of the in-tegrated school day. Unfortunately, financialreasons have forced the school to let theschool tutor who had previously been paidby the MUKAVA project, go. She had beenable to reach out – mostly because she wasnot a teacher - to the underachievers, im-migrants, and other children at risk. Two ofthe downsides were that the introduction ofthe programme begun in May after theschool year (due to the late decision ofSITRA to support the programme), report-ing and data collection were found to berather burdensome, and at the start, theparents were under the misapprehensionthat children’s attendance at clubs andhobby circles was compulsory. In spite ofthese challenges, the principal was very em-powered by the monthly meeting of thesteering group, and appreciated the possi-bility to share and discuss experiences withthe other principals, and the leader and the


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Teachers of the experimental schools reported decreasedbullying, increased school enjoyment, and improvedcollaboration between the school and the home allresulting from the integrated school day (Pulkkinen &Launonen, 2005)

coordinating teacher of the programme. TheMUKAVA programme also made it possiblefor children of different ages to work to-gether in a communal manner, across thegrade boundaries and offered theoreticalbases for some of the school practices thathad been planned or intuitively used beforethe launch of the programme.

The principal of Kilpinen ComprehensiveSchool, founded in 1960, believes that alongwith the MUKAVA programme, the teachersstarted to adopt a more holistic, student-ori-ented view of learning. In his own words:

“Previously our teachers could havecome for a coffee break after a class andsighed ‘Oh dear, the students are notlearning anything, even though my les-son was great! After the MUKAVA, ourteachers began to ask themselves ‘Whatcould be done with the class to make thelearning easier for them?’ “

According to the principal, MUKAVA deep-ened the co-operation between home and

school and led to a more comprehensive ap-proach to students’ well-being. For example,students’ leisure time activities and health is-sues were openly discussed in meetings be-tween the form master/mistress and the stu-dent’s parent. During the MUKAVAprogramme, there were as many as 50 clubsand hobby circles available to students afterthe school day. Nowadays, the school has ac-tively looked for other sources of funding topay for the clubs and hobby circles. Quite anumber of the sport and music clubs stillfunction with the help of funds from the lo-cal Centre for Economic Development, Trans-port and the Environment. The principal ap-preciated the teacher training, workshopsand further education concerning social andemotional well-being that was offered, but feltthat the role of the principal as a key figurein the implementation of the programme wasoveremphasised every now and then. Meet-ings with the programme workers and theprincipals of the other experimental schools(steering group meetings), together with re-porting duties, were occasionally too timeconsuming for him.


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Table 3. The best and the most difficult aspects about the Integrated School Day (principals’opinion)

The best things in the ISD The most difficult things in the ISD

A wide variety of extracurricular activities Time management and lack of time

Students’ loneliness reduced Providing information and papers to teachers

Versatile school day Tight schedules in which to return the questionnaires

Physical activities and practical exercises Getting in touch with the parent (classes 7-9)were nice changes in otherwise theoretical school work

Increased school enjoyment Another principal was green with envy

Educational possibilities for principals Financial administrationand teachers

Deep discussions and experiences within Learning to collaborate equally with new partnersthe school had broadened teachers’ views

A challenge for the principal Problems in building the collaborative network due to the structure and hierarchy of the municipality

The presence of the school tutor Commitment of the partners outside the school

Networking with the surrounding Spreading a school-centred operations model in thecommunity, collaboration school’s home town

Interview and questionnaire data was col-lected annually from all the principals of theexperimental schools. Table 3 brings to-gether some of the best and most difficultaspects of the ISD from the perspective ofthe principals (modified from Pulkkinen &Launonen 2005, 133).

The ISD turned out to be an initial phase inthe reforms to school children’s voluntarymorning and afternoon activities, and af-fected the law so that since 2004 it has beenmandated that local authorities have to or-ganise supervised, voluntary extracurricularmorning and afternoon activities for 7-9-year-olds and for special needs children ofany age in basic education. In the spirit of theMUKAVA programme, the purpose of thesediverse, supervised activities is to supportfamily life and school education and promotechildren’s well-being and emotional and eth-ical growth (Education and Science in Fin-land, 2008, 22).

Case Study 3: KiVa, a school-based anti-bullying programme KiVa, another Finnish adjective meaning‘nice’, is also an acronym of the expression“Kiusaamista vastaan” (“against bullying”;www.kivakoulu.fi). KiVa is an anti-bullyingprogramme originating from psychologyprofessor Christina Salmivalli’s pioneeringwork on bullying as a group phenomenon in

the early 1990s (e.g. Salmivalli, Lagerspetz,Björkqvist, Österman, & Kaukiainen, 1996).KiVA was developed at the University ofTurku in collaboration with the Departmentof Psychology and the Centre for LearningResearch and with funding from the Ministryof Education and Culture. In the develop-mental and experimental phase of the pro-gramme (2006-2009), 234 basic schools(117 experimental schools, 117 controlschools) with 30 000 students participatedin the evaluation of KiVa. Currently, around2500 Finnish comprehensive schools (about80 % of all comprehensive schools in thecountry) have started implementing theKiVa programme.

Theoretically, KiVa aims to change boththe behaviour of the bully and the behaviourof the onlookers whose changed behaviour(from assisting or encouraging the bullying toobjecting to the bullying and supporting thevictim) is expected to make bullying less so-cially rewarding to the perpetrator. Theoret-ical knowledge about bullying and related is-sues, exercises, and the reflection of one’sown social behaviour are all seen as crucialcomponents in preventing bullying. In prac-tice, the programme has three different de-velopmentally appropriate versions for stu-dents between the ages of 7 and 9, 10 and12, and 13 and15, and a number of univer-sal and what the developer’s term ‘indicated


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Theoretically, KiVa aims to change both the behaviour ofthe bully and the behaviour of the onlookers whosechanged behaviour (from assisting or encouraging thebullying to objecting to the bullying and supporting thevictim) is expected to make bullying less sociallyrewarding to the perpetrator

actions’ to reach its aim (Salmivalli, Kärnä &Poskiparta, 2010a, b). The universal actionsof the programme include student lessons, ananti-bullying computer game (which ap-peared to be popular especially among thegirls and the bullied), and a virtual learningenvironment. There are ten double lessons,consisting of 20 hours in total, given by aclass teacher over the course of one schoolyear. The lessons include discussion (e.g. onrespect, group communication, group pres-sure, assertiveness, the mechanisms and con-sequences of bullying), group work (e.g.practicing different ways to help the victim),short films about bullying, and role-play ex-ercises that are designed to raise awarenessof the role that the group plays in maintain-ing bullying, to increase empathy towardsvictims, to promote children’s strategies tosupport the victim and their self-efficacy todo so, and to increase children’s coping skillswhen victimized. For the 7-year-olds only,the identification of different emotions, basedon facial expressions, voice, or the context ofthe event, is taught. The programme also in-cludes two modern information technologyapplications for providing knowledge, skills,and motivation to change one’s behaviour: anAnti-Bullying Computer Game for 7 - 12-year-olds, and a virtual learning environ-ment called KiVa Street for 13-15-year-olds.The three components of the computer game,which are called “I Know” , “I Can” and “I Do”,mirror the assumption typical of otherFinnish social and emotional interventionsi.e. that learning facts, learning skills, andmaking use of the knowledge and skills inreal life situations are all needed to achievegood results.

The indicated actions take place whenacute cases of bullying appear. In each school,there is at least one team of two to threeteachers or other staff members that handleeach bullying incident by holding discussions.The KiVa team interviews individually boththe victim and the bully/bullies twice (a first

interview and a follow-up interview). Thediscussions are meant to be settling and car-ing in nature, focused on the shared concernfor the victim, and aiming at the concrete res-olution of the situation. The victims, the bul-lies, and prosocial, high-status classmatesprone to support the victims are also en-gaged in group conversations. The teachingmanuals and instruction provide detailed in-formation (also given in training days andschool network meetings concerning the gen-eral implementation of the KiVa programme)about how to carry out the discussions.

In addition to a variety of concrete actionsand versatile materials for students, teachers,and parents, KiVa also devotes time to theevaluation of the effectiveness and the im-plementation of the programme, and to thecollection of feedback for refining the pro-gramme. Consequently, the recent results ofthe programme have been bright. Already in2009, at the end of the developmental andexperimental period of the programme, KiVareceived the first prize in the European CrimePrevention Award (ECPA). The programme iscurrently being translated into English and anumber of research groups in various coun-tries, including the U.S.A and the Nether-lands, have shown interest in the KiVa pro-gramme, because effectiveness studies ofKiVa have consistently revealed positive ef-fects on self-reported bullying and peer-re-ported victimization (Kärnä el al., 2011).

Regardless of the enthusiasm for the im-plementation of the programme and its ap-parent popularity, Professor Salmivalli, one ofthe creators of the programme and a motherof 10- and 13-year-old children, recalls afew challenges. Firstly, time and effort wereneeded in the planning phase to ensure thatthe topics of the student lessons were in ac-cordance with the national core curricula.Secondly, parents and teachers seemed tohave their suspicions about the effectivenessof the programme. Parents were additionally


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displeased with the fact that they were ex-cluded from the small group discussionswhen their child had proved to be either thevictim or the bully. However, in the KaramzinSchool consisting of 450 students, aged 7-12,these challenges have not been present. In-stead, the special education teacher and amember of one of the KiVa teams in herschool reported fearing that they might beoverwhelmed with cases of bullying whenthe programme was first implemented in herschool in the autumn of 2008. Additionally,the so-called shared concerns method in-volving discussions with parties on all sides ofthe bullying incident was unfamiliar. Her ex-periences, though, have been solely positive.The estimated number of bullying cases thathas been communicated to the KiVa team byeither the class teacher, parents, or the schoolhealth nurse has been ten per year, and thestudent discussions have been full of positivesurprises; sometimes the bully comes up withhis or her own ideas for making the victimfeel better, and in some cases the victim hasrecognized his or her own role in the bully-ing incident. The special education teacheralso appreciated the carefully planned andsupervised implementation of the KiVa pro-gramme, and the active and supportive in-volvement of the principal, who has also al-located sufficient working hours for the KiVateam’s activities. Most importantly, the num-ber of victim-reported bullying cases hasdropped by two-thirds.

Case Study 4: Knowledge about skills for maintaining mental well-being and educational tools for health educationThe Finnish Association for Mental Health hascompiled, in close cooperation with the FinnishNational Board of Education, a resource-ori-ented comprehensive school course for theenhancement of mental well-being and lifeskills of children aged 13-16 (see www.mie-lenhyvinvoinninopetus.fi). The study module,based on the objectives and content of theNational Core Curriculum (2004) for health

education, is designed to be incorporated intohealth education lessons and cover both social(e.g. empathy, assertiveness) and emotionalskills (e.g. talking about worries, getting fa-miliar with emotions and recognizing and ex-pressing them) among other topics relevant tomental well-being. The central idea in theprogramme is that mental health is the basisof people’s well-being. Well-being, on theother hand, is seen as a resource that can belearned and strengthened through both theo-retical knowledge and exercises.

A total of 30 two-day mental well-beingteacher training courses for health educa-tion teachers in basic education will be heldduring 2009–2011, in co-operation with theMinistry of Education and Culture. The train-ing course supports and increases teachers’awareness and competence in mental healthissues and methodological know-how (indi-vidual and group assignments, story- and ac-tion-based scenarios, discussions, literary andfilm assignments, exercise book assignmentsetc.). It also provides guidance on the use ofthe teaching materials (folder, picture cards,playing cards, a computer game, lecture DVD,themed lecture series to be used in parents’evenings at school) which are handed out tothe participants, free of charge, during thetraining course. During the pilot phase of theteaching materials, teachers were free to ex-periment with new exercises and applica-tions. In one of the pilot schools, 13-year-oldstudents were shown a slide about factorspromoting mental well-being, and wereasked to write a rap about mental well-being,or the lack of it, in relation to everyday life.The following rap, written by three girls, wasselected for inclusion in the package of teach-ing materials (Hannukkala & Törrönen,2009; see www.mielenhyvinvoinninope-tus.fi) as an inspirational example for healtheducation teachers:

” Go to bed early, sleep so tight,study at school to get it right.


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No matter if life treats me so cruel,I love my friends, ‘cause I ain’t no fool.When mom is mad all she does iswhine,I just know I can’t take it all the time.I can count on my friends any time ofthe day,they’ll always be there for me, comewhat may.My life’s just beginning, I’m starting tolearnthe things that you need to make thetide turn.”

Ane, Suvi, and Iiris from class 7F

Feedback from 22 teacher training coursesheld during 2009-2010 in 11 differenttowns around the country has been excellent.Based on the comments of 567 teachers(97.3% of the participants), over 95 % ofthem found that the course increased theirown knowledge of mental well-being andgave them applications and ideas for teachingmental well-being at school. One of theteachers had also understood the importanceof mental well-being for the teachers them-selves:

“This teacher training had very nicely, inits hidden curriculum, paid attention alsoto the support of teachers’ mental well-being. The atmosphere was peaceful, en-couraging, and optimistic. It felt goodand is important.”

Some of the teachers that had taken theircourse in Helsinki criticised the course or-ganisers for the high number and the long du-ration of the practical exercises. It was sug-gested that some of the functional exercisescould have just been demonstrated. In theup-dated content of the training course thepractical exercises have been compressed,and, as a response to the suggestion of 51teachers (9% of the participants), the exer-cises are now backed up with more theory.

One of the participants was a healtheducation and home economics teacher fromLauttasaari Comprehensive and Upper Sec-ondary School. It is a private school foundedin 1945, with about 50 teachers educating700 students (350 in the comprehensiveschool and 350 in the upper secondaryschool). This comprehensive school has 16classes (an average of 22 students per class).The non-graded upper secondary has 13year groups (an average of 26 students pergroup). The health education and home eco-nomics teacher was very satisfied with thefunctional exercises of the mental well-beingteacher training course, and the fact that theconceptual difference between mental healthand mental illness was stressed. She is cur-rently using the ready-made materials in herhealth education lessons and takes pleasurein the increased discussions and opennessamong students. It is a relief for the studentsthat they do not always have to discuss theirpersonal issues and come up with examplesfrom their own lives, and that they can, attimes, approach difficult issues through theexamples introduced in the materials. Fromthe teacher’s perspective, she is happy to usethe functional exercises, because she truststhe development and pre-testing of the ma-terials. Having everything in one folder ishandy, although she hopes to get the materi-als in electronic form in the future - rushingfrom one class to another would be easierwith a memory stick rather than with a heavyteacher’s folder.

In 2009, the project was welcomed bythe upper secondary schools and vocationalschools when the mental health teachingprogramme was made available to youngadults. In 2010, the project was expanded toinclude youth work personnel working onthe internet. After taking the training course,the youth leaders are expected to apply theknowledge and working methods concerningmental well-being while working with chil-dren and youth through social media, for


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example, on Facebook. The project looks for-ward to deepening their collaboration withuniversities and teacher education to im-prove their curricula by incorporating moremental well-being and social and emotionalaspects for student teachers.

Concluding thoughts: Current delights andfuture concernsFrom the late 1970s, teachers, parents andother significant adults in the lives of Finnishchildren and youth have been able to en-hance their own social and emotional skills,and learn ways to support children’s socialand emotional development through variouscommercial training courses, mostly offeredby civic organisations. For about twenty yearsthe enhancement of children’s social andemotional well-being was dependent uponthe motivation and activity of individuals,who valued the mental well-being of the chil-dren and considered social and emotionalskills as worthwhile, learnable, and teachable.By the end of the millennium, many ofFinnish children’s physical health problems,such as accidental deaths, had shown signs ofimprovement (Rimpelä, 2010), and atten-tion was rightly turned to social and emo-tional issues. At the national level, the generalaims of the new National Core Curriculum(2004), and especially the core contents ofhealth education and a cross-curriculumtheme of ‘Growth as a person’, highlightedstudents’ psychosocial well-being and related

skills, alongside academic achievement. Inaddition to imported programmes, experi-enced professionals and scholars in the fieldsof psychology, psychiatry, and education havedeveloped domestic programmes for SEE andproduced packs of materials and tools to sup-port the psychosocial well-being of childrenand young people at school.

Typically, in SEE programmes developed inFinland, at least for school-aged children,evaluation and research are built into theproject. Secondly, many of the Finnish pro-grammes are also characterised by the inter-est in using physical activity, in addition to artand music, as a means of enhancing chil-dren’s social and emotional well-being. Asearly as the 1970s, in a programme for de-veloping self-control (the DSC-programme),4 to 6-year-old kindergarten children’s socialskills (team work, sharing, taking turns,thinking about others and constructive be-haviour), the understanding of one’s ownand others’ feelings and reactions, and phys-ical skills were promoted through physicalgames, together with music, books (e.g.Pulkkinen et al., 1977), and arts and crafts(Pitkänen-Pulkkinen, 1977). More recently,Finnish kindergarten children’s positive socialinteractions (sharing, helping, working ingroups, respecting and appreciating othersand their work) have been improved throughphysical activity in the Early Steps project(2004-2007), financially supported by the


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It is a relief for the students that they do not always haveto discuss their personal issues and come up withexamples from their own lives, and that they can, at times,approach difficult issues through the examples introducedin the materials

EU Socrates Programme (see Zachopoulou,Liukkonen, Pickup, & Tsangaridou, 2010 andZachopoulou, Tsangaridou, Pickup, Liukko-nen, & Grammatikopoulos, 2007 for moreinformation). Physical activity has also playeda central role in a 20-week interventionwhere Hellison’s (2003) Teaching Personaland Social Responsibility model was inte-grated into the physical education curriculumof 13-year-old boys (Rantala & Heikinaro-Johansson, 2007). These projects are verymuch needed, not only because decreasingphysical activity poses a distinct threat to thehealth of Finnish children and youth, but alsobecause physical inactivity in 15 to 16-year-old Finnish adolescents has been shown to beassociated with emotional, social, concentra-tion and attention problems, and rule-break-ing behaviour (Kantomaa, Tammelin, Ebeling,& Taanila, 2010).

There are, however, current and futureconcerns. First of all, it seems that the exist-ing SEE programmes in Finland are moreheavily focused on social skills than on emo-tional skills. More emotionally oriented pro-grammes are highly welcome, because earlyemotional competence has been shown tocontribute to later social competence (e.g.Denham et al., 2003).

Secondly, there are hardly any currentSEE programmes for children and youthfrom the minority groups in Finland. Lin-guistically, the instruction in Finnish schoolsis usually given in one or the other of thetwo national languages, Finnish (over 90%of all pupils) or Swedish (under 6 %). Thetwo traditional ethnic minorities, the in-digenous Sami people (6 000 – 10 000 intotal) and the Roma (10 000 in total; Man-nila, 2010), as well as the other groups,however, have the right to maintain anddevelop their own language and culture.Therefore the regional language of Sami(under 0.1% of all pupils), Romany or signlanguage may be used. More specifically, in

the four municipalities located in the areaswhere the Sami live, pupils speaking theSami language must primarily be providedwith basic education in that language,should their parents so choose. Since 1989,Roma children have been able to learn Ro-many at evening classes in some compre-hensive schools, but an amendment to theComprehensive School Act in 1995 made itpossible for Romany to be taught as amother tongue. Teaching of Romany may beprovided if a group of at least four pupilscan be formed.

As for the Sami people, there has been atwo-stage, EU-funded research and develop-ment project regarding the psychosocial well-being of children and youth in the Arcticcalled ArctiChildren (www.arctichildren.net)in 2002-2008. The project has aimed at de-veloping a supranational network model toimprove the psychosocial well-being, socialenvironment and security of school-aged chil-dren in the Barents area (in Finland, Russia,Norway, and Sweden). The project supportedthe development work being done at the so-cial and health sector of the National Forum ofthe Northern Dimension of the EU. Unfortu-nately, the next stage of the project, the SamiArctiChildren Project, failed to gain interna-tional funding and has not been launched.This third stage of the project was planned toask how Sami stories/narratives could havebeen used as psychosocially and culturallysupportive learning material to promote psy-chosocial well-being and cultural identity ineducational processes in the Sami communi-ties in Sweden, Norway, Russia and Finland.

These kinds of initiatives do not come amoment too soon; Finnish 13 to 15-year-oldschoolchildren living in the Barents regionhave the fewest friends and like school theleast compared to Russian, Swedish, and Nor-wegian children. Finnish girls, compared toboys, suffered from more psychologicalhealth problems and lower self-rated health


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(Ahonen, 2007). As for the Sami children inparticular, they report being very lonely, de-spite lower levels of school bullying and ageneral satisfaction with schooling (Rasmus,2008). The recent briefings of the FinnishOmbudsman for Children clearly show thatthere is also a need for research and tailoredSEE programmes for the Romany children,because they get bullied at school more fre-quently than other children (Junkala &Tawah, 2009). They also participate less inbasic education than children of the majoritypopulation, they have more absences, andthey more frequently drop out.

In addition to these two traditional ethnicminorities, other minority groups are madeup of refugees (annually around 700 people)and asylum seekers, and those who come toFinland through marriage or family reunion(Mannila, 2010). The objective of immigranteducation is to prepare immigrants for inte-gration into the Finnish education systemand society, to support their cultural identityand to provide them with as well-functioningbilingualism as possible. It seems that theFinnish educational policy of integration, thegreat concern about the possible disappear-ance of the minority languages, and the em-phasis on the educational continuity and rais-ing the level of education and futureemployment in minority children and youthhave not left room for the development andimplementation of SEE programmes. Al-though language competence as one of theenculturation factors surely protects minor-ity children from social and emotional prob-lems to some extent, there is a need for SEEprogrammes that more directly, and in a cul-turally sensitive manner, promote the socialand emotional well-being of immigrant chil-dren and youth.

Finally, Finnish policymakers and teachereducators should update their views on thecompetencies required for modern teaching.The teacher education working group of the

Ministry of Education and Culture (2007)that was asked to present their visions forteacher education in 2020 focused on, forexample, the need for pedagogical studies inEnglish, multiculturalism, and a stronger re-search-orientation in the departments forteacher education. It is also seen vital for fu-ture teachers to be able to detect learning dif-ficulties even better than before (Innola &Mikkola, 2010), and the purpose of contin-uing professional education has been arguedto be the maintenance and updating of teach-ers’ pedagogical skills (Education and Sci-ence in Finland, 2008, 19). Given the obvi-ous challenges of social and emotionalwell-being in Finnish children and adoles-cents, one might consider questioning thedominant role of the content-knowledge andresearch-based thinking in teacher educa-tion, and that greater focus be given to theemotional and social dimensions in the teach-ing profession. It is encouraging that thereare opportunities for student teachers andteaching staff to receive SEE in both the ba-sic and continuing education in some uni-versities. For example, the curriculum forphysical education teachers at the Universityof Jyväskylä includes a compulsory courseentitled “Social and Emotional Skills in Teach-ing”, and for subject teachers there is a coursemodule called “Social and Emotional Learning(SEL) Strategies and Group Processes” (formore details, see Klemola & Heikinaro-Jo-hansson, 2006).

Despite these shortcomings in the domainof SEE in Finland, the near future looks quitepromising. There is ongoing reform of theaims of basic education and the allocation oflesson hours. The possibility to increase theminimum number of lesson hours to en-hance equality among all children, to de-crease the number of children in one class,bringing the class sizes down to a more rea-sonable level (into which 30 million euroshave been just invested recently), and to im-prove learning and well-being by increasing


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the number of compulsory curriculum hoursfor art and skills subjects are all currently be-ing debated. Along the same lines, the Devel-opment Plan for Education and Research inFinland for 2007–2012 states that schoolsshould better support the development ofchildren’s general well-being and their emo-tional, social, ethical and aesthetic skills. Italso announces that the role of schools in de-veloping children’s social and emotional skillswill be strengthened in the future. Along thesame lines, the report to the United Nationscommittee on the rights of the child by theFinnish Office of the Ombudsman for Chil-dren (2011) also favours reducing the em-phasis on information content and a strongeremphasis on the schools’ role in bringing upchildren and reinforcing their social skills.

But what do school-aged children and theirparents think about what schools should belike in the future? A recent evaluation carriedout by the Ministry of Education and Culturereveals that school pupils look forward tosensitive, impartial, fair, and supportive treat-ment by teachers and more opportunities tostudy arts, crafts, and physical education. Forteaching they expect versatility and social in-teraction. Parents wish teachers to be lessbound to textbooks and to introduce moremethods and content that support their chil-dren’s social and emotional well-being, aspart of everyday life and academic learning

(Sulonen et al., 2010). One can only hopethat a slight fall in the PISA 2009 results ofthe Finnish adolescents does not drown outthe voices of the school children and theirparents and lead to an increased pressure onacademic achievement – academic alpha ado-lescents cannot be produced at any cost.


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A recent evaluation carried out by the Ministry ofEducation and Culture reveals that school pupils lookforward to sensitive, impartial, fair, and supportivetreatment by teachers and more opportunities to studyarts, crafts, and physical education. For teaching theyexpect versatility and social interaction

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Singapore

AbstractThis chapter provides an overview of Singapore’s efforts with regard to the provision of so-cial and emotional education in its national school system. In particular, it will describe the So-cial and Emotional Learning (SEL) initiative, which is the main strategy for implementing so-cial and emotional education in more than 350 schools in the system. This includes thebackground to the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) initiative, the different developmen-tal phases of the SEL journey, and a description of some key features of this process, such asbuilding the foundation for the SEL work, the prototyping approach for SEL implementationand teacher enablement. Some of the significant observations arising from the SEL efforts willbe shared, such as the greater focus on building students’ competencies rather than just pro-gramme delivery and the emphasis will be on customising interventions instead of just usingstandardised programmes. In addition, six case-studies of different school-based SEL effortswill also be presented to illustrate the different aspects of our SEL endeavour. These include:

(I) a whole-school approach to building a culture conducive to SEL, (II) infusing SEL elements into classroom lessons and environmental education,(III) doing SEL through service learning projects, (IV) using SEL as a strategy for holistic education at a primary school, (V) capitalising on SEL to help students succeed in a second chance school and (VI) how to do SEL for children with special needs.

Finally, the future development that is envisaged for SEL in Singapore will be shared.

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Social and Emotional Education in Singapore

Dennis Kom

Dennis Kom is a Senior Guidance Specialist with the Ministry of Education, Singapore. Helpingchildren and adolescents develop in a holistic manner has always been the interest and focusof his work. He began his career teaching Chemistry and English at the secondary school level,gradually developing an interest in social and emotional development of adolescents. As a re-sult, he took training in counseling and eventually switched to student support work in the schoolcontext. Subsequently, he joined the Guidance Branch of the Ministry of Education, where hisrole includes developing resources, systems and policies, as well as providing consultancy andtraining to schools to facilitate their efforts in promoting the social emotional development oftheir students. He is currently pursuing his doctoral studies in the field of psychology.

Background - Education in SingaporeSingapore is an island city-state with a pop-ulation of about five million people living ina land area of about 690 square kilometres.Education is a key priority on the nationalagenda and has evolved with the nation overthe last 40 years or more of its history. In theearly years, the focus was on providing basiceducation for every citizen of school-goingage in order to enhance their capacity forsurvival and to build a sense of national iden-tity. Bilingualism was introduced to help buildsocial cohesion. By the 1970s Singapore’seconomic growth had gained momentum butthere was still a high school attrition rate andunemployability1 among school leavers. Thefocus shifted to raising the minimum educa-

tional levels of the workforce as well as pro-viding a broad-based education to enhanceadaptability within Singapore’s workforce. Inthe late 1990s, as Singapore prepared itselffor the new millennium, there was a pro-gressive adjustment to the education systemto ensure that it continued to remain re-sponsive to the driving forces of globalisationand the technological changes of the new era.

Singapore has come a long way over thepast four decades with regard to its efforts ineducation. Today, there are more than 350primary and secondary schools and JuniorColleges distributed throughout the island at-tended by half a million young people be-tween the ages of 7 and 18. Complementingthis national school system are the pre-schools for children from 4 to 6 years old, theSpecialised Independent Schools for devel-

oping talents in specific areas such as sports,the Arts, Mathematics and Science, and thetertiary institutions, which include the Insti-tute of Technical Education, the Polytechnicsand the Universities. The curriculum2 is rig-orous and developed with a strong global andfuture orientation, with instruction closelyaligned to assessment. It seeks to develop thewhole child morally, intellectually, physically,socially and aesthetically. These efforts havebeen affirmed by various international re-ports on student performance, such as theProgramme for International Student As-sessment (PISA) and the Trends in Interna-tional Mathematics and Science Study(TIMMS). For example, Singapore has thesecond highest proportion of students who

are top performers in all three domains ofReading, Mathematics and Science in the2009 PISA, and Singapore students emergedamong the top in the different categories inthe 2007 TIMMS.

The Impetus - Rebalancing our Curriculumfor the 21st CenturyAs we move into the 21st century, our stu-dents will be facing an increasingly globalised,fast-changing and highly connected globalenvironment. While Singapore students havedone well academically, it is also imperativefor us to prepare them to be sufficiently re-silient and resourceful to meet the challengesof the future. Since 2001, the Ministry of Ed-ucation has progressively tuned our educationeffort to equip our students to be future-readyespecially with regard to social and emotionalskills. The journey began with the publication

Country Chapter #3 | Singapore

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The curriculum is rigorous and developed with a strongglobal and future orientation, with instruction closelyaligned to assessment

of the Desired Outcomes of Education in 2001(see http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/de-sired-outcomes/), a milestone documentclarifying for our schools and educators thegoals of Singapore’s educational endeavour.Many of the outcomes outlined in this visionstatement are related to the social and emo-tional development of students, thus provid-ing the impetus and structure for greater ef-forts in the social and emotional education ofour students.

Prior to the introduction of Social andEmotional Learning (SEL) to Singaporeschools, ‘life skills’ were delivered to enablestudents to handle and balance the physical,

psychological, social and moral spheres oftheir lives. The view was that life skillswould also contribute to the individual’s to-tal well-being, and hence to his/her abilityto contribute to building the community andnation. The delivery of life skills was en-abled through a range of subjects and pro-grammes such as Civics & Moral Education,Health Education, Physical Education, Co-curricular Activities3, Pastoral Care, andSexuality Education. As such, the compo-nents of life skills were seen as disparateblocks with little or no relationship to oneanother. Therefore, there was a crucial needto construct structures and mechanismsacross the whole curriculum (both formal


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Universities(3-4 years for undergraduate)

Tertiary educationfrom 18 years oldonwards

Primary educationFrom 7 to 12 years old

Secondary andPost-secondaryeducation from 13to 18 years old

Primary Schools (6 years)All students follow a broad-based mainstream curriculum

Primary Schools Leaving Examination (PSLE)

Secondary 1 to 4Special / Express

GCE ‘N’ Level Examination

Institute of Education (1-2 years)

GCE ‘A’ Level Examinationor its equivalent

GCE ‘O’ Level Examination

Junior Colleges/Centralised Institute (2-3 years)

Secondary 1 to 4Normal (Technical)

GCE ‘N’ Level Examination

Secondary 1 to 4Normal (Academic)

Secondary 5Normal (Academic)

Diagram of the Education System in Singapore

Polytechnics (3 years)Diploma

and informal) to help schools see this as anintegrated area of learning instead of asseparate subjects and programmes.4

These situations and developments formthe background to the introduction of SEL, asystematic process aimed at bringing about thenecessary improvements to existing efforts insocial and emotional education in order tobetter meet the needs of students in Singapore.The key foci of this initiative included:

• progressing from a Pastoral Care para-digm where focus was on meeting stu-dents’ social and emotional needs to amore proactive paradigm which empha-sized building resilience in all studentsthrough the systematic development of aset of key social and emotional compe-tencies;

• making our social and emotional develop-ment efforts more comprehensive and in-tegrated;

• improving the quality of programmes andthe consistency of implementation;

• providing sufficient differentiation in pro-gramming to cater to the needs of differ-ent students; and

• raising the level of skills and knowledge ofthe teachers to enable them to facilitateSEL in their students.

The Journey - Systematic ProgressionThe SEL journey for Singapore first began in2004, with the setting up of a task force bythe Ministry of Education to develop a frame-work to define and guide SEL. Since then,

there have been numerous activities and de-velopments, which can be considered asbroadly falling into the four phases of a sys-tematic progression, namely Planning, De-velopment, Implementation and Review (thePDIR cycle).5

I) Planning. The goal of the planning whichspanned the period from 2004 to mid-2005was to lay a strong foundation for the entireSEL effort. It involved

• conducting a literature review of majortheories on social and emotional develop-ment;

• conducting studies on SEL frameworks,programmes and best practice in over 20countries, such as China, Korea, U.S.A,UK and Australia;

• visiting centres of excellence such as theCollaborative for Academic, Social andEmotional Learning (CASEL) in Chicago,the Centre for Social and Emotional Edu-cation (CSEE) in New York, and the Qual-ifications, Curriculum and Assessment Au-thority for Wales (ACCAC); as well as

• collecting inputs from numerous consulta-tion sessions with school leaders, teachers,and school counsellors from a number ofschools, Ministry of Education staff,teacher trainers from the National Instituteof Education,6 parents, and employers.

II) Development. All the planning effortsculminated in the development of the SELconceptual framework, a set of SEL Standardsand Benchmarks and a set of implementation


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Since 2001, the Ministry of Education has progressivelytuned our education effort to equip our students to befuture-ready especially with regard to social andemotional skills

plans with accompanying resources, whichall formed the foundations for the ensuing SELefforts.

III) Implementation. With the key elementsin place, efforts began in earnest to createawareness of SEL amongst schools. Theseincluded

• introducing the SEL Framework to allschools;

• incorporating SEL into Civics & Moral Ed-ucation and into the English Language andReading programme;

• getting schools to join the SEL Prototypingapproach in batches; and

• offering a training workshop to all schoolteachers to introduce the SEL Frameworkand to encourage them to capitalise onteachable moments7 to develop students’social and emotional competencies.

Through these series of efforts, our pur-pose was to heighten schools’ awareness ofthe vital role that SEL plays in the holistic de-velopment of the child. From late 2006 to2009, further training was introduced tostrengthen teachers’ knowledge and peda-gogical skills in the delivery of SEL, and newteaching and implementation resources weredeveloped to support schools’ efforts in SEL.In addition, SEL was also ‘extended’ into var-ious domains of education, such as the infu-sion of SEL into different academic curricula(for example, in English and Chinese lan-guage lessons), co-curricular programmesand activities, management of student disci-pline and outdoor education.

IV) Review. Since the introduction of SEL toschools, our focus has been on supportingschools in building their capacity to deliverSEL. As this capacity was strengthened, ourfocus gradually shifted to reviewing our ef-forts to improve their quality and effective-ness. Following an evidence-based approachto improvement, data was collected from the

schools to understand the progress that hadbeen made in SEL implementation as well asthe issues and challenges that the schoolswere facing. In 2006, the Ministry of Educa-tion had set up the SEL Advisory Panel, com-prising invited local and overseas experts inthe field, to help us take stock of develop-ments in SEL, and to provide advice onstrategic directions. The Panel has convenedevery two years since 2006 with the last visittaking place in 2010. To help raise the qual-ity of school-based SEL efforts, Guidance Of-ficers from the Ministry of Education alsovisited schools to provide programme con-sultation, and relevant resources and trainingto help school teachers become more effec-tive in their delivery of SEL. In addition, con-tinuous learning about developments in thisfield is another strategy we have adopted,and officers at the Ministry of Education hadembarked on multiple overseas study tripsand conferences to learn about the latest andbest practices in the field of SEL. Efforts arealso underway to develop communities ofshared practice among the schools, so thatgood practice, innovative ideas and new re-sources are shared.

Key Features - Foundations, Prototypingand Teacher EnablementThe Singapore SEL effort was characterizedby three key features, namely: establishing astrong foundation, adopting the prototypingapproach to implementation and placing anemphasis on teacher enablement.8

Key Feature 1 - Building the Foundation BlocksI) The SEL Framework provides the conceptualguide to schools in their SEL efforts. It iden-tifies the key social and emotional compe-tency domains for SEL, and provides an in-tegrated perspective of how they worktogether. In particular, it highlights the rela-tionship between the competencies thatschools can teach and student outcomes thatcan be derived from these efforts. The SELFramework has four guiding principles:


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• Principle 1: Values should guide and pro-vide the purpose for one’s behaviours. Val-ues are at the core because they guideone’s actions. However, one needs socialand emotional competencies to effectivelylive out these values.

• Principle 2: Key Social and Emotional Com-petencies should be taught to students toensure that they acquire the skills, knowl-edge and dispositions that will help themface future challenges. The five Social andEmotional competency domains are SelfAwareness, Social Awareness, Self Man-agement, Relationship Skills, and Respon-sible Decision Making. The table below(Figure 1) presents the key Social andEmotional competencies in each domain.

• Principle 3: The school environment is animportant enabler in the development ofstudents’ social and emotional competencies,and school leaders and teachers are impor-tant role models of these competencies.

• Principle 4: Children equipped with socialand emotional skills will do well academi-

cally and those that do well at school willdo well in life.9

II) The Multi-pronged Implementation Plan.The Ministry of Education has developed amulti-pronged implementation plan to supportschools in achieving their desired SEL out-comes. As shown in Figure 2, the four broadkey approaches that have been adopted are:

• Prototyping. An exploratory and iterativeprocess to encourage schools to innova-tively develop customised programmes tomeet the specific social and emotionalneeds of their students.

• Training. Efforts to equip both pre-serviceand in-service teachers with the knowl-edge and skills to teach and promote SELin schools.

• Curriculum. Developing resources andstrategies for the explicit teaching of So-cial and Emotional competencies, the in-fusion of SEL into the formal curriculum(for example, English and Mother Tongue


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Social and Emotional Competency Domains Key Social and Emotional Competencies

Self Awareness • Identifying and recognising emotions• Accurate self-perception• Recognising strengths, needs, and values• Self-efficacy• Spirituality

Social Awareness • Perspective taking• Empathy• Appreciating diversity• Respect for others

Self Management • Impulse control and stress management• Self-motivation and discipline• Goal setting and organisational skills

Relationship Management • Communication, social engagement and building relationships• Working cooperatively• Negotiation, saying no and conflict management• Seeking and providing help

Responsible Decision Making • Problem identification and situation analysis• Problem solving• Evaluation and reflection• Personal, moral, and ethical responsibility

Figure 1: Key SEL Competencies

lessons and Civics and Moral Education)and informal curriculum (for example,the Co-curricular Activities) and the useof teachable moments

• Evaluation. Developing an evaluationframework for the Ministry of Educationand the schools, as well as tools to helpschools identify their needs and determinewhether they have achieved their standards.

III) The SEL Goals, Standards and Bench-marks are performance or outcome indica-tors providing explicit definitions of goalsand expectations for student learning in SELat the various key developmental levels. Asample of the statements of Goals, Standardsand Benchmarks is given in Figure 3. Schoolscan use them as reference for formulatinglearning objectives, designing curricula andfor evaluating learning outcomes.

Key Feature 2 - The SEL Prototyping ApproachI) The Prototyping Methodology

Prototyping is a controlled and systematicprocess, which begins with the spelling out ofspecific outcomes, followed by going throughan iterative process of problem-solving cy-cles, developing various working ‘prototypes’,and testing the solution to arrive at an opti-mal outcome. The aim is to encourageschools to experiment with various pro-grammes and implementation strategies, andto test out these efforts to see if they will re-ally meet the specific needs of the students intheir local contexts.

Prototyping was identified as a key ap-proach because it would make SEL effortsrelevant to the schools and would facilitateownership and internalisation. This is incontrast to the traditional top-down “roll-out” approach, whereby the Ministry of Ed-ucation would design a standard packageand then “roll it out” for teachers to imple-ment in schools across the board. Morethan a quarter of our schools participated inSEL prototyping.


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Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Outcomes

• SEL Conceptual Framework• SEL Standards and Benchmarks

Prototyping

Training

Curriculum

Evaluatio

n

Figure 2: Key Elements of SEL Implementation

III) The Effects of PrototypingTraditionally, school personnel have a ten-

dency to focus on the programme rather thanstudents’ social emotional needs or compe-tencies. A good illustration of this was oneschool that initially chose a particular SELprogramme for Primary 3 students (about 9years old). When the school found that thestudents were not picking up the competen-cies, they changed the target group to Pri-mary 4 students (about 10 years old). Sothey kept the programme and changed thetarget group, instead of refining the pro-gramme to meet the level of development ofthe initial target group.

Having gone through SEL prototyping,school teachers have reported being chal-lenged to make a shift in focus, from the tra-ditional emphasis on process (programmedelivery) to an emphasis on outcome (devel-oping student competencies). Along with thisemphasis on outcomes came a shift from thatof simply selecting and implementing ready-

made packages or ‘canned’ approaches, tomaking an effort to understand specific stu-dent needs and developing something tai-lored to meet those needs. As a result of theshift from being programme-focussed to be-ing student-centric, the way school personnelworked also had to change, as teachers foundit necessary to work in collaboration and inan integrated manner, across departments,subject areas, or programmes, so as to meetthe unique needs of students and to helpthem develop holistically.

Another consequence of the emphasis onoutcome was that teachers’ initial ideas of agood SEL programme or approach were of-ten challenged when evaluated againstwhether it would eventually lead to the de-sired student outcome. The prototypingspirit of constantly asking the hard questionof an idea’s effectiveness, discarding un-workable ideas and working out new onesreinforced this shift from being idea-drivento being outcome driven. The prototyping


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Goal 1: Develop self-awareness and self management skills to achieve personal well-being

Statement Benchmarksof Standards

Lower Upper Lower Upper Pre-UniversityPrimary Primary Secondary Secondary (17 to 19(7 to 9 (10 to 12 (13 to 14 (15 to 16 year old)year old) year old) year old) year old)

1.1 Identify one’s 1.1.1a. 1.1.2a 1.1.3a 1.1.4a 1.1.5aemotions, Recognise and Understand the Incorporate Evaluate accuracy At ease withstrengths, label one’s relationship constructive of self perception oneself, loveweaknesses emotions and between feedback from and analyse oneself andand values, and identify thoughts, others and personal implications of self appreciate one’sunderstand how contributing emotions, and experiences into the perception on worththese influence factors to one’s behaviours construction of self actions andone’s actions emotions perception behavioursand behaviours

1.1.1b & 1.1.2b 1.1.3b 1.1.4b 1.1.5bRecognise that everyone is unique Recognise that Apply knowledge Exercise personal in his/her own way. Identify one’s actions can be taken of personal talents, leadership in talents, skills, likes and dislikes to cultivate personal skills, and interests contributing to

talents, skills and to life choices self, one’sinterests community and

society based onone’s personal talents, skills andinterests

Figure 3: Example of Statements of SEL Goals, Standards and Benchmarks

experience helped some teachers to re-eval-uate the notion that the importance of aprogramme or intervention was measuredby its scale of reach or the number of stu-dents on which it had an impact. Instead, theprototyping process helped the teachers tofocus on the validity of what they designed,ensured that the programme met the needsof the target group of students, and ensuredthat the programmes were effective for thestudents. Finally, the prototyping providedthe teachers with the impetus to shift froma mindset of “design once to perfection andthen roll-out” mode to a “feed-forwardmode,” where initial attempts at executing asmall scale version of the initiative wouldgenerate feedback and new insights thatwould be used to refine and improve sub-sequent cycles of the initiative.

Overall, our observations indicate that theprototyping approach produced certain shiftsin our schools’ paradigm of SEL implemen-tation summarised in the table below (seeFigure 4):

Key Feature 3 - Teacher EnablementTeacher enablement is one of the four keybroad approaches under the multi-prongedimplementation plan mentioned earlier. Itinvolves building the capacity of our teachersso that each teacher

• is able to able to relate well to others, han-dle stress and conflict effectively, and assuch, become good role models for students;

• has the skills and knowledge to effectivelydeliver SEL lessons / programmes, inte-grate the relevant social and emotionalcompetencies into the school’s core cur-ricula and facilitate social and emotionallearning outside of classroom time;

• is supported by a community of like-minded educators, among whom one canregularly reflect upon one’s practice, ob-tain feedback, share resources, obtain en-couragement and guidance to grow andexcel as a facilitator of SEL.

Teacher enablement comprises two aspects,namely the preparation of school personnel


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Having gone through SEL prototyping, school teachershave reported being challenged to make a shift in focus,from the traditional emphasis on process (programmedelivery) to an emphasis on outcome (developing studentcompetencies)

Shift From To

Programme Delivery Developing Student Competencies Ready-Made Packages Tailored Activities (or customized)Programme-Based Silos Integrated Cross-Functional Teams Being Idea-Driven Being Outcome-Driven Scale of Reach Validity of Design Roll-Out Mode Feed-Forward Mode

Figure 4: Shifts in Schools’ Paradigm

for SEL implementation and long term ca-pacity building. The school personnel prepa-ration programme involved a series of brief-ings and workshops at the inception of the SELinitiative in 2005/2006 which were designedto engage all teachers in our schools with SEL,and to equip them with a basic understandingand SEL skills. These briefings and trainingsessions were followed in 2007/2008 by an-other series of more comprehensive trainingworkshops for all schools to equip teacherswith the skills and knowledge to apply the 5SEL Pedagogical Principles10 to effectively de-liver lessons for SEL. At about the same time,to align our schools’ pupil management anddisciplinary processes to SEL, we ran a seriesof workshops for teachers to communicatethis approach.

The school personnel preparation pro-gramme represents only the beginning inour efforts to enable our teachers, and its fo-cus is on promoting the SEL philosophy aswell as equipping teachers with relevant ped-agogical knowledge and skills. The need formore comprehensive teacher preparationinvolves long-term capacity building, whichis designed to look beyond knowledge andskills into aspects such as the teacher’s ownpersonal effectiveness as well as teacher sup-port. Given the nature of such developmen-tal work, this part of the teacher preparationeffort needs to start from the pre-servicetraining of teacher trainees and continuewith the on-going professional developmentof in-service teachers. The pre-service train-

ing and development of teachers is under-taken by the National Institute of Educationof Singapore. To prepare student teachers inthe SEL aspect, the institute has included intheir education psychology curriculum rele-vant theories pertaining to the developmentof pupils’ psychosocial, cognitive, intellec-tual, moral aspects and self-concept, as wellas the understanding of pupil motivation,creative and critical thinking, problem-solv-ing skills and behaviour management strate-gies. The educational psychology course alsohelps student teachers understand the char-acteristics and needs of diverse learners andhow to facilitate their learning. All theseserve to provide the student teachers withthe core content knowledge for understand-ing and engaging with the social and emo-tional needs of their students as they start outon their career.

More than just having the knowledge andskills, a teacher teaches who he or she is. Assuch, the development of personal, socialand emotional competencies as well as pos-itive values and attitudes are crucial aspectsof teacher preparation. To this end, valuessuch as putting the learner at the centre,being aware of their development and di-versity, being caring and responsive to theirneeds, and believing that all children canlearn are consistently communicated to theteachers-in-training through the NationalInstitute of Education’s design and delivery ofall its courses, programmes and activities.The pre-service training aims to help student


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More than just having the knowledge and skills, a teacherteaches who he or she is. As such, the development ofpersonal, social and emotional competencies as well aspositive values and attitudes are crucial aspects of teacherpreparation

teachers to clarify their own beliefs, percep-tions and roles as a teacher, to develop anawareness of their own interpersonal be-haviour and to develop a personal pedagogythat will be effective in bringing about theholistic development of their students by thetime they complete their training. For in-service teachers, besides being involved inthe various training workshops under theschool personnel preparation programme,there are also a range of in-service trainingcourses on offer to cater to their needs.These include programmes to enhance theirown social and emotional competencies, aswell as training in various approaches (suchas service-learning, collaborative ap-proaches, strategies for meta-cognition andself-regulation) that enable teachers to bemore effective facilitators of their students’social emotional development. These are opt-in courses available to all teachers who wantto further develop themselves beyond thestandard training provision.

Developing into effective SEL facilitatorsrequires more than just building the knowl-edge and skills of individual teachers alone. Itrequires the development of a support net-work that will facilitate teachers’ work in thisarea, as well as create a stronger recognitionof the work that a teacher expends on SEL.Among the various supportive initiativeswhich the Ministry of Education has under-taken are:

• engaging the school leaders in frequentcommunications, e.g. through briefing anddialogue sessions, about building a sup-portive school climate and culture and howthey can lead and inspire SEL efforts;

• making available various resources such aslessons packages, implementation guidesand toolkits for school personnel to facil-itate the implementation of SEL pro-grammes / activities in schools;

• to have Specialist officers from the Min-istry of Education provide consultancy

services to schools to help them assessneeds, advise them on implementation is-sues, and conduct relevant training whenneeded;

• promoting the sharing by schools of theexperiences, knowledge and resourcesarising from their SEL efforts and creatingplatforms for such sharing, mutual supportand encouragement.

To help all our teachers become effectivein facilitating the social emotional develop-ment of their students is an on-going task.There is still much ground to be covered. Aswe gain in knowledge and experience onhow to better equip and enable our teachers,more will be done so that we can achieve thevision of all our teachers as effective SEL fa-cilitators.

Case Studies - A Potpourri of School-BasedSEL EffortsDue to the foundations developed to supportthe SEL efforts in schools at the nationallevel, many school-based SEL efforts have‘blossomed’. These school-based efforts tookon many forms in accordance with theunique needs of students as well as the par-ticular contexts within the schools. Someschools emphasised developing a culture ofcare and support as a way of promoting so-cial and emotional development in their stu-dents, others included the implicit and ex-plicit teaching of social and emotionalcompetencies as part of their overall char-acter development11 efforts, and there arestill others which implemented targeted pro-grammes or strategies to meet the specificsocial and emotional needs of certain sub-group(s) of their student population. Thissection provides a few examples of this widerange of approaches to bringing about socialand emotional learning.

Case Study 1: Gan Eng Seng Primary -A Whole-School Approach to Growing CHAMPIONS and Building a Culture of SEL


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In Gan Eng Seng Primary School (GESPS),students often receive “Joyful Notes” fromtheir teachers as a form of encouragementand affirmation for their positive behaviour.“Especially for my Colleagues” is another ini-tiative in this school whereby teachers writenotes of appreciation to one another. Allthese are a part of Gan Eng Seng Primary’soverall effort to create a supportive and car-ing environment where each of its staff andpupils feel valued. The school firmly believesthat having every staff and pupil feel cher-ished is the first step towards its goal of nur-turing its pupils to become persons of soundcharacter. This commitment to building char-acter and social emotional competencythrough creating a culture that is open, car-ing and respectful is reflected in the school’smission statement - “Believing and Nurturing”.

Gan Eng Seng Primary adopts the whole-school approach to its character developmentand Social Emotional Learning (SEL) efforts.It has developed a robust framework, knownas the CHAMP@GESPS Framework, to en-capsulate its multi-faceted efforts in this re-spect. Guided by this framework, the schoolseeks to develop every child to be a CHAM-PION - defined as ‘one who does the right

things at the right times even when no one islooking’. The CHAMP@GESPS Frameworkhas its foci in Lifeskills, Service Learning,Leadership Development, National Education,and Careers Education.

The Enhanced Lifeskills Programme is akey component of GESPS’s character devel-opment and SEL efforts. The programme is aseries of lessons based on the EnhancedLifeskills Package developed in-house by itsPupil Engagement & Discipline departmentand the various teachers. The package incor-porates the CHAMPION values, and the SELcompetencies and desired outcomes are allclearly spelt out in the lessons. The lessonsare delivered by all form teachers12 to theirclass. As teachers were involved in the de-velopment of this package and subsequentlyin the delivery of the materials to the pupils,they bring to the teaching-learning experi-ence an intimate knowledge of their pupils’needs and hence a deeper engagement.

Complementing the teaching of social andemotional skills are the efforts to help pupilsdevelop values-driven behaviour. In this re-spect, the school adopted the RestorativePractice (RP) approach in managing student


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Appreciation Notes for Staff

misbehaviour. This is a process-based ap-proach which focuses on helping students toreflect on their behaviour in the light of itsimpact on others as well as on themselves,enabling them to develop a stronger senseof self and social awareness, and under-stand the value of empathy. It is followed byguiding the students to take the responsiblestep of making amends or restitution fortheir inappropriate actions. Every teacher istrained in RP and is provided with a handyRP card which outlines the RP process foreasy reference. In this way, teachers canseize every teachable moment which pres-ents itself (e.g. when a student misbehaves)to facilitate the learning process for theirstudent, capitalising on the immediate con-text. The school counsellor has also devel-oped games and made use of art therapy

sessions to help pupils with self-manage-ment issues.

Gan Eng Seng Primary School is a com-munity living out a supportive and positiveculture. Its character development effort fo-cuses not only on correcting negative behav-iour but emphasises the more important as-pect of celebrating the success of every pupil.For this, the school has set up a compendiumof platforms to encourage and celebratepupils’ positive behaviours, such as theschool-based Holistic Report Cards (whichreports character and social and emotionaldevelopment besides academic achieve-ments) and CHAMP Awards (for affirmingpositive behaviours in pupils). To encouragewhole-school participation, a CHAMPS Wallwas erected to allow teachers, staff, parents


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CHAMPS@ GESPS

Co-Curricular Activities (Olympic Values)

Community InvolvementProgramme (Service) Learning

Student Leadership DevelopmentProgramme (Servant Leadership)

National Education (Active Citizenry)

Experiential Learning

CHAMP@GESPS Framework

Inculcate values

Equip skills

and stakeholders to acknowledge pupils’ de-sired behaviour. Positive peer influence wasanother important leverage used to encour-age positive behaviour. For example, throughthe Class CHAMP Award, all pupils knowthat they can contribute to their class winningthis award. The idea of bringing a friend tothe CHAMP Space as a reward for good be-haviour is another powerful means by whichpupils can encourage each other to demon-strate good behaviour.

Another integral part of the school’s char-acter development and SEL efforts is to de-velop future leaders for our society. The strat-egy adopted to develop pupils’ leadershipqualities is to assign every pupil a leadershiprole through which he or she can contribute.Every GESPian is provided with leadershiptraining and the opportunity to assume var-ious leadership roles in class, in their Co-Curricular Activities and in the school. Ex-

amples of leadership roles in the school in-clude being a Prefect, a Sports Leader, an ICT(Information and Communications Technol-ogy) Leader, a Library Leader, or a LittleLeader (for Primary 1and 2 pupils who arebetween 7 to 8 years old).

Not forgetting the students who come froma more disadvantaged background, or arestruggling with various psycho-social issues,support programmes like the GUSTO KidsClub and the Befrienders Club are imple-mented to help these at-risk pupils acquireself-discipline, resilience and confidence.GUSTO Kids Club is a discovery arts pro-gramme aimed at reaching out to the school’sat-risk and latchkey pupils. The school col-laborates with the Little Arts Academy, anexternal agency/partner to use popular artforms such as hip-hop dance, speech anddrama and culinary skills to re-engage at-riskor latchkey pupils and positively re-direct


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Holistic Report Cards (School-Based)

their focus and energies. Through this at-tempt, the school aims to provide small tastesof success for this group of children to in-crease their self-esteem, as well as to discoverthe many arts-related talents amongst them.

Jonas (not his real name) is a wonderfulexample of how a student has been turnedaround. The school’s first observation ofJonas was that he appeared to be disinter-ested in school and in academic studies. Jonascomes from socially-disadvantaged home,with minimal role-modelling to emulate. Asan attempt to engage Jonas, the school placedhim in the GUSTO Kids Programme, wherehis talents in the performing arts were clearlymanifested. He was eventually offered theU.K.-LAMDA Scholarship to further pursuearts education. In Jonas’ words, “I feel proudthat I can perform for everyone. When oth-ers clap for me, I feel happy and I am nowmore confident about myself and that I canbe good at something.”

Pupils have responded very positively to-wards the many SEL-driven initiatives. Many ofthe pupils came from underprivileged homebackgrounds and they displayed signs of infe-riority which translated into problems of cop-ing with schooling. Through the SEL pro-grammes, pupils were observed to display anincreased sense of self-esteem and confidence.Pupils were also more regular in their atten-dance and were more attentive and partici-pated more during lessons. The satisfaction feltabout this work is clearly reflected in the wordsof Mr Jackson Seow, Subject Head of Pupil En-gagement and Discipline, “My teachers and I arevery heartened to see a great improvement inthe general disposition of our pupils and theway they interact with their peers.”

Case Study 2: Commonwealth SecondarySchool - SEL in Classroom Lessons and Environmental EducationThe lesson started with a video clip on a fa-mous story about Puteri Gunung Ledang (The

Princess of Mount Ophir), where the princessfaced a dilemma. She had to choose betweenher family and her true love. In her pursuit oftrue love, the Princess alienated her brotherand angered the Sultan (the ruler) of Malaccawho had proposed to her. After viewing theclip, students discussed whether theprincess’s decision to pursue her true lovewas right, focusing on the rationale of the de-cision made. They also discussed the effect ofher decision, as she had angered the Sultan,putting her hometown in danger. The FiveResponsible Decision Making Steps were thenintroduced to the students and they appliedthese steps to the Princess’s dilemma. Finally,the students were given the chance to prac-tise their decision making skills in an au-thentic scenario, e.g. ‘You’ve been awarded ascholarship to further your studies overseas.At the same time, your mother is diagnosedwith a chronic disease. What would you do?’

The above was an example of a MalayLanguage lesson conducted in the Common-wealth Secondary School, but with a twist –it was one of the many examples of a school-wide effort to intentionally infuse Social Emo-tional Learning (SEL) into academic teaching.The student response was heartening. Theywere very engaged in the discussion, arguingfor and against the princess’s decision. Theyrealised the importance of considering alter-native solutions to a dilemma, and adoptingone that could be a win-win for the differentstakeholders. They also realised the impor-tance of keeping calm to better analyse thedilemma and come up with alternative solu-tions. It was also observed that the use of thevideo clips has more impact than using a textalone, as the emotions of the various charac-ters were clearly visible and provided thestudents with more input for the discussion.

In Commonwealth Secondary School, SELis pervasive and is not limited to only non-in-structional programmes (such as StudentLeadership programmes, Character Devel-


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opment programmes, Service Learning ac-tivities). The school’s philosophy is that edu-cation has to be holistic and the teaching ofacademic subjects alone will not bring aboutthe desired outcome. Infusing of SEL into ac-ademic lessons will enable the students tohave an authentic experience and relate tothe topic. This in turn will eventually translateinto motivation for students to be passionateabout independent learning. Hence, in a boldattempt to realize these principles, the schoolembarked on a progressive effort to infuseSEL into the teaching of core academic sub-jects to better engage the students. Alongsidethis went the complementary effort to equipthe staff with the skills to use SEL in design-ing their lessons more effectively, and thepush to create an atmosphere where teach-ers would be willing to experiment and tohave their lessons constructively critiqued bypeers in order to bring about improvement.A key training programme for the staff wasconducted jointly by the Student Develop-ment Department with a Guidance Officerfrom the Ministry of Education. After the firsttraining session, the various SEL pedagogicalprinciples were introduced. Various academicdepartments in the school were given thetask of selecting a topic into which to infuseSEL, and teachers had to design and conductthe lesson, as well as have it video-recorded.During the second training session, a segmentwas dedicated to lesson critique by all staff onthe respective department’s lesson. Staffmembers were encouraged to use the feed-back that they had received to refine theirlessons. In addition, the Heads of Depart-ments went on to look at how they could in-fuse SEL into 20% of their Scheme of Work

for the following year, together with theirdepartment teachers.

Commonwealth Secondary School’s pathto SEL infusion was not without its chal-lenges. While the teachers understood therationale behind the move, quite a numberstruggled at first and had doubts and ques-tions, e.g. how is it possible to infuse SELinto factual or abstract academic subjectssuch as Science and Mathematics lessons?However, after trying out the lessons withtheir students and having shared and re-ceived supportive lesson critique / feedbackfrom colleagues during the workshop, theyindicated that the sharing opened up theirminds and they realized the possibilities.Overall, staff members mentioned that theirgreatest satisfaction came from seeing morestudents engaged in the lesson when SEL in-fused lessons were used. At the same time,they also reported learning that context andrelevance are key to designing SEL-infusedlessons, and that one cannot ‘force-fit’ SELinto every lesson or topic. The following is apersonal account of a Mathematics teacher’sexperience on this SEL journey.

“I have always found it a challenge to in-corporate SEL into Mathematics lessons, asMathematics concepts tend to be more ab-stract. I found it helpful to bounce ideasaround with my colleagues during the weeklyprofessional development hour. For example,when two cases of road accidents involvingCommonwealth students occurred, we hit onthe idea of using the topic of travel graphs toreinforce responsible decision-making in en-suring road safety. The students worked in


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Staff members mentioned that their greatest satisfactioncame from seeing more students engaged in the lessonwhen SEL infused lessons were used

groups to weave stories based on their inter-pretation of given travel graphs designed toillustrate accident-based scenarios. They pre-sented their stories to the class for peer cri-tique. As the students had incorporated ele-ments on road accidents into their stories, Ifacilitated a discussion on the responsibilitiesof both motorists and pedestrians in ensur-ing road safety, with careful links to speedingto align with the topic on speed-time graphs.I ended the lesson by showing a video of anaccident and pictures of the road accidentnear the school. In pairs, the students re-flected on how they can be responsible fortheir own road safety. Responses includednot using a handphone or mp3 player whencrossing the road and not dashing across theroad to catch the bus. I noticed that the stu-dents were more on-task. Compared to theusual set work of completing practice ques-tions, students put more effort into coming upwith stories that would explain the graphs.They enjoyed the exercise in creativity andappreciated the link to an authentic situation,as it made Mathematics concepts come alive.The challenge I faced was how to balance theteaching of mathematical concepts with theteaching of SEL competencies in the short 1-hour lesson. I feel that my responsibility as aMathematics teacher is towards the subject.Where Mathematics topics can provide thecontexts to illustrate SEL competencies andhelp them better appreciate Mathematics, Iwould continue to infuse SEL.”

Environmental education is another cor-nerstone of the educational experience pro-vided in Commonwealth Secondary, and isanother platform through which its studentsexperience SEL. It nurtures students to de-velop a keen interest in green issues andempower them to become environmentalstewards both in school and in the commu-nity. The school’s environmental educationprogramme provides a structured and differ-entiated programme for students at eachgrade. Students are engaged through various

hands-on activities which allow them totranslate their energy and enthusiasm intoaction. From water conservation to climatechange and alternative energy, students learnabout a myriad of key issues through class-room learning and project work. Field trips toSungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and riverclean-ups at Sungei Pandan and PandanReservoir further enhance the learning ex-perience. To augment the development of itsenvironmental education programme, theschool converted the school pond into a Con-structed Treatment Wetland that recycles greywater and serves as an outdoor classroom.Students are also encouraged to be environ-mental ambassadors and bring the messageof environmental conservation to the com-munity by educating households on mitigat-ing climate change and preventing mosquito-breeding. In addition, students volunteer asguides at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve andSingapore Science Centre. Through thesevarious activities, programmes and experi-ences, Commonwealth Secondary School’sstudents get to apply and develop the socialemotional competencies learnt in the class-room to relevant, real-life contexts. For ex-ample, in the Air and Alternative EnergyModule taught to secondary-two students,they are challenged to tackle the problem ofenergy and water conservation. The studentswere taught to analyse their household utili-ties bill and come up with an action plan toencourage family members to conserve en-ergy and water. In addition, the students werealso assigned to work in groups to audit theenergy and water usage of the school. There-after, they had to report their findings andrecommendations for improvements to theschool’s Operations Manager, who would ex-plore the feasibility of implementing theirrecommendations. Through working in theseauthentic contexts where they needed tostudy behaviour patterns of consumers, stu-dents were exposed to problem identificationand analysis and were actively involved in de-signing solutions to the problem. As they


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worked to encourage family members andpeers to change their energy / water con-sumption behaviour, they also got the op-portunity to practise their relationship man-agement competencies, and deepen theirsense of personal and ethical responsibilitytowards taking care of the environment.

At the same time, the school is working to-wards nurturing a generation of environ-mentally aware students and grooming futureleaders who hopefully possess a firm grasp ofthe complexities of sustainable development,technologists eager and able to solve envi-ronmental challenges and potential industrycaptains with green consciences.

Case Study 3: Kranji Secondary School - SELthrough Service Learning Projects

“Kranji students demonstrate good val-ues and character... Their behavioursshow they understand the needs of oth-ers (the intellectually disabled).”

These are the comments from the staff ofa day care centre for people with disabilitiesafter a joint community project with studentsfrom Kranji Secondary School. When itcomes to character and social emotional de-velopment, Kranji Secondary thinks in terms

of community service. Premised on the ra-tionale that Social Emotional Learning (SEL)and Character Education must go beyondmere discussion in the classroom, the schoolhas embarked on organising Service Learn-ing Projects as a means through which thevalues and social emotional competenciestalked about in class are put into practice.Service Learning requires the students to un-derstand a given community and find outabout its specific needs, as well as to developways to meet those needs. Hence, it providesan excellent opportunity for developing stu-dents’ social awareness that is talked about inSEL. At the same time, students get to prac-tise working together in teams, engaging andcommunicating with others (e.g. the people inthe community they are serving). As theyget involved in the various demands of theproject, they also have a chance to discoversomething more about themselves and togrow personally. Most of all, the students getto live out the value of ‘giving back to thecommunity’ which is emphasised in theircharacter education.

All these were seen in one of the ServiceLearning projects involving a group of 44secondary-two students (14 year-old) - anoutreach activity to a group of people withdisabilities from a home for people with


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Ecosystems Studies. Learning journey to a Nature Reserve

special needs. This was a collaborative proj-ect between the school and the home con-ducted in 2009, with the twin aims of pro-viding some hands-on and interactiveactivities for clients of the day care centre,while at the same time creating an aware-ness of the needs of people with disabilitiesamong Kranji students.

At the planning stage, teacher-mentorsfacilitated discussions with the students on thepurpose and meaning of service learning.Following this, they briefed the students aboutwho they would be working with and theneeds of their clients. With this informationin mind, the students were invited to brain-storm what the possible activities could beand their pros and cons, before eventuallysettling on the choice of running a cookingworkshop for the clients of the day care cen-tre. After this, the group immediatelylaunched into the next stage of discussingthe menu, safety matters, how to run thesession etc, hence, applying the importantdecision-making skills which they had learntearlier.

In addition, the students also had to raisethe funds for purchasing the ingredients re-quired for the cooking workshops. For this,the students formed into groups of five or sixto brainstorm on how to raise funds, anddiscussed the roles and responsibilities foreach member in the team with regard totheir fund raising project. During this process,the teacher-mentor facilitated the students

in applying skills, such as showing respectand displaying responsibility to self and oth-ers, taught in the earlier Character Educationlessons. The various groups then raised fundsby selling snacks during recesses or afterschool over a two week period, thereby col-lecting more than twice the required amount.They chose to donate the excess to the daycare centre.

After much background work, the stu-dents were finally ready for the cookingworkshops, which turned out to be a reallyenriching learning experience for them. Twosessions of the workshop were conducted,and two students were paired with a ‘client’with disabilities for the sessions. Together,they whipped up a range of ‘delicacies’ overthe two sessions while enjoying the processand one another’s company. Over lunchesafter each cooking workshop, they all feastedtogether on the outcomes of their labours,with the accompanying staff. While a few ofthe students had initially expressed that theydid not feel comfortable and had difficulties incommunicating with their clients, they man-aged the hands-on session well and the ex-perience had helped them to relate to the in-dividuals with whom they had been paired.

At the end of the project, every studentwrote an individual reflection of their expe-rience and learning. Their reflections wereposted on a mobile notice board placed in theschool foyer for other students to read. Thefollowing are a few samples:


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The school has embarked on organising Service LearningProjects as a means through which the values and socialemotional competencies talked about in class are put intopractice

‘I learnt how to be patient and treat oth-ers with care. I had to make responsibledecisions in trying to reach out to them.Really hope I can cook with them again.’ – QYH

‘The service learning was great as I getto gain new knowledge during the plan-ning and at the same time get to inter-act with the disabled during the cookingworkshop.’ – SN

‘After the project, I learnt to be morepatient. It was my first time assisting thedisabled in cooking a meal. It was agreat and unforgettable experience andit was fun too!’ – WL

As reflected in the students’ comments,they have learnt many important social skillssuch as relating to others with respect, teamwork and responsible decision making. Moreimportantly, the experience has given them achance to learn to be sensitive to the disad-vantaged in their community and has en-gendered empathy in them – a crucial aspectof good character. For the teachers who putin the hard work and journeyed with the stu-dents, this is perhaps their greatest reward, asexpressed by one of them: ‘It was most heart-warming to have witnessed the students’ ex-citement and enthusiasm in raising funds forthe project... The students were sincere inwanting to impart their (cooking) skills tothem (the clients). They were respectful to-wards their clients. It was very fulfilling forme to see to the fruition of this project and towitness the growth and learning of my stu-dents.

Case Study 4: Cedar Primary School - “Learn-ing to Love, Learning to Learn, Learning toLive” - Developing the holistic child“We are not working together. Come on, stoptalking!” Han (not her real name) was trying

to get a Primary One (7 year old) group-mateto cooperate with the team. At 8 years old,Han was already a leader, leading the team ona ‘Play n Design’ project to create a ‘play-mate’.13 for the group. The group had to con-ceptualise a design for a ‘playmate’ for afriend who was ill in hospital, and apply dif-ferent art elements to enhance their creation.In choosing the design for the playmate withthe group, Han would ask her members,“What do you choose? Okay, then let’s decidetogether.” Han showed respect for others’opinions and wanted the group to reach aconsensus, and demonstrated a sense of fair-ness and democracy by asking each memberfor his/her choice. Besides exercising lead-ership, Han exhibited genuine concern forpeers and was helpful. For example, when agroup member had difficulty putting a ‘wing’on the cup (the body) when constructing the‘playmate’, she offered to help. While makingthis attempt, her creative side manifested asshe tried to make wings with the differenttypes of paper provided and explored differ-ent ways of pasting the paper wing onto thecup.

The above are snippets from the observa-tion of a student during a module of the Pro-gramme for Active Learning (PAL)14 in CedarPrimary School. Han is just one of the manyprimary students who are given broad expo-sure and rich experiences in Sports andGames, Outdoor Education, the PerformingArts and the Visual Arts at the lower primarylevel (7 to 8 year olds) through the Pro-gramme for Active Learning (PAL) which fo-cuses on the non-academic areas.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) forthese children is a vital component of theschool’s overall effort to realise the aspirationof nurturing its Primary 1 and 2 pupils (7 to8 year olds) to be Caring, Enthusiastic, De-termined, Adaptable and Responsible Cedar-ians. PAL, along with the Form Teacher’sGuidance Period facilitate the SEL of the bud-


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ding Cedarians. The Form Teacher’s Guid-ance Period is a weekly lesson within thecurriculum for form teachers to build posi-tive relationships with their pupils. Duringthe Guidance Period, Form Teachers interactwith their pupils through play-based activi-ties. In addition, they conduct explicit teach-ing of Social and Emotional competencies,supported by resource packages developedby the Ministry of Education (Singapore).Placing greater emphasis on the non-acade-mic development of pupils, PAL providesbroad exposure to Sports, Outdoor Educa-tion, Performing Arts and Visual Arts. PALmodules are rich in self-discovery, experi-ential learning and collaborative learning op-portunities and provide a ready platform forpupils to practise their social and emotionalskills learnt during the Guidance Period. In ayear, each grade level undergoes three mod-ules, each made up of 7 to 9 two-hour ses-sions. While the modules can be conductedby external instructors, Form Teachers arepresent to facilitate pupils’ learning and ob-serve pupils’ behaviours. One unique PALmodule at the school is ‘Play n Design’ (men-tioned earlier), where Primary 1 and 2pupils work together in mixed-age teamsand use the outdoors as a context for learn-ing about art. Pupils learn about the ele-ments of art and work on an authentic taskrelating to social responsibility, National Ed-ucation or the Olympic Games and design asolution using paper. Through ‘Play n De-sign’, pupils learn about art and design, nur-

ture inventiveness and develop social andemotional competencies.

Pupils have indicated that they enjoyed theForm Teacher Guidance lessons and the PALmodules. Through the SEL sessions taughtduring the Guidance Periods, pupils acquireknowledge and skills relating to self-aware-ness, self-management, social awareness, re-lationship management, and responsible de-cision-making. In PAL, the exposure tovarious learning domains enables pupils tolearn more about themselves and others;nurture confidence and a sense of pride intheir own abilities; share and cooperate withothers; cultivate curiosity about the worldaround them; and develop a zest for life.These were evident in the students’ com-ments when they were queried about theirPAL experience:

“I like going to the garden to look for artthings. There are many lines on a leaf.Even the ant’s buttocks have lines!” (acomment by a student during a sessionusing the outdoors as a context forlearning)

“I like ‘Play n Design’ because I canwork with my friends to make things.”(a reply from a student when he dis-covered the joy of cooperative learning

”The ‘playmate’ must have a smilingface. We need to cheer our friend (who


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The emphasis on celebrating growth (rather than oncomparing achievement), on reflection (rather than onevaluation) and the enhancement of the safe andsupportive school environment through the GuidancePeriods and PAL, has resulted in greater joy of learningamong the pupils

is in hospital) up.” (an expression fromanother student during the ‘Play n De-sign’ session, reflecting his care for oth-ers)

”Teacher, when is the next PAL lesson?”(an enthusiastic question by studentsfull of zest for learning)

In addition, the Form Teachers’ steward-ship and presence in Guidance and PAL ses-sions have also enabled the Form Teachers tofoster greater teacher-pupil rapport withtheir charges and increase their knowledge ofindividual children. Thus these sessions haveenabled Form Teachers to be more effectiveas Life Coaches to their students. The em-phasis on celebrating growth (rather than oncomparing achievement), on reflection(rather than on evaluation) and the en-hancement of the safe and supportive school

environment through the Guidance Periodsand PAL, has resulted in greater joy of learn-ing among the pupils. In Cedar PrimarySchool, it is a community that is truly “Learn-ing to Love, Learning to Learn, Learning toLive”.

Case Study 5: NorthLight School - Helpingstudents succeed with a Second Chance16 year-old Jay (not his real name) is amodel student and a student leader at North-Light School. He is also one of the privi-leged youths who was chosen to be a torch-bearer during the inaugural 2010 YouthOlympics held in Singapore because he wasdeemed to have displayed the Olympic val-ues of friendship, excellence and respect.However, this was not the Jay of four yearsago, before he enrolled at NorthLight School.Jay, then 12, suffered a major setback. Hedid not make the grade in the Primary


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Students engaged in PAL activities

School Leaving Examination (PSLE), a keynational examination in Singapore for pro-gressing from elementary schooling to thenext level. He was also addicted to computergaming, had conflictual relationship with histeachers, and was contemplating droppingout of formal education altogether. He wasfeeling down, helpless and lost regardingthe future. Jay’s mother was heart-brokenabout the state of her son. However, she didnot give up. She found out about NorthLightSchool and tried to get Jay to enrol in theschool, but Jay was resistant. It was only af-ter much cajoling that Jay changed his mind,and this proved to be the turning point forhim. His life thereafter was intricately linkedto his experiences at NorthLight School.

The NorthLight School was set up with theaims of providing an engaging career-ori-ented and values-focused education for youngpeople who were less academically inclinedand to prepare them for lifelong learning andemployment. Most of the students which theschool takes in have experienced academicfailures in their primary school education.Many of them also struggled with social andemotional issues. On entering the school,every student has a personalized EmotionalQuotient (EQ) profile done. On the whole, re-sults from the profiling indicate that studentsare weakest in the aspects of interpersonalskills and general mood (comprising opti-mism and happiness). In view of such a pro-

file of the student population, the schooladopts an experiential approach in teachingand learning, with an emphasis on nurturingthe students’ social and emotional develop-ment. This is done by helping the students todiscover their talents, redefining success, en-couraging peer support, and creating condi-tions which promote self esteem. CharacterEducation is key to NorthLight School’s cur-riculum. The other two components of thecurriculum are Foundational Education (e.g.Mathematics, English and Information andCommunications Technology) and VocationalEducation.

Character Education forms 26% of theNorthLight School’s curriculum, and its de-livery and assessment are aligned to thelearning profile of the students, e.g. as thestudents learn best by doing, 70% of the timeis spent on experiential learning or course-work and 30% on theory. NorthLight teach-ers constantly review and update the charac-ter education material to ensure that itremains relevant. The first half hour of eachday is the class family time where the formteacher will cover the character trait of theweek, focusing on different contexts for dif-ferent levels, e.g. on ‘self’ for Year 1, ‘family’for Year 2, ‘school’ for Year 3 and ‘commu-nity’ for Year 4. Students learn to move fromreceiving to giving, and looking beyondthemselves to those who are less fortunatethan them. The school’s Character Education


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The school adopts an experiential approach in teachingand learning, with an emphasis on nurturing the students’social and emotional development. This is done by helpingthe students to discover their talents, redefining success,encouraging peer support, and creating conditions whichpromote self esteem

curriculum has the LiVE components,namely, Lifeskills, including the EmotionalQuotient profile (EQ), thinking skills, per-sonal growth and effectiveness, financial lit-eracy, career guidance, Values that are im-parted through service learning activities orprojects and Everyday Affairs which dealmainly with current affairs. For EQ, the focusis on the individual and on relationship man-agement. Lessons on Thinking Skills pro-mote creative and critical thinking, while Fi-nancial Literacy is taught through the “MindYour Money”15 game which was developed bythe teachers. Career Guidance is an importantcomponent as it prepares the students forthe mandatory 8-week Industrial WorkPlacement for every Year 4 student (about 17to 18 year olds). Service Learning encouragesthe students to return to the community,while Current Affairs ensures that the stu-dents remain abreast with the latest happen-ings in the world. In addition, there is aschool-wide adoption of Art Costa’s Habits ofMind (HOMs).16 The school has adopted 8 outof the 16 Habits of Mind (HOMs) and theseare assessed by the individual students aswell as their peers and teachers and consti-tute a substantial percentage of the total scorethat each student receives for all the Founda-tional and Vocational subjects.

The school also has structures and strate-gies to create a conducive learning environ-

ment that will enhance the development ofgood habits and the relevant social and emo-tional competencies to prepare the studentsfor further studies or the workplace.. Theseinclude Class Family Time17 and the LunchInteraction Time,18 the Time-out Box,19 theTalking Desk,20 the SHINE Card,21 the StudentRecreation Centres,22 the Jar of Excellence23

and the Bowl of Honesty,24 as well as theStudent of the Month25 awards. Neverthe-less, amidst the flurry of activities and pro-grammes at NorthLight School, one thing isconstant, that is, the single-mindedness ofits staff in the pursuit of their mission to helptheir students achieve the following beforethey graduate:

• to have a high level of self awareness, i.e.able to recognise and develop theirstrengths to achieve their potential;

• to relate to others in a respectful and con-fident manner and able to work collabo-ratively in a team; and

• to be developed morally, to care for others,the school and the country, and be willingto give of themselves to serve.

Jay is just one of the many examples of therealisation of these goals. Perhaps his ownwords best sum up the experiences he had atNorthLight School and the transformation heexperienced: “My teachers and my friends


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One of the student recreation centres. A talking desk

accepted me and helped me to discover mystrengths. I was given many opportunities asa student leader and I slowly got back myself-esteem and self-confidence. I tell myselfthat I need to set a good example and mustnot disappoint my teachers or confuse myjuniors. . . . . All of us were very sad when wefailed the PSLE [the Primary School LeavingExamination] but a failure in an exam doesnot mean that we will fail in life. There wereincidents where others look down on or passunkind remarks about us but we must not al-low their remarks to discourage us. We willprove to them and ourselves that we can suc-ceed. We will take every task given to us as anopportunity to challenge ourselves and ourability. The school is the place where we ap-ply the HOMs. I achieved a perfect score ofGPA26 4.0 and my parents could see thechange in me. I would not be here today if notfor the teachers. The NorthLight teachers playa big part in my transformation. They workedhard to make sure we understand our les-sons. I would like to thank them for helpingus to find the joy of learning again.”

Editor’s Note: The chapter on Portugal in this Inter-national Analyisis includes a case study on a secondchance school in that country.

Case Study 6: Social and Emotional Educationfor Children with Special NeedsCK was attention seeking and impulsive. Hethrew tantrums and whined whenever hecould not get his way and would shout or scoldhis friends at the slightest provocation. He alsoneeded constant attention and reminders tocomplete assigned tasks. CK is a nine year oldstudent with mild learning disabilities.

Children with special needs face greaterchallenges in various aspects of their lives incomparison to their ‘normal’ peers. In par-ticular, many of them face great difficulties inthe social and emotional domain as a directresult of their special needs. It is thereforeimperative that specific attention be given to

help them in this area. Such was the impetusfor the work of a committee, set up in early2006, to look into the affective competencydevelopment of students with special needs.The committee, comprising members fromthe Special Education Branch of the Ministryof Education (Singapore) and teachers fromthe various local special education schools,found that: (i) the teaching and learning ofsocial and emotional skills was done mostlyon an ad-hoc basis through teachable mo-ments; (ii) the development of appropriatesocial skills was conducted during (func-tional) life-skills lessons and not much em-phasis was placed on the emotional develop-ment of students. Arising from these findings,it was evident that there was a need for theexplicit teaching of social and emotional skillsto students with special needs.

To kick start the process, the committeeinvited Professor Mark Greenberg from PennState University to Singapore in March 2006to conduct a series of introductory seminarsas well as consulting to schools on the socialand emotional development of students withspecial needs. Professor Greenberg recom-mended the use of the Promoting AlternativeThinking Strategies (PATHS)27 curriculumfor the special schools. Designed to be used inthe early school years (between 6 to 12 yearsold), the PATHS curriculum includes a widerange of activities that focus on:

• Emotional literacy• Self-control• Social competence• Positive peer relations• Interpersonal problem-solving skills

The first PATHS curriculum training for asmall group of teachers was conducted in2007. The trained teachers then prototypedthe explicit teaching of social and emotionallearning in their schools and provided feed-back that the programme was benefiting stu-dents with special needs.


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After some early exploration in small-scale prototypes, Chaoyang School whichserves students with mild intellectual dis-abilities, Towner Gardens School, servingstudents with moderate to severe intellec-tual disabilities, and Spastics Children’s As-sociation School, serving students withphysical disabilities, came on board in Au-gust 2008 and early 2009 for the pilot im-plementation of the programme. Teacherswere trained by PATHS consultants to de-liver the curriculum and to build a schoolculture that supports SEL.

After a year of implementation, the schoolsreported that the programme had a positiveimpact on their students. Teachers reportedthat students had shown greater awareness oftheir emotions and could manage their ownbehaviours better than before.

Returning to CK from our earlier story,he is one of the many who has benefitedfrom the programme. CK now no longerengages in negative attention seeking be-haviours, he can now work on an assignedtask with minimal supervision and is con-sistent in keeping to appropriate behav-iours. However, the success story of CK didnot happen overnight. It was not easy get-ting CK started in managing his emotionsand behaviours but his teacher persisted.

CK’s teacher made him a ‘PATHS Kid forToday’ badge as a reminder that he shouldbe nice to his friends. Efforts were alsomade to compliment CK daily and he had toreturn the compliments by sharing positivethings about others. CK’s teacher also taughthim self-control techniques such as thePATHS “Turtle” technique (a calming down/ anger management strategy taught in thePATHS programme). Today, we can see thefruition of all these efforts as the number ofCK’s temper tantrums are greatly reduced,and he makes an effort to calm himselfdown whenever he feels frustrated and triesto do the “Turtle” technique instead of whin-ing or crying to get attention. The impact ofthe SEL efforts has not only been limited tothe students. Teachers also reported thatthe emotional literacy and self managementtools introduced during the social and emo-tional lessons had helped them in their ownpersonal lives.

Overall, several factors contributed to thesuccess of the programme in the schools.These include:

1 Strong leadership: For SEL to be success-fully taught in schools, school leaders mustprovide a clear vision and direction, aswell as support in terms of resources andpersonnel.


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Self-made PATHS poster Incorporating PATHS strategies into lesson

2 Strong PATHS teams.28 PATHS teams pro-vided the anchor for the successful imple-mentation of the programme in theschools.

3 Passionate and enthusiastic teachers: Thepassion and enthusiasm of teachers whorecognized the importance of social andemotional learning for their students.These teachers believed in the programmeand carried on despite the challenges theyfaced in the initial phases of the imple-mentation of the programme.

4 Creativity and flexibility: In order to caterto the diversity of needs in Special Educa-tion schools, PATHS teams and teachersshowed great originality in their ability toadapt resources to meet the needs of theirstudents. Some examples are the display of“feelings faces” in common spaces such asthe school canteen, the creation of attrac-tive PATHS posters as well as the incorpo-ration of PATHS strategies such as the useof stories and problem solving skills intoliteracy and numeracy lessons.

Currently, the implementation of the pro-gramme has been expanded to five otherSpecial Education Schools and teachers from16 out of 20 schools have been trained to de-liver the PATHS programme. With the posi-tive feedback that has been received aboutthe programme and with many other schoolsexpressing keen interest in implementing theprogramme, the Special Education branchcontinues in the training and professionaldevelopment of staff in the teaching of socialand emotional competencies through PATHS.

Looking to the future, the Special Educa-tion Branch will be putting together a SELFramework with the intention of extendingthe teaching of social and emotional skills toolder students with special needs and equip-ping these students with the necessary skillsfor their successful transition into society andthe workplace.

The Next Lap - Preparing Students for Lifeand Work in the 21st CenturyWith the constant focus on holistic educa-tion and preparing our students well fortheir future life and work, in March 2010the Ministry of Education articulated a co-herent framework for the development ofsoft skills. The Framework for 21st CenturyCompetencies and Student Outcomes (seehttp://www.moe.gov.sg/committee-of-supply-debate/fi les/nurturing-our-young.pdf) builds on values that are taughtin Civics and Moral Education, the socialand emotional competencies as well asthe emerging competencies that are nec-essary for living and working in the 21st

Century. The three domains of the emerg-ing competencies deemed necessary for lifeand work in the 21st Century globalisedworld are:

• Civic literacy, global awareness and cross-cultural skills

• Critical and inventive thinking • Information and communication skills

Developing the values and competencies inour students will enable them to tap into therich opportunities in the new economy whilekeeping a strong Singapore heartbeat, andhelping each of them to become:

• a confident person who has a strong senseof right and wrong, is adaptable and re-silient, knows him/herself, is discerning injudgement, thinks independently and crit-ically, and communicates effectively.

• a self-directed learner who takes respon-sibility for his/her own learning, whoquestions, reflects and perseveres in thepursuit of learning.

• an active contributor who is able to workeffectively in teams, exercises initiative,takes calculated risks, is innovative andstrives for excellence.

• a concerned citizen who is rooted in Sin-gapore, has a strong civic consciousness, is


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informed, and takes an active role to bet-ter the lives of others around him/her.

Embedding values and social and emo-tional competencies within this overarchingFramework highlights their importance forfacilitating the development of the emerging21st Century competencies in students. Forexample, having a broader perspective andappreciating diversity, which are importantaspects of social awareness, will enable stu-dents to develop a sense of global aware-ness; whereas growing empathy and consid-eration of others’ feelings, needs and attitudesare essential for the building of civic literacyand cross-cultural skills. In addition, the so-cial and emotional competency of goal-settingand managing time and effort are associatedwith inventive thinking; while competenciesin relationship management will impact onstudents’ learning of communication skills.

With the re-positioning of SEL in the con-text of the pursuit of a set of new and largereducational goals, SEL has received new im-petus. The teaching and learning of the 21st

Century competencies will be a system-widephenomenon and will be delivered throughboth the academic curriculum as well as thenon-academic curriculum. In particular, toachieve a more balanced curriculum, thequality of Physical Education, and Art andMusic education will be strengthened, asthese subjects are integral to a holistic edu-cation experience for our students, enablingthem to develop physical robustness, enhancetheir creative and expressive capacities, andshape their personal, cultural and social iden-tities. Structural changes have also been madeto support this new emphasis. At the Pri-mary school levels, the Programme for ActiveLearning is one such initiative introduced toaddress the need for greater emphasis onnon-academic programmes. It consists ofmodules of activities in two broad areas:Sports and Outdoor Education, the Perform-ing Arts (Music and Dance) and the Visual

Arts, which take place within the curriculumtime. Also in the curriculum time the FormTeacher Guidance Period has been put inplace to provide quality interaction time forstudents with their form teachers as well asto equip the students with social and emo-tional competencies by means of explicitteaching.

Conclusion - The Effects of SEL EffortsSingapore’s SEL initiative represents a sys-tem-wide effort to introduce educationalchange aimed at strengthening the holisticdevelopment of our students. In carrying outthe initiative, particular emphasis had beenplaced on building a strong foundation onwhich to build the ensuing efforts. At thesame time, the prototyping approach wasadopted to ensure that attention was given torelevance to the local context, meeting thespecific needs of the students and programmeeffectiveness. In addition, recognising thathaving effective teachers is the key to bring-ing about all we want to achieve in our effortsto offer holistic development to our students,particular emphasis has been given to teacherenablement. Since SEL was introduced toschools in 2004, the SEL effort has gonethrough a full cycle characterised by the fourphases of a systematic progression, namelyPlanning, Development, Implementation andReview, and the results are heartening. Look-ing forward, we are poised to see SEL play amore extensive role in the holistic develop-ment of our students, equipping them to beready for the future world in which they willlive.


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Notes

1 Unemployability occurred because many schoolleavers were not deemed adequately equipped forthe jobs offered by employers.

2 The primary and secondary schools in Singaporegenerally adopt the national curriculum (which in-cludes a primary level curriculum and a secondarylevel curriculum) as the basis for their school pro-gramme. However, each school can customize itsprogramme to cater to the unique needs of its stu-dent population. At the secondary level, some sec-ondary schools offer the alternative Integrated Pro-gramme which provides a seamless secondary andjunior college level education to prepare studentswho are clearly bound for university. The Inte-grated Programme leads directly to the ‘A’ Level ex-aminations or other Diplomas (e.g. the Interna-tional Baccalaureate Diploma). In addition, theSpecialised Independent Schools offer specializedprogrammes for developing talents in specific areassuch as sports, the Arts, Mathematics and Science.

3 Co-curricular activities are a range of activities orprogrammes which students can participate in out-side the academic curriculum time, and includecadet uniformed groups, various sports and games,music and dance, clubs and societies for various in-terests. Students can choose which of these theywould like to participate in based on their prefer-ence. Participation is voluntary for students at theprimary level but is a requirement for students atsecondary or higher levels.

4 The SEL initiative not only represents ensuring asupportive school culture and environment to betterdeliver the existing life skills curriculum, it is also anadjustment in emphasis – a move from just goingthrough the process of developing life skills in ourstudents to one that also focuses on learning out-comes. Hence, under SEL, the relevant social andemotional competencies (essentially learning out-comes for the various life skills) appropriate for thedifferent developmental levels of our students wereidentified and specified in terms of a set of standardsand benchmarks. These standards and benchmarkswill be used to guide schools in their design, imple-mentation and evaluation of their SEL efforts.

5 The PDIR cycle is Singapore Ministry of Educa-tion’s 4-step framework to guide the design, devel-opment and implementation of educational policies,programmes and services to support schools in de-livering quality education to every child. It is basedon a systems approach which involves examiningthe links across various systems and processes toensure effective implementation and long term sus-tainability; involving the different departments ofthe Ministry of Education working as one andpulling together resources and expertise; consultingand engaging the various stakeholders; conductingan extensive environmental scan and researchingbest practice; as well as conducting prototyping /piloting and addressing concerns and issues beforefull-scale roll-out.

6 The National Institute of Education (NIE) is theonly teacher training college in Singapore.

7 Teachable moments refer to unplanned authenticopportunities that arise during the course of learn-ing. They can be seized upon by teachers to guidetheir students in modelling, applying and reflectingon values and relevant social and emotional com-petencies. For example, in the event of a conflict be-tween students, teachers can help the disputants seethe conflict from different perspectives and guidethe students towards resolving the situation throughthe application of negotiation strategies.

8 Teacher enablement refers to the development ofthe relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes in ourteachers so that they can become effective facilita-tors of social emotional development of their stu-dents. It also includes setting up the necessary sup-port systems that will bolster the efforts of ourteachers in this aspect.

9 From Zins, J. E., Bloodworth, M. R., Weissberg, &Walberg., H. J. (2004). The scientific base linkingsocial and emotional learning to school success. InZins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Wang, M. C., & Walberg.,H. J. (Eds). Building Academic Success on Social andEmotional Learning. NY: Teachers College Press.

10 The 5 SEL Pedagogical Principles are a series ofprinciples we have identified from our study of rel-evant literature as well as feedback from practi-tioners deemed to be able to help to effectively fa-cilitate the development of social emotionalcompetencies in students. They include Providingfor the Social Dimension (includes rapport build-ing, peer interaction and perspective taking), Pro-viding for the Emotional Dimension (includes elic-iting feelings, touching feelings), Relevance (i.e.each lesson should be appropriate to age, ability,background & needs and referring to authentic sit-uations whenever possible), Reflection (includesreflecting on self and on the perspectives of others),and Action (through demonstration and providingopportunities for practice and application).

11 The character development programme, adopted bymany schools in Singapore, emphasizes values in-culcation and the development of relevant social andemotional competencies which will enable studentsto be good citizens, to know right from wrong andto act appropriately, to be resilient in the face of dif-ficulty and to demonstrate care for their fellow hu-man beings.

12 A form teacher is the teacher who is mainly re-sponsible for the pastoral care for a particular class.

13 ‘Playmate’ refers to a hand-made figurine or pup-pet made by the children.

14 The Programme for Active Learning (PAL) is amajor initiative, introduced in 2010, to address theneed for greater emphasis on non-academic pro-grammes for all Primary 1 and Primary 2 pupils (7to 8 year olds). It consists of modules of activities intwo broad areas: Sports and Outdoor Education, andPerforming Arts (Music and Dance) and VisualArts, which are carried out within the curriculumtime for at least 2 hours a week over about 30weeks in a year.


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15 The ‘Mind Your Money’ game helps students makesmart money decisions (e.g. the difference betweena need and a want) that will ensure quality of life inthe Singapore context. The game touches on finan-cial literacy concepts relevant to adolescents. It isalso a cooperative game in that the winner is thegroup instead of an individual.

16 See:http://www.artcostacentre.com/html/habits.htm formore detailed explanation of Habits of Mind (HOMs).

17 The Class Family Time provides a platform for formteachers to build relationships with their studentsand for students to start each day in the right wayand manage their emotions effectively.

18 The Lunch Interaction Time is also a platform forrelationship building and a time for teachers to doa mid-point check with their students daily.

19 The Time-out Box is a designated space in theclassroom and/or outside the staff room for stu-dents who displayed errant behaviour to reflect ontheir actions and think of ways to put things right.It has also proven to be effective in reducing thetension in that when a child on his own sits at thetime –out box, it is his way of telling the class thathe has had a bad start or something unpleasant hashappened at home. The classmates will then givethis friend his personal space.

20 The Talking Desk provides the very first ‘safe place’for students to express their thoughts and feelings.When students first join the school, they are usuallyalone, with few or no friends and are not confidentto talk to each other. They are encouraged to putphotos/pictures of people and things that makethem feel happy on their desks. Teachers know a lotabout the students through the talking desks.

21 The SHINE Card is a system to catch students do-ing the right things and to reward them for it.Whenever students behave in ways that reflect theschool values, Sincerity, Honesty, Innovation, Net-work and Excellence, teachers will write positivecomments on their SHINE cards. Students could ex-change their SHINE cards for tokens to play at theStudent Recreation Centres once they have accu-mulated a certain amount of positive comments. Onthe SHINE card there are 8 squares in total. Once4 squares are filled, a token will be given. However,if a child were to wait till the 8th square is filled be-fore he exchange for the tokens, the teacher willgive him 3 tokens. This is to teach the importanceof delayed gratification.

22 The Student Recreation Centres are places set up asa safe haven for students to rest and relax. The cen-tres are equipped with youth-friendly recreationalfacilities where students have to abide by rules onthe use and care of the equipment provided.

23 The Jar of Excellence is to recognize students with100% attendance and 100% punctuality.

24 The Bowl of Honesty is to recognize students whodemonstrate acts that reflect the values of integrityand honesty. There are Closed-Circuit Televisions(CCTVs) in the school and the notice reads “theCCTV is to record honesty 24 hours daily”. Besideshonesty, the CCTV also records good manners.

25 The Student of the Month is nominated by studentsand endorsed by form teachers for exemplifying theschool values. A description of the behavior dis-played is written on the certificate.

26 GPA stands for ‘Grade Point Average’. It is calcu-lated based on the points students accumulate withthe designated modules in the course they havechosen to take for the ITE Skills Certificationcourse.

27 See:http://www.prevention.psu.edu/projects/PATHS.html for more details on the PATHS Curriculum.

28 A PATHS team usually comprises a group of teach-ers who come together to act as advocates for SELin the school, adapt the PATHS curriculum to suitthe unique context and needs of the students andmodel the teaching of PATHS lessons for colleagues.


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References

Berk, L.E. (2004). Development Through theLifespan. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Devaney, E., O’Brien, M. U., Resnik, H., Keis-ter, S., Weissberg, R. P. (2006). Sustain-able Schoolwide Social and EmotionalLearning (SEL) – Implementation Guideand Toolkit. N.J.: Collaborative for Aca-demic, Social, and Emotional Learning.

Singapore. Ministry of Education. (2010). Nur-turing our Young for the Future – Compe-tencies for the 21st Century. Retrieved fromhttp://www.moe.gov.sg/committee-of-supply-debate/files/nurturing-our-young.pdf

Singapore. Ministry of Education. (2008).Education in Singapore. Retrieved fromhttp://www.moe.gov.sg/about/files/moe-corporate-brochure.pdf

Singapore. Ministry of Education. (2010).Primary School Education – PreparingYour Child for tomorrow. Retrieved fromhttp://www.moe.gov.sg/education/pri-mary/files/primary-school-education-booklet.pdf

Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Wang, M. C., &Walberg., H. J. (Eds) (2004). BuildingAcademic Success on Social and Emo-tional Learning. NY: Teachers CollegePress.


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Canada

AbstractThis chapter begins with a brief overview of the Canadian educational context including thehistory of the education system and the population that system serves. This is followed by ashort review of the academic and social and emotional status of Canadian students, which, toa certain extent, has informed the direction of Social and Emotional Education (SEE) in Canada.A distinction is made among three approaches to SEE, which include cognitive-behavioural,relational, and Indigenous. A variety of SEE initiatives occurring at a number of levels withinthe Canadian education system are described. Province-wide SEE initiatives on the part of theBritish Columbia and Ontario Ministries of Education are examined. Initiatives in teacher ed-ucation taking place at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, bothof which prepare pre-service teachers to be competent in SEE, are described. Two classroomprograms, one designed to combat bullying and the other aimed at supporting children’s de-velopment of empathy, are reviewed. Finally, two schools that exemplify the relational and In-digenous approaches to SEE are discussed.

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Social and Emotional Education in the Canadian Context

Lucy Le Mare

Lucy Le Mare (PhD Developmental Psychology) is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Ed-ucation at Simon Fraser University, Canada. Emphasizing the centrality of social relationshipsand cultural-historical context, her research focuses on risk and resilience processes and schooladjustment in mainstream and diverse populations (e.g., children-in-care; inter-countryadoptees; and Indigenous children). Her teaching includes courses on the social lives of schoolchildren and social development in the school context.

IntroductionSince the last decade of the twentieth century,a new vision of what it means to be an edu-cated person has been taking shape inCanada and internationally. A prominentUNESCO-commissioned review on education(Delors et al., 1996) defined four pillars oflearning that are considered to represent thefull scope of a comprehensive life-long edu-cation. This framework has been adopted bythe Canadian Council on Learning, a Cana-

dian non-profit organization with the missionto translate educational research into effectiveeducational practice. The domains of educa-tion (pillars of learning) according to the De-lors Report (Delors et al., 1996), and adoptedby the Canadian Council on Learning include:

• Learning to be: Learning that contributes tothe development of a person’s body, mindand spirit. Skills in this area include per-sonal discovery and creativity;

• Learning to know: The development ofskills and knowledge needed to function inthe world, including literacy, numeracy,critical thinking and general knowledge;

• Learning to do: The acquisition of appliedskills related to occupational success; and

• Learning to live together: Values of respectand concern for others, fostering socialand inter-personal skills, and an appreci-ation of the diversity of Canadians.

As such, in Canada there is a range ofvalued educational outcomes, such as getting

along with others and understanding one-self, that do not fall within the category of ac-ademic achievement. It is frequently statedthat fostering these social and emotionalcompetencies through the public educationprocess is desirable (e.g., Hymel, Schonert-Reichl, & Miller, 2006; Schonert-Reichl &Hymel, 2007); a view that is reflected in theofficial documents of the Ministries and De-partments of Education across the country. Anumber of labels, such as moral education,

character education, emotional intelligence,respect, citizenship, and social responsibility,have been used to refer to these areas ofnon-academic learning. In the present chap-ter, all these areas are seen as falling underthe umbrella of Social and Emotional Educa-tion (SEE), a mandate of Canadian schoolsthat has widespread acceptance and support.

This chapter begins with a brief overviewof the Canadian educational context includingthe history of the education system and thepopulation that system serves. Next, I providea short review of the academic and socialand emotional status of Canadian students,which, to a certain extent, has informed thedirection of SEE in Canada. Following that, Idescribe a variety of SEE initiatives that areoccurring at a number of levels within theCanadian education system, including gov-ernment, Universities, and schools. This re-view is necessarily selective. My intent hasbeen to make selections that represent thespectrum of SEE initiatives in Canada.

In Canada there is a range of valued educational outcomes,such as getting along with others and understandingoneself, that do not fall within the category of academicachievement

Country Chapter #1 | Canada

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Historical overview of the Canadian Educational ContextThe land that is now called Canada has beeninhabited for millennia by various groups ofIndigenous1 peoples and, since the 16th cen-tury, by Europeans and others. Beginning inthe late 15th century, British and French ex-peditions explored and later settled in thepresent day Maritime Provinces on the At-lantic coast and the provinces of Quebec andOntario. Continued conflict occurred betweenthe British and the French and in 1763 France

ceded nearly all of its North American coloniesto the British. In 1867, the British North Amer-ica Act established Canada as a country. Thecreation of Canada began an accretion ofprovinces and territories and a process of in-creasing autonomy from the United Kingdom.Today Canada comprises ten provinces andthree territories and is the world’s secondlargest country by total area.

Canada now represents a diverse, multi-cultural society. The 2006 national censuscounted a total population of 31,612,897. Inthe five years between the last census enu-merations (2001-2006), over a million peo-ple made their way to Canada, accounting fortwo-thirds of the population growth duringthose years (currently, approximately 20% ofthe Canadian population is foreign born).These individuals came from over 200 coun-tries and speak almost 150 different lan-guages. Of these newcomers, one in five isunder the age of 14, which has significantimplications for the education system.

Historically, most immigrants to Canadahave been of European origin. For example in1971, Europeans accounted for just over60% of new immigrants. Beginning in the1980s however, people from Asia and theMiddle East began to arrive in substantialnumbers and as of the 2006 census the pro-portion of immigrants from these areas sur-passed those from Europe. Of the million-plusnewcomers who arrived in Canada in theperiod from 2001 to 2006, 58% were fromAsia. China, India, the Philippines and Pak-

istan topped the list for country of origin.Notably, recent arrivals from Europe ac-counted for only 16 percent of immigrants toCanada, while those from Central and SouthAmerica and the Caribbean accounted forapproximately a further 11 percent, with theproportion from Africa being just slightlylower.

According to the 2006 census, the largestself-reported ethnic origin in Canada is Eng-lish (21%), followed by French (15.8%), Scot-tish (15.2%), Irish (13.9%), German (10.2%),Italian (5%), Chinese (3.9%) and Ukrainian(3.6%). Self-identified Indigenous peoplescomprise 3.8% of the population, and repre-sent a group that is growing through births atalmost twice the national rate.

The Structure of the Education System in CanadaAs a reflection of tensions among Canada’searly European colonizers that were basedprimarily on differences in language (French


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Today, Canada remains the only industrialized countrywith no federal office or central department of educationand no national policy regarding education

and English) and religion (Catholicism andProtestantism), a decentralized model for theadministration of education was initiated(Smythe, 2003) and maintained, most re-cently being reviewed and renewed in TheConstitution Act of 1982. Today, Canada re-mains the only industrialized country with nofederal office or central department of edu-cation and no national policy regarding edu-cation (Levin & Young, in Smythe, 2003).

Education in Canada is a public responsi-bility under provincial jurisdiction. Each ofthe Provinces shares a similar hierarchicalstructure in administering education, begin-ning with a Provincial Ministry or Depart-ment of Education. The ministries/depart-ments of education in most provinces havethe responsibility of establishing school dis-tricts, providing funds to school boards, de-veloping educational goals and curricula, au-thorizing textbooks, and establishing criteriafor teacher education and certification (whichare provided by the University Faculties ofEducation and College of Teachers in eachprovince, respectively). Elected school boards,responsible for the implementation of Min-istry/Department policies and procedures,govern school districts, and individual schoolsare responsible for the delivery of educa-tional services.

In Canada, children typically begin publicschooling at age 4/5 when they enterkindergarten and graduate at age 17/18with the completion of grade 12. Education iscompulsory up to the age of 16 in everyprovince, except for Ontario and NewBrunswick, where the compulsory age is 18.Canada generally has 190 school days in theyear, between early September and the endof June. Public schools are divided into ele-mentary schools (kindergarten to grade 5, 6or 7; ages 5 to 13), middle schools (grade 5or 6 to grade 8 or 9; ages 11 to 15), and sec-ondary schools (grade 8, 9, or 10 to grade12; ages 13 to 18).

The major source of funding for publiceducation in Canada comes from transferpayments to the Provinces derived from fed-eral tax dollars (Dibski, 1995). These federaltax payments make up a significant part ofthe Provinces’ overall budgets and attempt toprevent disparities in the quality of educationfrom developing across the country. Withfew exceptions, school boards, in partnershipwith local municipal governments, also fundeducation through local residential and busi-ness taxes. The partnering of provincial andmunicipal governments in raising revenuesfor education helps to maintain a consistentquality of education within provinces, withwealthier communities underwriting less


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The partnering of provincial and municipal governmentsin raising revenues for education helps to maintain aconsistent quality of education within provinces, withwealthier communities underwriting less privilegeddistricts. Hence, both within and between provinces,disparities between public schools in access to resourcesare typically small

privileged districts. Hence, both within andbetween provinces, disparities between pub-lic schools in access to resources are typicallysmall.

The Council of Ministers of Education inCanada (CMEC), comprised of the provincialEducation Ministers, oversees areas of coop-eration between provinces and the federalgovernment and manages the federal trans-fer payments that exist to equalize services ineach province. The federal government alsofacilitates education programs relating tobilingualism and multiculturalism, generallyin relation to immigrant services, and enactsconstitutional reforms relating to education.The Official Languages Act (1969), whichrecognizes both English and French asCanada’s official languages, made accessibil-ity to bilingual education a required option inall provinces except Quebec (which did notsign the Act and continues to offer instructionoverwhelmingly in French). To supportFrench Immersion programs in Englishspeaking provinces, the federal governmentsupplies funding for university-based Frenchlanguage teacher training programs. The fed-eral government also retains control over theeducation of Indigenous peoples, althoughthat responsibility is gradually being ceded tothe Band Councils (Ghosh, 2004), the gov-erning bodies of the various groups of In-

digenous peoples in Canada, of which thereare over 630.

Education of Indigenous People in Canada The history of education for Indigenous peo-ple in Canada differs substantially from thatof European-Canadians. Beginning in the lat-ter half of the 19th century and lasting forover 100 years, Indigenous children wereforcibly educated through government-spon-sored, church-run residential schools de-signed to assimilate Indigenous children intoEuropean-heritage culture and the Christianfaith (Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peo-ples (RCAP), 1996; Trocme, Knoke, & Black-stock, 2004). By 1930, these institutionshoused approximately 75 percent of all FirstNations children between the ages of 7 and15 years (Fournier & Crey, 1997) and a sig-nificant proportion of Métis and Inuit children(RCAP, 1996). Children were forbidden tospeak their own languages or maintain theirspiritual and cultural traditions. Distances be-tween schools and the children’s home com-munities prevented contact with parents andother family members. In residence, siblingswere separated, abuse was common, andmany children succumbed to disease. Chil-dren were traumatized and rarely encoun-tered healthy parental role models.

The residential school system left a tragiclegacy as concerns the education and well-


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Beginning in the latter half of the 19th century andlasting for over 100 years, Indigenous children wereforcibly educated through government-sponsored,church-run residential schools designed to assimilateIndigenous children into European-heritage culture andthe Christian faith

being of Indigenous people. The poor careprovided in residential schools resulted inmany students reaching adulthood with di-minished capacity to care for their own chil-dren (Bennett & Blackstock, 2002;Smolewski & Wesley-Esquimaux, 2003), set-ting up a self-perpetuating cycle of inter-generational trauma. Another legacy of theresidential school system was a deep distrustin the education system among Indigenouspeople, which has been passed from one gen-eration to the next and, to a certain extent,persists today.

Residential schools began to close in thesecond half of the twentieth century, and in1969 the federal government released a pol-icy paper mandating the transference of re-sponsibility of Aboriginal education from thefederal government to the provinces (Battiste& Barman, 1995). The release of this paperwas met with strong opposition from Indige-nous groups and in 1972 the National IndianBrotherhood (now called the Assembly ofFirst Nations) released the policy paper, IndianControl of Indian Education, which stressedthat all decisions regarding Indigenous edu-cation must be made by or in consultationwith Indigenous people. As a consequence,the responsibility for Indigenous educationremained with the federal government, whichin principal conceded that, “Indian control of

Indian education” would be reflected in na-tional policy (Battiste & Barman, 1995). Sincethe mid 1970s, and as a result of persistentactivism, band-run schools (schools managedby the governing bodies of the various groupsof Indigenous peoples in Canada) haveemerged (Haig-Brown, 1988). Currentlythere are approximately 550 band-runschools located on First Nations reserves2 inCanada. The federal government funds theseschools (Mendelson, 2008), although accord-ing to some (e.g., Guhn, Gadermann & Zumbo2010), not to an adequate extent. Across the

country only about 25 percent of Indigenouschildren and youth live on reserves. Of thosewho do, about 60 percent attend schools op-erated by their Band, while most of the re-maining 40 percent attend off-reserve publicschools that are under provincial authority(Mendelson, 2008). The 75 percent of In-digenous children and youth who live off re-serve typically attend public schools. Manypublic school boards with large numbers ofIndigenous students enrolled have formal orinformal arrangements to involve Indigenousrepresentatives in decision-making (Mendel-son, 2008).

How Well are Canadian Students Doing?Academic indicesCanada is among the world leaders in terms


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The residential school system left a tragic legacy asconcerns the education and well-being of Indigenouspeople. The poor care provided in residential schoolsresulted in many students reaching adulthood withdiminished capacity to care for their own children, settingup a self-perpetuating cycle of inter-generational trauma

of student academic performance. Results ofthe 2009 Program for International Assess-ment (PISA), issued by the Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development(OECD), reveal that Canadian students con-tinue to rank highly in the academic areasmeasured. PISA measures quality, efficiency,and equity of education in sixty-five countriesby assessing students in reading, mathemat-ics, and science. In 2009, Canadian studentsoverall performed very well in reading withonly four countries surpassing Canada:Shanghai-China, Korea, Finland and HongKong-China. An analysis by Province re-vealed that nine of the ten Canadianprovinces performed at or above the OECDaverage on the combined reading scale. Therewas no significant change in Canadian meanperformance in reading from 2000 to 2009.However, in 2000 only one country outper-formed Canada in reading, while four coun-tries outperformed Canada in 2009 (mean-ing the relative performance of Canadadecreased). The overall performance levels ofCanadian students in mathematics and sci-ence were also well above the OECD averageand remained unchanged from previous PISAresults. In 2009, Canada was outperformedby only seven countries in mathematics andsix countries in science. Equity, a measure ofhow well a country can maximize its stu-dents’ potential, was ranked as extremelyhigh in Canada in 2009. The combination ofhigh PISA scores with high equity demon-strates that there is a small gap between ourhighest and lowest performing students,which may well reflect policies and practices

aimed at ensuring equitable quality of educa-tion within and between Provinces.

PISA data do not allow for comparisonsbetween Indigenous and non-IndigenousCanadian students but there is abundant ev-idence that the academic needs of Indige-nous children are not being well met by pub-lic schools in Canada. For example, in theProvince of British Columbia standardizedassessments of reading, writing, and arith-metic, administered to all children in grades4, 7, and 10 (i.e., at ages 9, 12, and 15years), reveal across ages and subjects thatthe proportion of Indigenous children meet-ing grade level expectations is in the range of50 to 60 percent, which compares to 80 to90 percent for non-Indigenous children(Morin, 2004). As teens, Indigenous youthare also more likely than non-Indigenousyouth to leave school before graduation,which typically occurs when students are 17or 18 years old. Again in British Columbia,over the years of 1997 to 2001 high schoolgraduation rates for Indigenous youth rangedfrom 34 to 42 percent whereas for non-In-digenous youth graduation rates were in therange of 73 to 78 percent (Morin, 2004).

Social and emotional indicesIn contrast to the relative strength of Cana-dian children’s academic performance in in-ternational comparisons, indices of Canadianchildren’s social and emotional competenceand well-being are less encouraging. Al-though in Canada we pride ourselves on re-specting diversity and building community, as


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Canada is among the world leaders in terms of studentacademic performance… An analysis by Province revealedthat nine of the ten Canadian provinces performed at orabove the OECD average on the combined reading scale

concerns the prevalence of childhood bully-ing we are in a dismal position on the inter-national stage. The World Health Organization(WHO), in their 2001/2002 report on thehealth of children and youth, reported thatCanada ranked 26th and 27th out of 35countries on 13 year-old students’ reports ofbullying and victimization, respectively (Craig& Harel, 2004). Moreover, Canada’s positionacross all age and gender categories hasslipped over time relative to other countries.WHO figures reveal that despite the rates ofbullying and victimization among Canadianstudents remaining relatively stable from1993/1994 to 2001/2002, Canada’s rankrelative to other countries dropped duringthat eight-year period, suggesting that othercountries have been addressing bullyingproblems more effectively than Canada. Forexample, many of the countries that rankedhigher (more positively) than Canada in2001/2002, such as Norway and England,have had national campaigns to addresschildhood bullying. The high proportions ofCanadian students who report bullying orbeing bullied has been interpreted as repre-senting an important social problem inCanada and has influenced the direction ofSEE in this country.

Within Canada, epidemiological reports onprevalence rates of disorders suggest that ap-proximately one in five Canadian childrenand adolescents experiences social and emo-tional problems serious enough to warranttheir need for mental health services (OffordCentre for Child Studies; Offord, Boyle &Racine, 1991). Consistent with the WHO sta-

tistics on bullying, childhood aggression hasbeen identified as a particular concern byCanadian researchers, clinicians, policy mak-ers, and educators. The Offord Centre forChild Studies reports that about 10 percent ofall Canadian children exhibit anti-social be-haviours, such as anger and aggression, se-rious enough to affect their ability to relate toothers and to do well in school and that manyof these children have parents who also havedifficulties with their own anger.

Another index of the social and emotionalwell-being of Canadian children has beenderived from surveys using the Early Devel-opment Instrument (EDI; Janus & Offord,2007). The EDI is a Canadian checklist toolfor measuring children’s school readiness infive areas including social competence andemotional maturity. Teachers complete thechecklist for each child in their classroomwhen children are in the second half of theirkindergarten year (age 5 or 6). Since 2000,EDI data have been collected for over half amillion children across Canada. After an ini-tial province-wide administration of the EDI,each province determined the score repre-senting the cut-off for the lowest ten percentof scores in each of the five areas assessed. Insubsequent province-wide administrationsthat cut-off score was used to define the per-centage of children considered to be “vulner-able” in each domain. In the six provinces forwhich EDI data are available (Ontario, Man-itoba, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick,Saskatchewan, and British Columbia), ratesof vulnerability in the social competence andemotional maturity domains range from 6 to


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The high proportions of Canadian students who reportbullying or being bullied has been interpreted asrepresenting an important social problem in Canada andhas influenced the direction of SEE in this country

13 percent and 7 to 13 percent, respectively(Guhn, personal communication), suggest-ing that a significant number of Canadianchildren are starting school without the socialand emotional competencies expected forschool success.

It is important to point out that theseEDI vulnerability rates do not include In-digenous children. While EDI data on In-digenous children have been collected, theyare only disseminated in consultation withthe community from which the data cameor the Aboriginal Steering Committee thatprovides guidance on EDI assessments inIndigenous communities. This situationstems from a history of educators and re-searchers characterizing Indigenous chil-dren as deficient and reflects the effort onthe part of Indigenous communities to re-gain control of the care of their childrenand to restore, revitalize, and recreate fam-ily and community supports for children’sdevelopment (Ball & Le Mare, in press;Castellano, 2002). These efforts notwith-standing, there are several other indica-tors suggesting that relative to non-Indige-nous Canadian children, Indigenouschildren remain at elevated risk for socialand emotional problems including delin-quency, substance abuse, (Federal Depart-ment of Justice) and suicide (Chandler &Lalonde, 1998), especially in communitiesin which cultural continuity has been mostdisrupted due to colonial interventions.

Data on the social and emotional well-be-ing of Canadian children and youth provide acompelling rationale for SEE (see also, Hymel,Schonert-Reichl & Miller, 2006) and, asnoted, have informed the direction of SEE inCanada. In particular, concerns about bully-ing and aggression have led to an emphasison addressing these issues through SEE. EvenSEE initiatives aimed at promoting positivesocial and emotional skills and dispositionsare often framed as “anti-bullying” or “anti-violence” programs.

Social and Emotional Education Initiatives in CanadaThe cognitive-behavioural approach: Dis-course and practice in SEE in Canada can beseen as falling into one of two broad ap-proaches. The dominant, cognitive-behav-ioural approach includes a wide array of re-sources and programs addressing such thingsas empathy, bullying, self-esteem, violenceprevention and conflict resolution. While dif-fering in both foci and theoretical underpin-nings, what is common to these programs isan emphasis on teaching children discretecognitive and behavioural skills, such as be-ing assertive, understanding the viewpoints ofothers, using appropriate language to expressfeelings, and recognizing facial expressionsand other displays of emotion, that are be-lieved to mitigate negative social interactionsand support positive social interactions. Thepopularity of the cognitive-behavioural ap-proach stems from a number of factors in-cluding how readily it can be translated into“scope and sequence” type curriculum mate-rials (scope refers to the material or skillthat is to be taught, for example, empathy,and sequence is the order in which oneteaches the necessary sub-skills or informa-tion, for example, names for feeling states,recognizing facial expressions, etc.). Suchcurricula typically have identifiable and mea-sureable learning outcomes and can be im-plemented by classroom teachers or othersaccording to a relatively standardized script.This approach to SEE has the benefit of re-quiring minimal teacher preparation andreadily lends itself to program evaluation,which has become increasingly important inthe current era of accountability within edu-cation (Kohn, 2000).

The relational approach: A second ap-proach to SEE that has received less attentionin Canada is what I will refer to as the rela-tional approach. Rather than focusing on childattributes such as their knowledge and be-haviours, within this approach the emphasis


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Editor’s note: Results of the EDI in Australia, known as the AEDI(Australian Early Development Index) are discussed in the chapter“From Crisis to Confidence: The Development of Social and Emo-tional Education in Australia” in this International Analysis.

is on the ability of adults (teachers) to providecaring contexts and to develop genuine andsupportive relationships with the students intheir charge. Put simply, the basic tenet of thisapproach is that the positive social, emotional,and academic development of children andadolescents depends, to a considerable de-gree, on whether the contexts in which theydevelop, including schools, are reliablesources of caring relationships (Noddings,1992, 2002; Rauner, 2000). This approachdoes not lend itself to standardized instruc-tional scripts or scope and sequence curricula.Since genuine caring is attuned to individualsand their needs, caring practices are neces-sarily emergent and variable rather than pre-determined and fixed (May, 1992; Noddings,1992; Prillamen & Eaker, 1994). As statedby Noddings (1992);

Caring requires… different behavioursfrom situation to situation and person toperson. It sometimes calls for toughness,sometimes tenderness. With cool, for-mal people, we respond caringly withdeference and respect; with warm, in-formal people we respond caringly withhugs and overt affection. Some situa-tions require only a few minutes of at-tentive care; others require continuouseffort over long periods of time (p. xii).

This view is shared by Rauner (2000),who maintains that caring is not a mecha-nism but rather a context for healthy devel-opment, one that promotes social connec-tions, creates possibilities for students, andleads to positive outcomes. In contrast to thecognitive-behavioural approach, it has beenargued that programs based on principles ofcaring should be evaluated not in terms ofparticular learning outcomes but rather ac-cording to whether they have “succeeded increating caring relationships between youngpeople and positive role models” (Rauner,2000, p. 89). The non-standardized, non-mechanistic, individually focused nature of

the relational approach makes it much morecomplex both for teachers to practice andfor researchers to evaluate, which probablyaccounts for the lesser attention it has re-ceived relative to the cognitive-behaviouralapproach to SEE in Canada.

The distinction between cognitive-behav-ioural and relational approaches to SEE isconceptually useful but in practice these ap-proaches are often blended. As will be seenin the discussion of SEE initiatives in Canadathat follows, generally it is not a matter ofwhether a SEE program reflects either thecognitive-behavioural or the relational ap-proach; rather, it is more meaningful to con-sider the initiative’s relative emphasis.

Indigenous perspectives: Ball and Le Mare(in press) have identified a number of keyprinciples expressed by members of Indige-nous communities for schools to support In-digenous children’s development. These per-spectives reveal ideals closely aligned withthe relational approach to SEE as discussedabove but with significant emphasis on (1)relationships between schools and the com-munity, including parents, extended familymembers, and elders, and (2) a strong In-digenous identity as the foundation for chil-dren’s healthy social and emotional develop-ment and school success. As described byBall and Le Mare, Indigenous participants intheir studies stressed the importance ofparental involvement in supporting children’sacademic and social and emotional education,but also spoke of barriers to meaningful In-digenous parental engagement in publicschools. Respondents identified racism, a lackof respect for parents, and the tendency toview Indigenous children from a deficit per-spective as factors that negatively affectedschool-community relationships, parental in-volvement in education, and children’s well-being. Community members’ comments un-derscored the need for educational policies,programs, and practices to support children


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within the context of their families and cul-tures. All participants voiced the importanceof supporting families to recapture andstrengthen Indigenous child-rearing skills,drawing on cultural understandings of theholistic nature of children’s development andthe embeddedness of children’s lives withintheir families, communities, mainstream in-stitutions, and society.

Social and Emotional Education at the Level of GovernmentThe mandate for SEE is evident in the mis-sion and vision statements of the Ministriesand Departments of Education acrossCanada (see Table 1). Nearly all make ref-erence to supporting students in becomingcontributing members of a cohesive, just,and democratic society, developing a senseof personal fulfillment, well-being and self-reliance and making positive choices. Al-though these are among the stated goals ofeducation across the country, only theprovinces of British Columbia and Ontariohave fully developed SEE initiatives.

British Columbia’s Social Responsibility FrameworkOne prominent example that illustratesboth a cognitive-behavioral emphasis inSEE and how SEE has been explicitly inte-grated into the mandate of the public schoolsystem in Canada is the Social Responsibil-ity Framework in the province of BritishColumbia. In British Columbia (BC), theMinistry of Education has included ‘socialresponsibility’ as one of the four main stan-dards, alongside reading, writing, and nu-meracy, on which student development isassessed. According to the Ministry docu-ments, their definition of social responsi-bility reflects broadly accepted Canadiansocietal values that in their enactment mayvary from one cultural context to another.Within this framework, social responsibil-ity is made up of four components:

I. Contributing to the classroom and schoolcommunity, which involves students’sharing responsibility for their social andphysical environment and participatingand contributing to the class and to smallgroups;

II. solving problems in peaceful ways, whichinvolves managing conflict appropriately,including presenting views and argu-ments respectfully, and considering oth-ers’ views and using effective problem-solving steps and strategies;

III. valuing diversity and defending humanrights, which involves treating othersfairly and respectfully, showing a sense ofethics and recognizing and defending hu-man rights; and

IV. exercising democratic rights and respon-sibilities, which involves knowing andacting on rights and responsibilities (lo-cal, national, global) and articulating andworking toward a preferred future forthe community, nation, and planet—asense of idealism.

The BC performance standards for socialresponsibility have been tailored for specificage groups to accommodate the wide range ofbehaviours and competencies associated withsocial responsibility at different ages. There arefour clusters: Grades Kindergarten to 3 (ages5 to 8 years), Grades 4 to 5 (ages 9 to 11years), Grades 6 to 8 (ages 12 to 14 years),and Grades 8 to 10 (ages 14 to 16 years).Within the framework, teachers can assessstudents’ social responsibility performance asfalling within one of four levels that include:

1. NOT YET WITHIN EXPECTATIONS • there is little evidence of progress toward

expected knowledge, skills, and attitudes • the situation needs intervention

2. MEETS EXPECTATIONS (MINIMAL LEVEL) • there is evidence of progress toward ex-

pected knowledge, skills, and attitudes


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Table 1. Visions for Education across the Canadian Provinces and Territories

British Columbiahttp://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/primary_program/primary_prog.pdf“The purpose of the British Columbia School System is to enable all learners to develop their individualpotential and to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to contribute to a healthy, democraticand pluralistic society and a prosperous and sustainable economy.”In keeping with the stated mission for the school system, the Ministry of Education has identified threegoals of education: Intellectual development, Human and social development, and Career development

Albertahttp://education.alberta.ca/media/832568/guidetoed.pdf“Vision: Education inspires and enables students to achieve success and fulfillment as citizens in achanging world.Mission: Every student has access to educational opportunities needed to develop competencies re-quired to contribute to an enriched society and a sustainable economy.”

Saskatchewanhttp://www.education.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=5b6feeea-7422-4eab-bd16-3694c1318bdb“The Ministry of Education provides strategic, innovative, and collaborative leadership to the early learn-ing and child care, Prekindergarten through Grade 12 education, literacy, and library sectors. It pro-motes higher student achievement and well-being for Saskatchewan children and youth, and improvedliteracy skills for all, as a foundation of the province’s social and economic growth.”

Manitobahttp://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/ar_ecy_0708/report.pdf“Manitoba Education Citizenship and Youth’s (MECY) vision is that Manitoba’s children and youth willhave access to relevant, engaging, high quality and responsive education that meets the needs of everylearner now and in the future. The primary responsibilities of MECY are to facilitate the improvement of learning at the K - 12 lev-els, to enhance citizenship development, and to address transition issues for youth.”

Ontariohttp://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/about/annualreport/#1“Vision: Ontario students will receive the best publicly funded education in the world, measured byhigh levels of achievement and engagement for all students. Successful learning outcomes will give allstudents the skills, knowledge and opportunities to attain their potential, to pursue lifelong learning,and to contribute to a prosperous, cohesive society.”

Quebechttp://www.meq.gouv.qc.ca/ADMINIST/plan_strategique/PlanStrat0003/Anglais.pdf“The Ministere de l’Education is the government authority responsible for seeing that Quebec’s citizensreceive the educational services they need in order to develop as individuals and become active, con-tributing members of society.”

Nova Scotiahttp://www.ednet.ns.ca/pdfdocs/businessplan/DOE_2010-11_Statement_of_Mandate.pdf“The mission of the Department of Education is to provide excellence in education and training for per-sonal fulfillment and for a productive, prosperous society.”


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New Brunswickhttp://www.gnb.ca/0000/about-e.asp“To have each student develop the attributes needed to be a lifelong learner, to achieve personal fulfill-ment and to contribute to a productive, just and democratic society.”

Newfoundland and Labrador“The vision of the Department of Education is citizens with the values, knowledge and skills necessaryto be productive and contributing members of society.”

Prince Edward Islandhttp://www.gov.pe.ca/eecd/index.php3?number=1028849&lang=E“Public education in P.E.I. is based on a quality program that respects the intrinsic value of the individ-ual and centres on the development of each child. The development of the child implies providing eachstudent with the basic education required to participate in and contribute to society. It also meanspreparing students with the knowledge and intellectual training needed to enter the work force or topursue post-secondary studies.”

Yukon Territory http://www.education.gov.yk.ca/pdf/Education_Annual_Report_2009-10_Academic_Year_-_web_version.pdf“The Department of Education’s mandate is to deliver accessible and quality education to all Yukonlearners including children and adults. To achieve this mandate the Department: Works with learners in meaningful partnerships with all other users of the public education system topromote and support lifelong learning, and to ensure that Yukon has an inclusive and adaptive labourmarket; and Works in cooperation with parents and other partners to develop the intellectual, physical, social, emo-tional, cultural and aesthetic potential of learners, to the extent of their abilities, so they may becomeproductive, responsive and self-reliant members of society while leading personally rewarding lives ina changing world.”

Northwest Territories http://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/Publications/FINAL_Building%20on%20our%20Successes_Strategic%20Plan%202005-2015.pdf“To invest in and provide for the development of the people of the Northwest Territories, enabling themto reach their full potential, to lead fulfilled lives and to contribute to a strong and prosperous society.”

Nunavut http://www.edu.gov.nu.ca/apps/authoring/dspPage.aspx?page=2“Mission: The Department of Education works collaboratively to build a seamless learningenvironment that is accessible to learners of all ages, inspires excellence among learners andeducators, and promotes personal and community well-being.Vision: The people of Nunavut value education and are inspired to be actively involved in life-longlearning so they may make positive life choices and contribute to the future of Nunavut.”

• the student needs support in some areas

3. FULLY MEETS EXPECTATIONS • there is clear evidence of expected knowl-

edge, skills, and attitudes

4. EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS • there is evidence of independent, voluntary

application and extension of expectedknowledge, skills, and attitudes

The Ministry documents emphasize thatany decision about an individual student’slevel of social responsibility should be basedon an accumulation of observations and sam-ples over time. Examples of the kinds of be-haviours representing each of the four com-ponents of social responsibility at each of thefour performance levels for Kindergarten toGrade 3 are found below.

Although the intent of the BC Social Re-sponsibility Framework is laudable, this ini-tiative is not without critique. Framing socialresponsibility in terms of performance stan-dards stresses product or outcome overprocess and accordingly appears to de-em-phasize the role of the teacher/school in pro-viding a context to support children’s devel-

opment in this domain. As such, althoughthe framework makes clear that the socialand emotional development of children iscentral to the mandate of education and thatSEE is valued and, indeed, required in theprovince of British Columbia, it offers mini-mal guidance for teachers on how to achievethis. Teachers may be exposed to SEE peda-gogy and curriculum materials in their ownpre-service training (see section below onCanadian University Initiatives), through in-service professional development activitiesprovided by their School Districts, or by seek-ing out resources from outside organizations.However, there is no mechanism or structurein place to ensure that all teachers are ex-posed to and competent in SEE.

Ontario’s Character Development InitiativeFollowing the lead of British Columbia, in2006 the Ontario Ministry of Education in-troduced a province-wide character develop-ment initiative called Finding Common Ground,a summary of which can be found in Table 2.

School boards in Ontario began the im-plementation of this Initiative during the2007–2008 school year. The following Min-istry statement conveys its intent:


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Kindergarten to Grade 3 Social Responsibility Framework

Aspect Not yet within expectations Meets expectations minimally

Contributing to Often unfriendly or disrespectful of others. Usually friendly and if asked will help or include others. the classroom and Generally reluctant to participate in and May need prompting to participate in classroom and school community contribute to classroom and group activities. group activities.

Solving problems In conflict situations often expresses anger In conflict situations tries to state feelings and manage in peaceful ways inappropriately; blames or puts down others. anger appropriately but quickly becomes frustrated;

Has difficulty recognizing problems; may tends to overestimate or underestimate the need for adult help. suggest inappropriate strategies. Can identify simple problems; with help, generates strategies.

Valuing diversity and Sometimes disrespectful; tends to focus Usually respectful; may not notice when others are treated unfairly defending human rights on own needs and wants..

Exercising democratic Can often repeat class or school rules, With support shows an emerging sense of responsibility for the rights and but is unable to think of ways to improve classroom and may be able to describe simple ways to improve responsibilities school, community or world. school, community or world.

This is the time for us to reaffirm ourcommitment to the potential of our pub-licly-funded school system to deliver onits promise to educate all students suc-cessfully. But it must be recognized thata quality education includes the educa-tion of the heart as well as the mind. Itincludes a focus on the whole person. Itmeans preparing students to be citizenswho have empathy and respect for oth-ers within our increasingly diverse com-munities. It also means providing op-portunities for students to understanddeeply the importance of civic engage-ment and what it means to be produc-tive citizens in an interdependent world.(http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/doc-ument/repor ts/l i teracy/book-let2008.pdf)

The documentation provided by theOntario Ministry on Finding Common Grounddescribes a broad reaching inclusive ap-proach to supporting the social and emo-tional development of students that sharessome similarities with the Social Responsibil-ity Framework in British Columbia but differsfrom it in a number of ways. Both initiativesemphasize similar values such as peaceful

conflict resolution, respect for diversity andhuman rights, inclusion, and the ideal ofdemocratic citizenship. However, the Ontarioinitiative does not contain the same degree ofemphasis on behavioural standards and eval-uation as is found in the British Columbia So-cial Responsibility Framework. There is lessstress on discrete indicators of character andmore emphasis on creating conditions inwhich character development can flourish. Assuch, Finding Common Ground contains amore explicit endorsement of the relationalapproach to SEE, as can be seen in the rolesand responsibilities it ascribes to teachers,which include the following:

• Model the character attributes agreed uponin the broad-based community consulta-tion process in their workplace practicesand interactions

• Continue to engage students in the creationof a classroom learning environment that iscollaborative, caring and characterized byhigh expectations for learning and equity ofoutcome

• Provide the knowledge, skills and leader-ship development required for students totake on their expanded roles effectively

• Assist in creating a school culture that values


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Fully meets expectations Exceeds expectations

Usually welcoming, friendly, kind and helpful. Welcoming, friendly, kind and helpful. Participates in and contributes to classroom Participates in and contributes to classroom and group activities; and group activities. often takes on extra responsibilities.

In conflict situations, tries to express feelings honestly, In conflict situations, usually manages anger and expresses feelings manage anger appropriately, and listen politely; most appropriately; often tries to solve problems independently, but

often relies on adult intervention without knows when to get adult help. considering alternatives. Clarifies problems, generates appropriate strategies, and

Can clarify problems and generate and evaluate strategies. predicts outcomes.

Increasingly interested in fairness; treats others fairly Fair, respectful; may ‘stick up’ for others when perceiving injustice. and respectfully

Shows emerging sense of responsibility generally Shows a clear sense of responsibility in the classroom and emerging following classroom rules; able to identify simple sense of idealism – wants to make the world a better place.

ways to improve school, community or world.

caring relationships between teachers andstudents, fosters a sense of belonging, nur-tures democratic principles and encouragesstudent voice in decision making

• Use the attributes identified in Ontario Cur-riculum and other Ministry documents andby local communities in the development ofclassroom behavioural expectations in col-laboration with students

• Embed character development in their sub-ject areas and in all classrooms, extracur-ricular and school-wide programs.

The Ontario Ministry of Education out-lines ways in which it supports schools in im-plementing this initiative and teachers in en-acting their stated responsibilities. Forexample, Character Development Resource


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Table 2. Vision for character development found in Finding Common Ground

Character Development in Ontario schools...

✔ is about all members of the community sharing the ✘ is not about schools taking over the responsibility of responsibility for supporting students and families in parents and familiesthe development of character

✔ is about critical and analytical thinking, questioning, ✘ is not about compliance anticipating problems and contributing to solutions

✔ is about self-management, self-discipline and the ✘ is not about behaviour based on a fear of punishmentdevelopment of interpersonal competencies

✔ is about self-awareness, reflection and ✘ is not about behaviours motivated by extrinsic rewardsunderstanding – doing what’s right because it’s the and recognition right thing to do

✔ is about the development of standards of behaviour ✘ does not seek to indoctrinate against which we hold ourselves accountable

✔ must include the active involvement and ✘ cannot be done to studentsengagement of students

✔ is a process that develops character in a deliberate ✘ is not found in a textbook, binder or manualand intentional manner through interactions with others and engagement in the wider community

✔ is embedded in all aspects of school life – in its ✘ is not a new curriculum or an add-onpolicies, programs, practices, procedures, processes and interactions

✔ is about inclusiveness, equity and respect for diversity ✘ is not about the “few” or the exclusion of some✔ is about ensuring that there are opportunities to engage students in general, and disengaged and marginalized students in particular, in the initiative ✔ is about all students and all schools

✔ is about the universal attributes upon which diverse ✘ is not a form of religious educationcommunities find common ground and is a component of many faith traditions ✔ complements religious and family life education in Catholic schools

✔ is about a process of engagement in which ✘ is not about a government imposing a set ofcommunities come together to build consensus on moral standardsthe values they hold in common

Teams comprised of individuals experiencedin the implementation and extension of char-acter development programs have been es-tablished across the province to support allEnglish and French, Catholic and public schoolboards. The document entitled Finding Com-mon Ground: Character Development in On-tario Schools, K–12, is located on the Ministryof Education website at www.edu.gov.on.ca.Character development information is postedregularly on this site along with updates on thework and structure of the Character Devel-opment Resource Teams. Links to characterdevelopment electronic resources and eventhighlights are also provided.

Nevertheless, to engender a shared under-standing and valuing of SEE in teachers acrossthe country it is desirable that SEE be central tothe curriculum in teacher education programs.

University Initiatives in Teacher Education: Consistent with widely held societal values,teacher education programs within CanadianUniversities, at least in principle, prepareteachers to educate “the whole child” (al-though a relative emphasis on supportingchildren’s academic competence remains).Briefly described here are SEE initiatives inthe teacher education programs at two of themajor universities in British Columbia, theUniversity of British Columbia (UBC) andSimon Fraser University (SFU).

The Teacher Education programs at bothuniversities group their teacher candidatesinto learning groups called “cohorts” at UBCand “modules” at Simon Fraser University(SFU). Cohort or module members partici-pate together in courses and in practicumplacements in partner schools in givenschool districts. In each elementary cohortor module, teacher candidates are profes-sionally prepared to teach all subjects in theelementary school curriculum, from Kinder-garten to Grade 7 (ages 5 to 13). At eachuniversity some cohorts/modules areplanned according to specific themes, whileothers are generalist.

Among the various cohort options avail-able at the University of British Columbia(UBC) is the “Social–Emotional Learning(SEL)” cohort. Within this program, teachercandidates take the regular Teacher Educa-tion program with a special emphasis on “So-cial–Emotional Learning (SEL)”. Active learn-ing approaches to and teaching practices forcreating safe, caring, and participatory class-room and school environments are empha-sized as foundational for the promotion ofSEL. Throughout all of their coursework,teacher candidates learn about current re-search and theory on SEL and are providedwith opportunities to learn how to integrateSEL programs and practices across a varietyof curricular areas. Practicum placements


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Throughout all of their coursework, teacher candidateslearn about current research and theory on SEL and areprovided with opportunities to learn how to integrate SELprograms and practices across a variety of curricularareas. Practicum placements provide opportunities forteacher candidates to integrate SEL programs andpractices into the classroom and curriculum.

provide opportunities for teacher candidatesto integrate SEL programs and practices intothe classroom and curriculum.

At the graduate level, UBC offers a uniquepracticum course in SEL for Masters anddoctoral level students, many of whom areexperienced teachers pursuing advanced ed-ucation. According to the course syllabus, “students learn about the nature of social-emotional development in education, men-tal health, and risk prevention; receivetraining in some of the latest techniques forenhancing social-emotional growth fromtrainers in the field as well as faculty mem-bers; understand the importance of evi-dence-based practice and gain knowledgeand experience in evaluating the effective-ness of SEL programs; and work directlywith children and youth in existing pro-grams in community, classroom, and schoolcontexts as part of their field placement un-der the supervision of faculty and ourpracticum facilitator/school liaison”

The SEL programs in which students re-ceive training in this practicum course in-clude Second Step, SafeTeen, Focus on Bully-ing, Leave Out Violence, MindUp and Roots ofEmpathy. They also learn about the work ofattachment and care theorists (e.g., Noddings,2005) for creating caring classroom andschool environments. Hence, as in the UBCteacher education program, students are ex-posed to established programs with prede-termined curricula, evidence-based practice,and program evaluation, all of which are con-sistent with the cognitive-behavioural ap-proach to SEE, as well as to ideals and prac-tices aligned with the relational approach.

Among the various module options cur-rently available to student teachers at SimonFraser University (SFU) is the “LifeWork”module that has a specific focus on Social Jus-tice, Social Responsibility and Social andEmotional Education. A previously availablemodule with a similar focus was called “Heart

and Mind”. While student teachers are intro-duced to cognitive-behavioural SEE programsin these modules, the primary orientation ofthe modules stems from care theory and a re-lational approach. Moreover, while SEE is aspecific focus of only some modules, the en-tire teacher education program at SFU(known as the Professional DevelopmentProgram or PDP) is premised on its impor-tance. This can be clearly seen in the Pro-gram’s 12 goals for student teachers, whichare printed below with references relevant toSEE highlighted.

12 Goals of the Professional DevelopmentProgram (Teacher Education) at SFU 1. The development of a clear, coherent and

justified view of education that enablesone to: understand the place of educa-tion in an open, pluralistic and caringsociety; determine the content, methodsand institutional arrangements that arerelevant, worthwhile and appropriate forthe education of children; have a personalvision of what one can achieve as an ed-ucator; understand how schooling andother institutions influence students.

2. The development of a clear commitmentto: respect students as persons withvaried interests, backgrounds, pointsof view, plans, goals and aspirations;care about students and their individualdevelopment, uphold standards of ex-cellence inherent in various forms of in-quiry; uphold the principles that oughtto govern a civilized, democratic andpluralistic community; establish andmaintain ethical working relationshipswith all members of the educationalcommunity.

3. The development of clear commitment tolifelong learning manifest in: openness toalternatives and possibilities; reflectivepractice; engagement in dialogue and col-laboration with colleagues, students, par-ents and others in the educational com-munity; ability to form and reform ideas,


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methods, techniques; setting an exampleto students; stimulating students to becontinuous learners.

4. The development of ability to create op-portunities for learning that are: engag-ing and imaginative; significant and rel-evant to pupils’ educational development;intellectually challenging; sensitive to is-sues of social equity and cultural diver-sity; appropriate to building habits ofsound thinking; responsive to students’individual learning needs; reflective ofgrowing understanding of what goes onin the classroom; consonant with learn-ing goals.

5. The development of ability to put educa-tionally sound curriculum ideas intopractice in well-organized ways.

6. The development of knowledge about:teaching subjects; how individuals andgroups of students learn; evaluation prac-tices.

7. The development of ability to be athoughtful and sensitive observer ofwhat goes on in the classroom.

8. The development of ability to use evalu-ation and assessment practices that: useevaluative data as a means of furtheringstudent learning; appreciate the subjec-tivity of evaluation; make use of variedpractices that are congruent with learn-ing goals; respect the dignity of eachlearner; show understanding of themoral implications of evaluation andassessment practices; promote self as-sessment.

9. The development of ability to use class-room interactions that: show caringand respect for every student; encour-age learners to clarify and examine theirideas; are authentic, unpretentious andhonest; communicate openness, a tol-erance for uncertainty, and appreciationof the spirit of inquiry.

10. The development of appreciation forand skill in organizing harmoniousworking groups, and interpersonally

sound working relationships amongstudents.

11. The development of ability to observe,understand and respond respectfully tostudents with different learning stylesand learning difficulties.

12. The development of appreciation for andability to be flexible about curriculum —recreating, re-inventing, re-constituting,and discarding practices that have beenobserved, upon reflection, to be inappro-priate to individual and group learningneeds.

With these goals in mind, the developmentof a caring community is an aim of all PDPmodules regardless of how the module isnamed and its explicit emphasis. Studentteachers in all modules are exposed to caretheory and faculty members who work withstudent teachers in the PDP enact this ap-proach in their own practice. In the words ofone SFU Education professor, “we try to liveout certain values/principles that we es-pouse....and this informal curriculum is also apowerful teacher”.

Another teacher educator at SFU stated,

“(SEE) is an area that (my teaching part-ner) and I are both passionate about.From my perspective, ever so brieflyhere, we are talking about a way of be-ing in the classroom. This starts withhelping student teachers to learn aboutwho they are, and think about how tobring this forward in a classroom in away that fosters and promotes the samewith their students. It’s also about mod-eling and explicitly teaching every dayon campus. So, if we want student teach-ers to community build in classrooms,we have to explicitly do this with them.If we want student teachers to addressSocial Emotional needs, then we have togive them opportunities to delve furtherinto their understanding of themselves”.


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The inclusion of SEE in the teacher educa-tion curriculum at universities in Canada is acrucial component to ensuring that Ministryvisions such as those found in the BritishColumbia Social Responsibility Frameworkand the Ontario Finding Common Groundcharacter development initiative are success-fully enacted in schools. Currently, across thecountry a wide variety of SEE programs arebeing offered in schools. In some instancesthese offerings are part of a cohesiveProvince-, school district-, or school-wideSEE plan; in other instances they are initiatedby an individual teacher and may comprise astand-alone curriculum or a more integratedrelational approach.

SEE Programs in SchoolsThere is a plethora of SEE programs availableto schools in Canada, many of which origi-nated in the United States. Examples ofAmerican programs can be found at the Col-laborative for Academic, Social, and Emo-tional Learning (CASEL) website(http://www.casel.org/programs/index.php) and include character education curriculasuch as Lion’s Quest, violence prevention pro-grams such as PATHS and Second Step, andcommunity building programs such asTRIBES. Examples of SEE programs devel-oped in Canada include: SAFETEEN, a violenceprevention program focused on empoweringteens (see www.safeteen.ca), Leave Out Vio-

lence (LOVE; see www.leaveoutviolence.org),and Real Restitution, a program focused onsupporting students’ development of self-dis-cipline and positive self and other orienta-tions (see www.realrestitution.com). All theseSEE programs and many others are regularlyput into practice in schools across Canada.

Here I have chosen to highlight two SEEprograms. The first is an initiative of theBritish Columbia Ministry of Education calledFocus on Bullying: A Prevention Program for El-ementary School Communities and the secondis a private sector initiative called Roots ofEmpathy. Focus on Bullying, to the best of myknowledge, has not been formally evaluated. Itis included here as an example of a programprovided by the BC Ministry of Education (seehttp://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/sco/re-sources.htm for other Ministry resources rel-evant to SEE) and as such, is universally avail-able to (but not required in) elementaryschools in British Columbia and can be seen aspart of the province-wide Social Responsibil-ity initiative. Roots of Empathy is an award-winning program, developed in Canada, whichhas been widely implemented in schoolsacross the country, and has an evidence basewith several well-designed evaluation studiesdemonstrating its effectiveness.

Focus on Bullying. Focus on Bullying: A Prevention Program forElementary School Communities is based on


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The inclusion of SEE in the teacher education curriculumat universities in Canada is a crucial component toensuring that Ministry visions such as those found in theBritish Columbia Social Responsibility Framework and theOntario Finding Common Ground character developmentinitiative are successfully enacted in schools

a project, originally undertaken by BC SchoolDistrict No. 39 (Vancouver), to develop acomprehensive strategy to engage elementaryschool communities in addressing bullyingbehaviour. A group of Vancouver School Dis-trict staff began by examining current re-search on bullying with the intent of devel-oping a series of lesson plans to complementSecond Step: A Violence Prevention Program,a cognitive-behavioural SEE program thatwas being widely used in the school district atthe time. As these teachers became familiarwith the research on bullying it became ap-parent to them that classroom lessons alonewould not be sufficient to address the issue.Specifically, Canadian research on bullying(e.g., Craig & Pepler, 2007; Craig, Pepler, &Blais, 2007) has led to an awareness of bul-lying as a problem that resides not only in in-dividuals (i.e., the bully or the victim) butalso in the broader social milieu that supportsand perpetuates bullying through such thingsas the active and passive encouragement of

peers, adults’ attitudes reflecting the beliefthat it is a “normal” part of childhood, adults’responses to bullying that are punitive andmodel power imbalances, and societal viewsand practices that marginalize certain groups(e.g., those that are not heterosexual; seeWalton, 2004). A comprehensive approach,in which all members of the school commu-nity contributed to the development of aschool-wide bullying-prevention plan, wasstrongly indicated and this became the “focus”of Focus on Bullying. During the develop-mental years of the program, practitionershoned intervention strategies, resources, and

training materials through “action research”in nine school sites, conducted a variety of fo-cus-testing activities, and delivered manyworkshops throughout Vancouver’s large ur-ban community. When the British Columbiagovernment’s Safe Schools Initiative was in-troduced in 1997, the program was adaptedfor broader application to elementary schoolsacross the province.

The BC Ministry of Education offers thefollowing rationale for creating a province-wide bullying prevention program.

Incidents of bullying are frequent oc-currences for many children at schooland in the community. Children strugglewith name-calling, with being pickedupon, and with exclusion from their peergroup. Frequently, children who are bul-lied do not know how to respond to thisaggressive behaviour. Bullied childrenfear coming to school, and they believe

school to be an unsafe and distressingplace. Bullying in schools is a seriousproblem for a critical minority of chil-dren. It has a detrimental impact on theoverall school climate and, particularly,on the right of students to learn in a safeenvironment.

Focus on Bullying is intended to promotean approach in which all members of theschool community contribute to the develop-ment of a school-wide bullying preventionplan. It is primarily addressed to educatorswho want to expand their efforts to create


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Bullying [is] a problem that resides not only in individuals(i.e., the bully or the victim) but also in the broader socialmilieu that supports and perpetuates bullying

conditions through which children respectand support one another. The resource doc-ument contains material for teachers, schooladministrators, and support staff includinginformation about the nature of bullying andthe common myths and stereotypes associ-ated with it, recommendations for the col-laboration of parents, teachers, students, andcommunity members working together todevelop a plan for bullying-free school com-munities, practical ideas and strategies forresponding to students who bully and havebeen bullied, and a series of skill-building les-son plans designed to actively engage studentsin discussions about bullying and in devisingsolutions to stop bullying when it occurs in el-ementary schools. To provide the reader witha better a sense of the program, below I de-scribe one sample lesson aimed at kinder-garten children with the goal of teachingthem how to stop bullying behaviour atschool. For more information, the reader canaccess the complete resource atwww.bced.gov.bc.ca/sco/resourcedocs/bul-lying.pdf.

Kindergarten lesson: Students Can HelpStop Bullying BehaviourAccording to the Focus on Bullying resourcedocument, the purpose of this lesson is to en-courage in children a sense of shared re-sponsibility for making sure that no one atschool is bullied. Teachers are instructed tochoose and preview ahead of time an ageappropriate children’s story with a bullyingtheme. Several suggestions are provided forteachers to consider including Chrysanthe-mum by Kevin Henkes, Just a Daydream byMercer Mayer, and King of the Playground byPhyllis Reynolds Naylor.

The following Lesson Script for teachers isprovided:

Everyone wants our school to be a safeand happy place where students can learn,have fun and do their best. That’s why we

want to make sure that there is no more bul-lying at our school. All of us can help. You canhelp! Let’s talk about ways we can each helpto stop bullying behaviour.

I’m going to read you a story about some-one who was bullied. As you listen to thestory, imagine that you are in the story andyou are watching what happens. I will stopand ask what you could do to stop the bully-ing that happens in the story.

• Read the literature selection aloud to thestudents. Each time there is a situation inwhich bullying happens, stop and askstudents to think of things they could door say to stop the bullying.

If you were in this story with (name ofcharacter) what are some things you could doto help stop the bullying behaviour in thisstory? What could you say? What would you do?

• Ask several students for examples, andto role play as though they were in thestory.

Now think about the adults in the story.What could they do to stop the bullying orteasing?

• Seek to see that students understand theschool rules and consequences.

• At a suitable point in the story, or at theend, stop and reflect with the students onways of supporting the child who wasbullied in the story. Ask these questions:

How do you think the child who was bulliedis feeling?

If you had been in the story, what are somethings that you could do to help that child tofeel better? Show me or act out what youcould do to help.


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What would you say to the child who wasbullied if you were a teacher or the supervi-sion aide? What would be some good ideas forthe grown-ups to say or do to help someonewho has been bullied?

• Seek examples of caring adult behaviourand adults enforcing the rules.

The recommended assessment strategy toaccompany this lesson is to ask students tomake up their own story about someone whois bullied and what happened to help stop thebullying behaviour. Teachers are instructed tolook for evidence in the stories that studentscan identify appropriate strategies for dealingwith bullying.

Roots of EmpathyThe Roots of Empathy (ROE) program wasdesigned and developed in Canada as a pri-mary prevention social and emotional pro-gram intended to promote children’s emo-tional and social understanding. According tothe program website (http://www.root-sofempathy.org/) ROE was first offered in1996 as a pilot program in the Toronto Boardof Education (Ontario). In 2000, ROE ex-panded beyond Ontario and by the 2005-06school year, was running in nine provinces. Inthe 2009-10 school year over 46,575 Cana-dian children participated across the country.The program is offered in English, French andFrench Immersion classrooms. ROE has alsobeen delivered to more than 3,000 Indigenouschildren across Canada, including 80 pro-grams in on-reserve communities. The pro-gram is aimed at elementary school childrenfrom Kindergarten to Grade 8, and uses aspecialized curriculum designed for children at4 levels – Kindergarten (age 5), Grades 1-3(ages 6 to 8), Grades 4-6 (ages 9 to 12), andGrades 7-8 (ages 13 and 14).

Although ROE is delivered in school class-rooms during regular school hours, a trainedand certified ROE Instructor, rather than the

classroom teacher, delivers all aspects of thelessons that take place in 27 sessions over theschool year. The ROE Instructor works closelywith a participating volunteer family – a par-ent and an infant who are the cornerstone ofthe program. This infant and parent join theROE Instructor in the classroom for nine ofthe 27 visits (about every three weeks) forabout 30 minutes each time.

There are three elements to the Roots ofEmpathy program: a one-time pre-programvisit by the ROE Instructor to the home of theparticipating parent and infant, monthlyclassroom family visits from the parent andinfant (accompanied by the ROE Instructor),and additional bimonthly classroom visits bythe ROE Instructor.

The pre-program home visitIn early September at the beginning of theschool year, the Roots of Empathy instructoridentifies a local parent with an infant be-tween the ages of 2 and 4 months. The ideabehind having such a young infant is to showstudents the enormous milestones achievedin the first year of life. A key feature of theROE program is to celebrate the diversity ofthe community. Parent-infant dyads comefrom all cultures and socioeconomic levels.The effort to include a diverse range of parentsis based on the desire to teach children thatloving parent-infant relationships transcendlanguage and financial barriers. Father-infantteams are also sought to show how fathers canbe nurturing parents. About one-third of vis-iting parents are fathers. The Roots of Empa-thy instructor meets with the parent and infantin their home and prepares the parent for theclassroom visits by ensuring that the parentunderstands the developmental informationthat will be taught. The instructor takes pic-tures of the baby in his or her home to use asan introduction to the students before the firstvisit to the classroom in late September. Theparent and instructor also discuss the baby’smost recent developments.


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Monthly classroom family visitsThe monthly family visits to the classroomare scripted in the sense that a lesson plan isprepared to match the age of the baby andthe age of the students. For example, if thebaby is 9 months old, milestones typical ofthat stage are taught. Students learn aboutthe unique temperament of ‘their’ baby inaddition to the development and behaviourexpected for the age. Even though there is alesson plan with specific teaching topics foreach month, the spontaneous nature of thebaby’s interactions largely direct the visit.The parent and ROE instructor guide the stu-dents’ observations of what the baby is do-ing and explore what the baby is feeling andwhy. This enables the ROE instructor to dis-cuss the baby’s temperament with the parentin front of the students as they observe howthe parent responds to the baby’s cues. TheROE instructor also guides the children’s ob-servations about the baby’s drive to exploreor to practice a new skill he or she is per-fecting, such as rolling over or pulling tostand up. Each stage of development is dis-cussed along with the new safety concernsthat accompany it.

Bimonthly classroom visitsThe ROE instructor visits the class twice amonth without the infant and parent present.

The lesson plans for these class visits em-phasize the shared observations that tookplace during the family visit. During theseclasses, the substantive work of teaching em-pathy takes place. The ROE instructor revis-its the interactions of the family visit anddraws comments from students. If the babycried during the visit, for example, the In-structor might ask the students to try to re-member why the baby cried and how theparent comforted the child. This shared ex-perience is then made relevant to the stu-dents’ own lives. The Roots of Empathy in-structor is attentive to all students’ comments.She validates their opinions and attempts tofoster a safe environment for sharing feel-ings. Learning to talk about emotions is a fo-cus of every class visit. Drama, visual arts, po-etry, journal writing, music, research,problem-solving and mathematics are used tolink the messages of the Roots of Empathyclass to the curriculum. Examples of studentactivities include creating presents for theirbabies, making class books for which eachstudent contributes a page, and making story-books that include photos of the children andthe infant and text composed by the students.

The primary goal of all the program’s ac-tivities is to enhance children’s empathy; thatis, children’s understanding of their own feel-


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The primary goal of all the [Roots of Empathy] program’sactivities is to enhance children’s empathy; that is,children’s understanding of their own feelings and thefeelings of others. Theoretically, the presence of empathyis believed to reduce the likelihood of engaging in waysthat are negative or hurtful to others and to promote pro-social behaviour and responsible citizenship, a positionthat is supported by research...

ings and the feelings of others. Theoretically,the presence of empathy is believed to reducethe likelihood of engaging in ways that arenegative or hurtful to others and to promotepro-social behaviour and responsible citi-zenship, a position that is supported by re-search (e.g., Caravita, Di Blasio, & Salmivalli,2009; Gini, Albiero, Benelli, & Altoè, 2007;Miller & Eisenberg, 1988). The following an-ecdote, provided by Mary Gordon, the devel-oper of Roots of Empathy, demonstrates thisrelationship.

“There was a boy in Grade 8 at one ofour most impoverished inner-cityschools. He really didn’t have many so-cial skills, was very gruff in his presen-tation, and had rather poor languageskills. He was labelled as ‘a difficultchild.’ After the third baby visit that year,just as the mother and infant were leav-ing, he approached them and said, ‘I’vebrought this teddy bear for the baby.’This is a child of a single mother living ongovernment support in subsidized hous-ing. The boy had saved all of the changethat he was given and gone out and pur-chased a toy for the baby.Well, the mother cried on the spot. Thischild previously hadn’t had a forum todisplay who he was. He had been la-belled as a troublemaker and hadplayed the role. Here was a chance forhim to show that he is an empathetic hu-man being.” (Caledon Institute of SocialPolicy, 1999).

To date there have been seven Canadianresearch studies examining the efficacy of

the ROE program (Schonert-Reichl & Scott,2009). Four of these studies, summarized inTable 2, were conducted in British Columbiaby Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl and her col-league Dr. Clyde Hertzman, in collaborationwith others at the University of British Co-lumbia.

In each study, a battery of measures as-sessing children’s social and emotional com-petence (e.g., self-reports of perspective-tak-ing, teacher and peer reports of pro-socialand aggressive behaviours) was administeredbefore and after students had participated inthe ROE program. With the exception of therandomized controlled trial, in all studiescomparison classrooms were chosen tomatch the ROE program classrooms as closelyas possible with respect to grade, gender, andrace/ethnicity composition. In the random-ized controlled trial, which is considered to bethe “gold standard” in evaluation design, ran-domization took place at the building level,meaning that no intervention or programclassrooms were in the same school. Theneighborhoods in which the schools were lo-cated were considered to be comparable.

Schonert-Reichl and Scott (2009) high-light a number of statistically significant find-ings (summarized below) that were consis-tent across the four evaluation studies.

1. Whereas ROE children decreased on allmeasures of aggression from pretest topost-test, comparison children increasedon aggression.

2. Scores for ROE participants were moreimproved at post-test than were scores


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Table 2: Overview of Research Studies Conducted in British Columbia (2000-2007)

Study Year Age group NNational Evaluation 2001 – 2002 Grades 4 – 7 585Rural/urban Evaluation 2002 – 2003 Grades 4 – 7 419Randomized Controlled Trial 2003 – 2004 Grades 4 – 7 374Longitudinal follow-up 2004 – 2007 Grades 3 – 7 374

for comparison children on pro-socialbehaviours (e.g., helping, sharing, coop-erating), pro-social characteristics (e.g.,kindness) and peer acceptance.

3. Scores for ROE participants were moreimproved at post-test than were scoresfor comparison children on perspective-taking and emotion understanding.

4. ROE participants, in contrast to compar-ison children, were more likely to attrib-ute infant crying to an emotional stateand suggest emotional care strategies(e.g., sing a lullaby, play with him, rockhim to sleep) rather than physical carestrategies (e.g., change the diaper, givethe baby a bottle) to deal with crying,

5. Scores for ROE participants were moreimproved at post-test than were scoresfor comparison children on perceptionsof classroom supportiveness.

Another evaluation of the ROE programwas conducted in the province of Manitoba.As described by Schonert-Reichl and Scott(2009), in this randomized controlled trial,beginning in the 2002-2003 school year,eight school divisions, stratified into threegrade levels (kindergarten (age 5), grade 4(age 9), grade 8 (age 13), were randomly as-signed to either a program group that re-ceived Roots of Empathy or a wait list controlgroup. At the beginning of the school year,researchers pre-tested both groups on threechild behaviour outcomes (physical aggres-sion, indirect aggression, and pro-social be-haviour) as rated by teachers and students.Students in the control group participatedonly in data collection. Using the same threemeasures, post-test data were collected forboth groups at the end of the year and threetimes annually thereafter. School divisionsin the wait-list control group received theprogram in the subsequent school year andwere compared to the control group fromthe 2002- 2003 cohort, thus serving as areplication sample.

For boys and girls in all grade levels andboth cohorts, participation in the ROE pro-gram had statistically significant and repli-cated beneficial effects on all three teacher-rated child-behaviour outcomes at post-test.In both cohorts, these beneficial outcomeswere maintained or continued to improveacross the three years following completion ofthe ROE program.

Finally, two outcome evaluations of theROE program were also undertaken in theprovince of Alberta during the 2006-2007school year, both of which yielded resultsconsistent with those obtained in the BC andManitoba studies. Schonert-Reichl and Scott(2009) report that Alberta children who ex-perienced the ROE program, compared tothose who did not, displayed positive changesin social and emotional understanding, en-hanced self-efficacy about parenting, and re-ductions in aggressive behaviours.

Whytecliff Education CentreWhile Focus on Bullying and Roots of Empa-thy are most consistent with the cognitive-be-havioural approach to SEE, programming atthe Whytecliff Education Centre provides anexample of the relational approach. Whyte-cliff is a small school (55–60 students) lo-cated in a suburb of the city of Vancouver inBritish Columbia that was established to meetthe multiple needs of a highly vulnerablepopulation of youth (Cassidy & Bates, 2005).Take for example, sixteen-year-old student,Anita (not her real name), whose story wasreported in a local newspaper (BurnabyNOW). Anita grew up in what she calls the “slums.” Her mother abused alcohol and drugsand by the time Anita reached secondaryschool, as she put it, “I was miserable. I wasemotionally disturbed and I really, reallyhated the fact I was going into a school withso many people.” The fact that some of herteachers didn’t seem to care bothered hermore. Frustrated, Anita burned down aschool portable (outbuilding), which also


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functioned as an activity centre. “That was myonly sanctuary,” she says. “The only reason Iburned it down was because I hated theschool, I hated the teachers and I didn’t knowhow else to show it.” She was expelled fromschool and arrested. Her probation officerrecommended she attend Whytecliff and, inher words, “I’ve been happy and healthy eversince.” Her grades have improved and she isnow anticipating high school graduation.

Social and emotional well-being was a sig-nificant focus of the [Whytecliff EducationCentre] but rather than implementing pre-determined programs to address the students’social and emotional needs, the school oper-ated according to a collaboratively con-structed ethic of care, which guided everyaspect of its operation.

Stories like Anita’s caught the attention ofWanda Cassidy, Associate Professor of Edu-cation and Director of the Centre for Educa-tion, Law and Society at Simon Fraser Uni-versity, who led a research study of the school.As described by Cassidy and Bates (2005), atthe time of their study, most students atWhytecliff were 14 to 17 years of age, manyhad diagnosed learning difficulties, some hadmental health issues, most struggled with sub-stance abuse, and the Ministry of Education

had labeled all as having a “severe behaviordisorder”. Social and emotional well-beingwas a significant focus of the school but ratherthan implementing pre-determined programsto address the students’ social and emotionalneeds, the school operated according to a col-laboratively constructed ethic of care, whichguided every aspect of its operation. In theirstudy of this school, Cassidy and Bates (2005)sought to document administrators’ andteachers’ conceptions of care and how carewas enacted in the school. As well, they askedstudents how they described care, whetherthey felt cared for, and the impact the schoolhad on their lives.

Results of the investigation revealed com-monalities and differences in perceptions ofcaring and its enactment across teachers, ad-ministrators, and students. At the core of allthree groups’ perceptions of caring was theimportance of building respectful, responsive,and supportive relationships and, throughthese relationships, meeting the needs of chil-dren in flexible and insightful ways. All threegroups compared the school to a home orfamily, where the young and vulnerable feltsafe and were nurtured and where the adultsworked in partnership to provide positiveemotional, social, and academic growth op-portunities for each young person.


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Staff members sought to model and practice care witheach other and with students, to make care central to theirdialogue, and to confirm caring practices when they wereobserved in others. Staff took time to listen to students, didnot overreact when students’ behavior was challenging,and worked toward the students’ well�being, believing thatthese practices would have a powerful positive influenceon the young people in their charge

Teachers and administrators were found toperceive and enact caring at the school inmanners that were consistent with the liter-ature (e.g., Beck, 1991; Noddings, 1992,2002; Prillamen & Eaker, 1994; Rauner,2000; Witherell, 1991). Caring was seen asembedded in relationships, as needing to berecognized by the receivers of care, as indi-vidually focused, and as being responsive tostudents’ needs as whole beings. Staff mem-bers sought to model and practice care witheach other and with students, to make carecentral to their dialogue, and to confirm car-ing practices when they were observed inothers. Staff took time to listen to students,did not overreact when students’ behaviorwas challenging, and worked toward the stu-dents’ well�being, believing that these prac-tices would have a powerful positive influenceon the young people in their charge.

Cassidy and Bates (2005) noted the staffmembers’ genuine affection and high regardfor the students. Despite the fact that the stu-dents had been involved in criminal behav-iour and had come to the school with files la-beling them as highly problematic, the staffheld them in high esteem, viewing them as“survivors” with whom they were privilegedto spend time. Staff sought to develop stu-dents’ talents and interests, focusing on thepositives in their lives rather than the nega-tives, gave students a voice in decision mak-ing about curriculum, expanded the curricu-lum beyond the classroom into thecommunity, worked with students’ familiesand their peers, and, as such, provided stu-dents with a positive and supportive learningenvironment that was very different fromthe marginalization they experienced in pre-vious schools and in the wider society.

According to Rauner (2000) the approachtaken by staff at Whytecliff should be evalu-ated not in terms of particular learning out-comes but rather according to whether it has“succeeded in creating caring relationships

between young people and positive role mod-els” (Rauner, 2000, p. 89). According to Cas-sidy and Bates (2005), students at Whytecliffspoke passionately and unreservedly of thecare they received from teachers and ad-ministrators, and of the positive differencecaring made in their own development,schoolwork, and overall well�being. The re-searchers were surprised by the strength ofthe positive feelings that each student hadfor the staff and the school. Not one staffperson was singled-out by a student as beinga problem, even though the researchers gavethe students ample opportunity to be criticaland students were assured their answerswould remain anonymous.

The staff’s high regard for each studentand absence of negative judgment was veryapparent to students. Accustomed to beingtreated as “problems” by teachers, studentswere encouraged by the staff’s different viewof them at this school. One student summedup this perspective when he talked abouthow he was treated by the principal: “Hetreats me, he treats us like human beings, in-stead of just a place where he works.” Severalstudents indicated that they had never beforefelt cared for by a teacher or a school prin-cipal, and some not even by their parents.Additional indices of the success of theWhytecliff’s program noted by the re-searchers were the school’s high attendancerate and the high rate of course completion(Ministry of Education for British Columbia,2002), and that it was identified in a nationalstudy as an exemplary intervention programfor at�risk youth (Shariff et al., 2000).

Princess Alexandra SchoolAnother example of a relationally focusedapproach that specifically accounts for theconcerns and aspirations of Indigenous com-munities is that found at Princess AlexandraSchool. Princess Alexandra School is locatedin a low-income, inner city neighborhood inSaskatoon, the capital city of the province of


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Saskatchewan. The school is located half ablock from the railroad tracks and shares aparking lot with a bingo hall. PrincessAlexandra has an enrollment of 200 - 250students, who are primarily of Indigenousancestry, from prekindergarten (age 4years) to grade eight (age 13 years). It is acommunity school with high transience anda high level of poverty.

Consistent with the views expressed by In-digenous participants in the research of Ball

and Le Mare (in press), building trust and re-lationships with the community is at the fore-front of efforts at this school to support the so-cial and emotional and academic well-being ofstudents. At this school, the focus is on creat-ing conditions where children and families feelwelcome and cared for, and respect and rela-tionships are at the heart of everything they do.As is outlined on the school website:When you walk through the doors of our

school, expect to be warmly greeted by staffmembers, other parents, and students. Wepride ourselves on creating a warm and car-ing environment for our students, parents,and any guests that enter our school. It isthrough these types of actions that we buildstrong relationships with our families so thatour students can thrive in an optimal learn-ing environment. You will also notice stu-dents’ family photos, as well as posters Ho-

nouring Our People, when you walk into ourschool. We are immensely proud of our peo-ple and our community. We seize every op-portunity we can to honour the wonderfulwork of our school community.(http://www.spsd.sk.ca/schoolsPro-grams/elementaryschools/princes-sAlexandra/about.html)

Building trust and relationship with thecommunity often involves Indigenous cul-tural activities – hosting feasts and powwows,

including pipe ceremonies and Native drum-ming, teaching hoop and jingle dancing, andserving soup and bannock at school events.These activities demonstrate an acceptanceand honouring of the identity of a majority ofthe individuals within the school community.They also support families in learning aboutand strengthening their own cultural tradi-tions and practices, something that partici-pants in Ball and Le Mare’s (in press) re-search also valued in schools.

The Princess Alexandra School Commu-nity shares four main beliefs - developed as aresult of a consultative and collaborativeprocess with students, staff, parents, and com-munity members. These beliefs are: Safety,Respect, Self-Esteem, and Connectedness. Re-search shows that the evaluation standard setby Rauner (2000), stating that the success of


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Consistent with the views expressed by Indigenousparticipants in the research of Ball and Le Mare (in press),building trust and relationships with the community is atthe forefront of efforts at [the Princess Alexandra] schoolto support the social and emotional and academic well-being of students

such an approach is demonstrated by the re-lationships that develop among staff, students,and families, has been met. Specifically, Pushorand Ruitenberg (2005) spent a considerabletime in the school observing and talking tomembers of the school community. The resultsof their research revealed several themes. Theresearchers found that the staff at PrincessAlexandra consciously worked to live out theirpositive assumptions about parents, and theirbeliefs about the engagement of parents withintheir school, in practice. They found that hos-pitality at Princess Alexandra was not aboutteachers and administrators inviting people totheir place, but rather, was about creating aplace that was owned as much by students,parents, and other community members as itwas by the school staff. Finally, they observedand heard about practices at the school thatmoved “away from the institutionalized, ritual-istic, and often public interactions betweenteachers and parents typical of most schoollandscapes to an emphasis on building trustand relationships in ways which are much lessformal and more intimate” (p. i).

Each of these themes is illustrated in theschool principal’s decision to include parentsand senior students in staff meetings andProfessional Development opportunities atPrincess Alexandra, activities that are typi-cally reserved for teachers and administratorsonly. When asked about this decision, theprincipal explained:

A good friend of mine, who is also aprincipal, once said to me, “Well, parentscannot take part in decisions becauseparents don’t have the same informationwe do.” And I thought, well, that makessense, and then I thought, that’s simple.We have to make sure the parents havethe same information as us. So I said tothe staff [at Princess] this is why I wouldlike parents to participate in staff meet-ings, this is why I would like parents tocome to Professional Development. It’s

because then they will have the infor-mation and then they can decide with usabout things. And I said, “I’m not going toforce this.” And we revisited it a coupleof times and, I think, in December theysaid to me, “Okay, we will try it once, justonce, and then we’ll see.” (Pushor &Ruitenberg, 2005, p.32)

Interestingly, the first time parents wereinvited to an event that had previously beenthe exclusive domain of teachers it was to aProfessional Development workshop on ananti-bullying program that was being con-sidered for implementation at the school. Asdescribed by the principal:

And so it was something like December27th, 2000, and it was professional de-velopment around bully-proofing theschool and it was one of those commer-cial programs. …And I was not eventhere. …What happened was the viceprincipal presented the stuff and all thatand half the staff said, “Yeah, I think thatwould be good” and half the staff said, “Idon’t know.” But they asked the parentsand the parents said, “This is not cultur-ally affirming who we are; this isn’t ap-propriate.” And they asked the kids andthe kids said, “Well, I don’t want to walkaround with a little button that says I’ma goody two-shoes. This is offensive forme to be treated that way.” This was aFriday and I got home and I got phonecalls from several persons saying, “Oh,you should have been there because theparents had a voice today and they saidno to this [program]. This is terrible. Ifyou had been there you could havetalked them into it.” And I said, “My in-tent would not have been to try to talkthem into it; that’s why we had the par-ents there – to listen to them.” (Pushor& Ruitenberg, 2005, p.32)

This example illustrates not only the re-


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spect accorded to parents at this school,which is consistent with the school’s rela-tionally focused efforts, but more specificallyhow parents and students responded to aparticular SEE initiative that they viewed asculturally inappropriate and offensive. Inkeeping with the approach adopted by thisschool, these views were honoured and otherresources for SEE continued to be explored.The principal explained what happened next.

The interesting thing is that a monthlater we offered another workshop. Thistime it was a Saturday/Sunday and itwas optional for the staff and it was op-tional for parents. We had most of thestaff there and we had about ten, twelveparents and we had an elder, Mrs. KatiePoundmaker. … The workshop was calledRestitution and you could tell the parentsseemed to be comfortable with it; lots ofpeople on the staff were comfortable.But everybody was sort of holding theirbreath. … And then at lunchtime on Sun-day I turned to Katie and said, “Well, isthis appropriate for us to have?” Andher answer to us was, “These are ourteachings that we lost because of resi-dential schools.” So there was a sigh of

relief because the parents loved it andpeople were coming to me on Saturdayand Sunday morning at the coffee breaksaying, “I like this stuff here. Are we go-ing to do this?” And I said, “I’m not goingto make that decision. It’s not going to be(me) saying yes we’re going to do this orno we’re not going to do this.” So we didthis workshop and the elder said yesand the parents said yes, let’s try this. Sowe came back to the staff, and I said tothe staff, “Some of us are going to beworking with the kids differently, butwe’re not going to make everybody workthe same way. If you don’t want to dothis stuff, that’s fine. …We would like peo-ple to respect the fact that we are usingthis approach to work with kids, [and wewill]respect that [others]are also usingtheir own approach and respect the waythey’re doing things. (Pushor & Ruiten-berg, 2005, p. 33)

In creating a place where Indigenous cul-ture is honoured, where families are wel-comed, and where relationships are gen-uinely caring, Princess Alexandra School hascreated the conditions articulated by Indige-nous community members (Ball & Le Mare,


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The researchers found that the staff at Princess Alexandraconsciously worked to live out their positive assumptionsabout parents, and their beliefs about the engagement ofparents within their school, in practice. They found thathospitality at Princess Alexandra was not about teachersand administrators inviting people to their place, butrather, was about creating a place that was owned asmuch by students, parents, and other communitymembers as it was by the school staff

in press) that are needed to allow the socialand emotional and academic well-being ofIndigenous children to flourish. Indeed, datareported in an overview of research on theRestitution approach adopted at PrincessAlexandra (see http://www.realrestitu-tion.com/Statistics_and_Surveys_on_Resti-tution.pdf), show that discipline incidents atPrincess Alexandra dropped from 37 inci-dents per day to less than two incidents perday after this culturally appropriate methodwas introduced. Moreover, as part of thebroader emphasis on positive relationshipsand respect, during the period of 1999 to2003, the percentage of students in grade 4(age 9 years) performing at the 50th per-centile or higher on the Canadian Achieve-ment Test jumped from 7% to 55%. By 2003,ninety-eight percent of the parents in thecommunity were involved with the school.With these successes, Princess Alexandra re-ceived a fifteen thousand dollar grant fromthe Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation tostudy the relationship between Restitutionand Aboriginal child rearing practices andwas recognized as one of twelve outstandingAboriginal schools in Canada.

ConclusionsSocial and Emotional Education is widely val-ued in Canada. Provincial and Territorial gov-ernments have set the stage for its wide-spread implementation by acknowledging thesocial and emotional side of education and itsimportance in the vision and mission state-ments of their Ministries/Departments ofEducation. A few provinces, notably BritishColumbia and Ontario, have taken the lead byexplicitly ascribing SEE importance equal tothat of academic education, and developingcomprehensive statements and resource doc-uments to support that step. This is somethingthat needs to occur in all Provinces and Ter-ritories across the country. To support andencourage such initiatives, Faculties of Edu-cation within Canadian universities must in-clude SEE as a central component of the cur-

riculum in teacher education programs, as ishappening in British Columbia.

A distinction was made here among cog-nitive-behavioural, relational and Indigenousapproaches to SEE, all of which have contri-butions to make in supporting the social andemotional well-being of Canadian students.Cognitive-behavioural approaches will nodoubt have greater impact when they are de-livered in an environment that adheres tothe relational approach and within the con-text of a school-wide (if not Province wide)initiative.

Given the diversity of Canadian society, inorder to support all students, practitioners inschools must be sensitive to variations in cul-tural histories, values and practices. The re-lational competencies of teachers must in-clude empathy, respect, a non-judgmentalapproach, and, particularly as concerns In-digenous communities, knowledge of the so-cio-historical context of Indigenous child-hood, along with positive beliefs aboutparenting capabilities.

AcknowledgementsI would like to thank colleagues Wanda Cas-sidy, Ann Chinnery, Allissa Ehrenkranz,Shelley Hymel, Kim Schonert-Reichl, andHolly Stibbs for their valued contributionsand willingness to help.


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Notes1 The terms Indigenous and Aboriginal are used al-

most synonymously at this time in Canada to referto people who identify themselves as descendents ofthe original inhabitants of the land now calledCanada. Section 35 of the Canadian Constitutionrecognizes First Nations, Inuit, and Métis as Aborig-inal people of Canada. The term Aboriginal wascoined in the 1980s by the Canadian colonial gov-ernment. Indian remains in place as the legal termused in the Canadian Constitution; its usage outsidesuch situations can be considered offensive. Theterm Eskimo has pejorative connotations in Canadaand is replaced with Inuit. The term Indigenous (asused here) is inclusive of First Peoples internation-ally. Many prefer the term Indigenous as a resist-ance against imposed colonial naming and becausethe term Indigenous is more widely used in globaladvocacy movements to promote Indigenous Peo-ples’ rights, development, and equity.

2 In Canada, a reserve is specified by the Indian Actas a “tract of land, the legal title to which is vestedin Her Majesty, that has been set apart by HerMajesty for the use and benefit of a band”.

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Evaluation

Results of the Botín Foundation’s Social and EmotionalEducational Programme

Botín Foundation and Cantabria University

SummaryThis chapter details the results reached in three of the one hundred schools which took partin the Botín Foundation’s educational programme. The University of Cantabria has, over threeschool years, carried out two external evaluations (one on the programme’s psychological im-pact and the other on pedagogical effects of the programme) in three schools in Cantabria(Spain) with 73 teachers and 1,102 students and their families.

The chapter begins with an explanation of the educational work done by the Botín Founda-tion and continues with two separate summaries of the research undertaken by the two uni-versity teams.

The aim of the psychological evaluation was to verify if changes had come about in the socialand emotional competence and/or in the psychosocial adjustment behaviour of students andascertain to what extent these changes were due to the implementation of the project. A quasi-experimental design of repeated pre-test/intervention/post-test measures was carried outwith a control group.

The results express in definite terms significant improvements with respect to the groups ofstudents which took part in the project in the following variables: Emotional intelligence,specifically clarity or emotional comprehension to identify and differentiate their own emo-tions and the use of strategies to repair negative emotional states; assertive behaviour and re-duction in the levels of anxiety experienced. Furthermore, there was a positive correlationbetween school atmosphere and academic performance.

The pedagogical evaluation consisted of confirming the efficacy and validity of the project’s ed-ucational focus. Management teams and teachers took part in this process and the summativeevaluation which had a natural-qualitative focus.

The results show the coherence of the entire project with the goals of the school. Despite theeffort that they had invested the teaching staff were very satisfied with the results obtained,especially with regard to classroom atmosphere and communication with their students. Theyrated very positively the organisational and methodological changes brought about in the class-room and the school, as well as the innovative character of the interventions.

Evaluation222

Responsible EducationFátima Sánchez Santiago. Director of the Botín Foundation’s Educational Department (Spain)

Beginning is the most important part of any searchand without a doubt the most courageous

Plato

On the 15th of October of 2006 I was in San Sebastián with Roger Weissberg and LindaLantieri, the president and a founding board member of CASEL (Collaborative for Aca-demic, Social and Emotional Learning) respectively. Both were taking part in a workshopon social and emotional learning with Daniel Goleman, author of the best seller EmotionalIntelligence.

Linda always travels with an envelope filled with pieces of paper with sentences of all kindsjotted down on them, some famous and others not, which she uses in given circumstances aspart of the group dynamics.

I had already shared work sessions with Linda on a number of occasions, both in the USA,where we first discovered her work, as well as in meetings held, since 2007, at the BotínFoundation’s Santander headquarters. The result was the first 2008 Botín Report on Social andEmotional Education that we had launched in public a few days before and for which Lindahad written the chapter on the USA.

That day, at an unexpected moment, she offered me her envelope stuffed with sentences andencouraged me, with a smile and look of complicity, to take one, as if the answer to all thedoubts I had raised with her would be resolved with a piece of paper from that envelope. Andin a certain way, they were.

Beginning is the most important part of any search and without a doubt the most courageous(Plato). That sentence made me realise and understand, even more, the importance of theprocess that the Botín Foundation had begun four years ago in the field of education.

The Foundation had started a search: the search for personal and social well-being, for bal-ance, comprehensive development and for happiness, for children and young people inschools. A complex search which included finding and making theoretical contributions. In ad-dition, it had to result in the creation of educational interventions aimed at promoting healthy

growth from childhood onwards, empowering talent and awakening creativity in children andyoung people to help them be self-sufficient, competent, supportive and happy.

This is the story of an ongoing search for an educational model which generates holistic de-velopment and contributes to the progress of our society. Ambitious and complex, it is a long-term quest that, with courage and dedication, will come to some answers, which will spur uson to continue and shape the future direction of the work. But without a doubt, its essentialdriving force is, and must be, the joint work of all the educational players: from schools (man-agement teams, teachers, etc.) and the support of its community (the regional education de-partment, universities, experts, educational institutions, etc.) to the involvement of families.

The Botín Foundation's educational programThe Botín Foundation collaborates closely with the Government of Cantabria’s Educational Coun-cil in the development and co-ordination of Responsible Education, a programme of innovative ed-ucation in 100 schools in the region (involving 900 teachers, 20,000 students and families).

The objectives of Responsible Education are:

• To further comprehensive development (emotional, cognitive and social) from the age of3 to 16.

• To increase the quality of the education on offer and to improve the atmosphere of coex-istence in the schools.

• To promote communication among educators, students and families.

This programme helps children and young people to:

• Get to know and believe in themselves.

223Evaluation

The Botín Foundation collaborates closely with theGovernment of Cantabria’s Educational Council in thedevelopment and co-ordination of Responsible Education,a programme of innovative education in 100 schools inthe region (involving 900 teachers, 20,000 students andfamilies)

• Understand others.• Recognise and express their emotions, and their ideas.• Develop self-control.• Learn to take responsible decisions.• Value and care for their health. • Improve their social skills.• Resolve problems and manage conflict.

All these personal and social abilities allow children to feel good in themselves and to relatepositively to others, achieving well-being, balance, happiness and improved academic per-formance. In addition, these abilities will serve as preventive strategies to help the children andyoung people to confront potential difficulties that they may be faced with during their lives(such as drugs, violence, intolerance, failure).

The Foundation offers the schools that participate in the programme training, monitoring, as-sessment, evaluation, resources and activities for different curricular areas (music, literature,art, environmental awareness, tutorial sessionsi, etc.).

Furthermore, the Foundation develops initiatives aimed at the community such as creativeideas and activities to work on at home; film, music, art and family games sessions; lendingof books and public exhibitions of work by local children and young people.

For three school years (September 2006-June 2009) a controlled and evaluated educationalintervention was carried out at three of these 100 schools. A comparison of the results withmany other control schools has allowed us to see the benefits of our work.

The results of the external evaluations carried out by two teams of researchers from the Uni-versity of Cantabria, one which focussed on the psychological impact of the intervention onthe student body1 and the other which focussed on the pedagogical process developed in theschools2, will be explained in the two following summaries. The full evaluation reports can befound at www.fundacionbotin.org. Both studies show the positive repercussions that the Re-sponsible Education programme has had on the student body and on the teaching staff, afterhaving been implemented for three years at these schools.

These results can be seen both in the experimental schools which carried out the high in-tensive intervention, which we have called Life and Values in Education (LiVE Project), as wellas in the medium intensive programme Prevent in Order to Live (POL). In 2004 the Botín

224 Evaluation

Foundation began its work with the Prevent in Order to Live (POL) programme, created byFAD Fundación de Ayuda contra la Drogadicción, (Foundation for Help against Drug Addic-tion). , In 2008 the Botin Foundation developed, through working directly with teachers andexperts, its own educational programme which was more flexible and better adapted to theeducational needs which had been detected: The Audiovisual Aids Bank to encourage personaland social skills.

What is Prevent in Order to Live? (POL)This is a systematic psycho-educational programme designed by FAD (FAD, 2004) that workson developing the following psychological skills (from the age of 3 to 16): Self-esteem, Atti-tudes to health, Attitudes to drugs, Self-Control, Decision Making Skills, Skills for Social In-teraction, the ability to say no, Self-Assertion Skills, Emotional Self-expression and Empathy.The programme consists of work-books for both teachers and students, with paper and pen-cil flash cards serving as a base for the group dynamics facilitated in each session. Studentscompleted about 7 activities a year. From 2004 and 2008 the Botín Foundation introducedthis programme into 80 educational schools in Cantabria (Spain).

What is Life and Values in Education (LiVE)?LiVE consists of broadening the Prevent in Order to Live (POL) programme in order tostrengthen it and essentially embrace three more areas: universal human values, emotionalexpression and creativity. Teachers, families and students, as well as the management teamsof these schools, formed part of this initiative. They worked in different subject areas (lan-guages, PE, music, art, environmental awareness, etc.) and took part in various activities at theBotín Foundation’s headquarters using the following resources: book readings, film forums,

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The results of the external evaluations carried out by twoteams of researchers from the University of Cantabria,one which focussed on the psychological impact of theintervention on the student body and the other whichfocussed on the pedagogical process developed in theschools ... show the positive repercussions that theResponsible Education programme has had on the studentbody and on the teaching staff

exhibitions and concerts. The total number of sessions per school year for primary and sec-ondary education varied from 8 to10 specific social and emotional development activities and11 to 13 sessions within the curriculum subjects. This project was piloted at two educationalcentres over three school years, from September 2006 to June 2009, and its launch and con-tinuation were the motivation for this evaluation.

Although the results of each of the evaluations will be presented later in this chapter, I will nowsummarise some of the most important data. The students who participated in the interven-tion showed a marked improvement in the following variables, compared to the group of stu-dents who did not participate in the intervention:

1. Their emotional intelligence, specifically their clarity or emotional comprehension toidentify and differentiate their own emotions, and the use of strategies to repair negativeemotional states.

2. Their assertive behaviour, in other words the ability to defend their rights and expressideas and feelings while respecting others and avoiding conflict.

3. A decrease in the levels of anxiety experienced.

There was also a significant improvement in teacher-student relations and the school’s at-mosphere, as well as a positive correlation between school atmosphere and academic achieve-ment. When student-teacher relations and communication improved, academic performancealso increased.

All these improvements are linked to the appearance of positive behaviour and/or the pre-vention/absence of bad. Specifically:

• Having positive attitudes towards behaviour involving healthy living, preventing illnessand avoiding drug consumption.

• A more pro-social behaviour with other classmates.

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When student-teacher relations and communicationimproved, academic performance also increased

• A more permissive or democratic style is perceived, such as the style of education em-ployed by the family, as well as an increased awareness of family affection.

• A more positive and rewarding perception with regard to teacher-student relations. • The awareness of school as a safe and supportive place and a low negative view of school,

studies, learning, etc. • Fewer symptoms of a psychotic nature. • A lower incidence of feeling unable to achieve one’s own goals. • Decreased perception of rules within the family. (i.e when children’s behaviour improves

they will tend to experience the family norms / rules as normal, and not perceive themas rules which they cannot or do not wish to obey.) Fewer symptoms associated with in-fant-juvenile depression.

• A greater feeling of control over their own lives and their achievements. • Less somatisation of anxiety, in other words, a decrease in physical malaise from psy-

chogenic causes. • Less social stress in peer relations.

In general, a lower clinical imbalance (less presence of pathological psychologies) and lessemotional imbalance (personal malaise).

The results also revealed important information with regard to the pedagogical process expe-rienced by the teachers at the schools that implemented the LiVE programme:

1. The aspect most highly rated by the teachers was the coherence of the entire project and itsdifferent initiatives with the goals of the educational centres. “The teaching staff and the management teams clearly perceived the integration of each of theelements or programmes of the project as a whole. It is, from a design standpoint, what we callthe internal coherence of the project. This aspect is shown by the very positive opinion theteaching staff held with regard to the existing relationship between the methodological proce-dures, those linked to the evaluation and the activities, and the proposed goals.”

2. The teachers were very satisfied with the effort they had invested in terms of the results thatwere achieved, in particular in terms of improved classroom atmosphere and communicationwith their students. “The most striking thing was that the teaching staff, at every stage of the evaluation, showed sat-isfaction with the effort which they had invested and in each case recorded that it involved animportant effort, although perhaps not as much effort was required as they had expected”.

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3. The teachers valued very positively the organisational and methodological changes broughtabout in the classroom and in the school and also appreciated the innovative character of theinterventions: “With regard to some of the peculiarities of the programmes, from the point of view of themethodological strategies, the teachers highlighted the innovative character of a visit to an artgallery or a concert, not only because of the novelty of such a classroom activity, but also be-cause these were things that the children rarely did with their families”.

Below are two articles put together by the authors of the research showing some of the find-ings and results which emerged from the Botín Foundation’s quest in the field of Social andEmotional Intelligence and Creativity. Even now, our search for innovative forms of educationhas not ended, but continues to improve and expand thanks to the collaboration of ever moreexperts, teachers, families and of course, children and young people.

On the basis of these results, and thanks to all the information gathered over these past fewyears, the Botín Foundation has designed a specific intervention model to begin a process toexpand the programme and roll it out to the 100 schools which have so far taken part in theprogramme, with the goal of forming a solid Network of Responsible Education Centres overthe next few years.

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On the basis of these results the Botín Foundation [plansto] expand the [LiVE] programme and roll it out to the100 schools which have so far taken part in the[Responsible Education] programme, with the goal offorming a solid Network of Responsible Education Centresover the next few years

The Effects of a Social and Emotional Educational Programmeon infant-juvenile development

Mª Angeles Melero & Raquel PalomeraCantabria University (Spain)

A Psychological Evaluation of the Life and Values in Education Project (LiVE)The Botín Foundation is conscious of the need to validate its psycho-educational Life and Val-ues in Education Project (LiVE) not only with the main objective of observing the effect it canhave on the development of those taking part in this educational experience, but also to eval-uate the project itself and to put forward possible improvements arising from this analysis. Todo this, it asked the University of Cantabria to design and execute a psychological evaluationplan plus an educational one. We carried out the former.

This evaluation has been done following a quasi-experimental procedure, employing a pre-test and post-test system design, common in this type of study, together with a control group.The goal was to find out if, during the timeframe of three school years, changes were producedin social and emotional skills (attention, clarity and emotional repair, assertiveness, empathy,pro-sociality, self-esteem, self-confidence, positive parental relations), in attitudes or adjust-ments in indirect psycho-social behaviour (classroom atmosphere, teacher-student relations,performance at school) or in the improvement of dis-adaptive variables (anxiety, depression,social stress, locus of external control, social rejection, feelings of inability, negative attitudestowards school or teachers, somatisation) in the boys and girls who took part in the project.The goal of the evaluation included finding out to what extent the changes were due to the in-tervention and to the intensity of the intervention. To do this, the results from various educa-tional centres was analysed after applying the LiVE project –a highly intensive intervention-the POL Project –a medium intensive intervention– and the non-intervention in other schools.

2. Method2.1 Sample schoolsThe two experimental schools were not selected for this research as they consisted of the onlypopulations available, in other words, they were the only two schools in Cantabria that wereusing the LiVE programme. These two schools are very different from each other and fur-thermore constitute the prototypes of the two educational centre profiles common in thiscountry: a very large, urban, state-assisted religious school and a rural, single-stream publicschool close to the capital. This second type of school is very common in the AutonomousCommunity of Cantabria (Spain). The choice of control schools was made with the help of the

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technical personnel of the Government of Cantabria’s Education Council to make sure thattheir characteristics were as similar as possible to each of the experimental schools. Theseschools agreed not to get involved in any other activities which covered the same themes asthose included in the programme. Two control schools which did not taking part in the LiVEprogramme were chosen for each experimental school. One of the two used the POL pro-gramme (that is to say, a medium intensive intervention) while the other did not use any formof such intervention. This enabled us to observe differences which emerged between theschools working with the LiVE programme, those using the POL Project and those schoolswhich did not introduce any kind of social and emotional interventions.

The experimental LiVE programme included a higher number of activities throughout these3 years (between 70 and 100 activities depending on the group) in comparison with thegroup which only used the POL programme (an average of 22 activities).

2.2 Participant sampleThe programme was applied to groups from the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grades at Primary school(8 to 12 years of age) for the pre-test, and to the same subjects two-and-a-half years later,when they were in 5th and 6th grade (10 to 12 years of age), and in the 1st and 2nd years ofESO (Compulsory Secondary Education) (from 12 to 14 years of age) respectively, for thepost-test. These grades were chosen because, at that particular moment of the project’s de-sign and implementation, they were judged the best prepared to begin the project. In addition,

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POPULATION PRE-TEST SAMPLE

SUBJECTS Experimental Centres 340 282 (48,1%) (Children and adolescents) Control Centres 332 304

(POL: 28,16%; NoPOL; 23,72%)

Total Subjects 672 586

FAMILIES Experimental Centres 340 233Control Centres 332 267

Total Families 672 500

TEACHERS Experimental Centres 18 --Control Centres 38 --

Total Teachers 56 --

Table 1. Pre-test and post-test sample by experimental group with indications of the level of participation of the various sectors (children/adolescents, families, teachers). LiVE was applied at the Experimental Centres, POL was applied at the control Centres and NoPOL refers to those schools with no intervention.

these grades were composed of children who were mature enough to self reflect, so that theycould actively take part as respondents of their own progress and attitudes. The numbers werealso even gender-wise (about 50%-50%).

Below is a table showing the number of subjects in the sample participating at the time of theevaluation as well as the category of the school (e.g control or experimental school):

In the post-test the sample was distributed over nine schools, while in the pre-test there weresix schools. The reason for this increase was that when the post-test was due a number of sub-jects (those who attended the public schools) had already left the Primary schools to start atSecondary schools or, in some cases, at state-assisted schools with Secondary level education.The latter refers to a small number of subjects which make up the attrition bias of the sam-ple. Overall, the post-test sample decreased with respect to the pre-test; specifically the post-test sample made up 89.34% of the pre-test sample, and 76.43% of the initial sample.

It should also be pointed out that the sample on which these analyses have been conducted (al-though in the gathering of data all those who wished to take part did so) was made up of boysand girls with no specific educational needs, with no special learning problems, with an aca-demic level corresponding to the year they were in (especially with regard to reading com-prehension), and with a reasonably good knowledge of spoken and written Spanish (even ifit was not their mother tongue).

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POST-TEST SAMPLE SAMPLE LOSS SAMPLESAMPLE LOSS (or gain) LOSS

Pre-test population Between Pre-test Population Post-test(% participating) and Post-test (% particip.) (% participating)

256 (49,32%) 82,94 90,78 75,3 263 91,56 86,51 79,2

(POL: 27,36%; NoPOL: 23,31%)

519 87,2 88,56 77,2

241 68,52 103,43 70,9 206 80,42 77,15 62

447 74,40 89,4 66,5

18 -- -- 38 -- --

56 -- --

Finally, the high participation rate of fathers, mothers and teachers as respondents with re-gard to their sons/daughters or students should be pointed out. This was around 80% of thetotal sample.

2.3 General ProcedureFirstly, a request for written permission was sent both to the schools as well as to the parents ofparticipating students via an explanatory letter. Information meetings were also held with them all.Furthermore, the evaluation was carried out voluntarily and anonymously using a coded system.

The application procedure took place over 2-4 hour-long evaluation sessions depending onthe age of the subject. At each stage of the evaluation a series of psychological tests and in-struments were applied, mainly self-reported, on various respondents: boys and girls, teach-ers (only in the post-test) and families (mainly completed by the mothers). There were twoaims: on the one hand, to measure the dependent variables on which the LiVE Project couldhave a positive impact via a 360º evaluation with a number of respondents and, on the otherhand, monitor –by measuring them– some of the numerous extraneous variables which mightinfluence a study and process of this kind, namely, the parenting style of the fathers/mothers.

2.4 Instruments usedThe instruments used to gather data were as follows:

The indices of reliability are appropriate for all the instruments used for the pre-test and post-test evaluations.

2.5 Measure variablesThe dependent variables measured are those shown in the following table (Table 3). Some ofthem –Family Affection, Family Rules and Parental Educational Style (democratic, permissiveand authoritative)– are not considered dependent variables, but co-variables.

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the high participation rate of fathers, mothers andteachers as respondents with regard to theirsons/daughters or students should be pointed out. Thiswas around 80% of the total sample

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Student Body Instruments AuthorsSocio-demographic data questionnaire Melero and Palomera (2006)BASC2-S Level 2 (6-11 years of age) Reynolds and Kamphaus (2004)BASC3-S Level 3 (12-18 years of age)(Multifactorial instrument of adaptive and non-adaptive behaviour)TMMS-C (Perceived Emotional Intelligence) Rockhill and Greener (1999)Empathy Mestre, Pérez-Delgado, Frías and Samper (1999)Prosociality Del Barrio, Moreno and López (2001)Assertiveness Gambrill and Richey (1975)Positive attitudes towards health F.A.D. (2004)¹Parenting Educational Style (children’s version) Bersabé, Fuentes and Motrico (2006)²Questionnaire on School Social Atmosphere Trianes, Blanca, Morena, Infante and Raya (2006)

Teaching Staff Instruments²BASC2-T (6-11 years of age) Reynolds and Kamphaus (2004)²BASC3-T (12-18 years of age)

Family Instruments¹Parenting Educational Style (Parents’ version) Bersabé, Fuentes and Motrico (2006)²BASC2-P (6-11 years of age) Reynolds and Kamphaus (2004)²BASC3-P (12-18 years of age)

¹Due to the lack of significant differences between the children’s/-parents’ versions, the children’s version was used in the post-test and therefore in theanalysis.²Only for post-test.

Table 2. Instruments used

Adaptive Variables Non-Adaptive Variables Emotional Attention AnxietyEmotional Clarity DepressionEmotional Repair Social stressProsociality No locus of controlEmpathy Feelings of not being capableAssertiveness Social rejectionSelf-esteem Negative attitude towards schoolSelf-confidence Negative attitude towards the teacherPositive health attitudes Atypical attitudesPositive relationship with parents SomatisationFamily affection Search for feelingsFamily Rules-discipline General factor: Clinical imbalanceParenting educational style General factor: School imbalanceSchool social atmosphere General factor: Emotional imbalance(ISE)Teacher-student relationshipAcademic performanceGeneral factor: Personal adjustment

Table 3. Variables evaluated in the study

3. Starting pointIn this section we show a summary of the descriptive analysis of the pre-test sample with theaim of finding the starting point of the skills and attitudes of the students before being includedin the experimental group.

In general terms, the scores presented were medium-high except for empathy, clear rules inthe family, or a permissive family educational style where there were low scores. Most of theBASC scales had a low average score except for self-esteem, self-confidence, and positive re-lations with friends and parents, which were very high. On the other hand the typical devia-tions did not show a wide dispersion in scores.

In general we can observe the following:

• We hardly found any differences of an evolutionary kind.• There were clear sexual differences, with girls ahead when it came to adaptive (e.g posi-

tive behaviours) aspects and boys having significantly higher scores for non-adaptive (e.ganxiety) aspects.

• In the various comparisons between the experimental schools and the control schools,some variables did not display any variance. These variables were: Emotional Clarity,Emotional Repair, Self-confidence, Pro-sociality, Positive Attitudes towards Health andSocial Stress.

• Summarising the results we can highlight that the experimental schools were significantlybetter with regard to Positive Relations with Parents, while the control schools had signif-icantly higher averages for non-adaptive variables (Negative Attitudes to School, NegativeAttitudes to Teachers and Anxiety, Feelings of Inability, No Locus of Control, Depressionand Impulsiveness).

4. Results4.1 Results linked to students’ self-reportsWe basically obtained two kinds of results:

1 There were no significant effects in the non-adaptive variables, except for the perceivedlevels of anxiety (less in groups which took part in with medium intensive intervention,POL Project).

1 There were some significant effects indicating a beneficial effect from the application of, ortraining in, social and emotional skills, which, when they did exist, favoured the schools whichunderwent interventions and in no case the schools where there had been no intervention.

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Thus, the benefit of intervention (the highly intensive LiVE Project, or the medium intensivePOL Project) did not consist so much in significantly reducing the non-adaptive variablesscores in groups having undergone interventions, but in helping to create positive skills forthese groups.

In addition, we obtained post-test data from all the student groups with regard to their per-ception of school atmosphere, their relationships with teachers as well as their final evalua-tions. The reason for measuring these aspects was due to the fact that in recent research(Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor and Schellinger, 2008) a positive increase in these vari-ables has been seen after the application of social and emotional skills programmes. It shouldbe pointed out, however, that the variables studied are very complex, affected by numerousaspects that, moreover, interact with one another. In this comparative analysis between theexperimental groups and the remaining schools acting as controls, significant teacher-stu-dent and school atmosphere results were obtained, in both cases in favour of the experimen-tal group. For the third variable, academic performance, the effect was close to being significantfor the experimental group.

Below we summarise the second type of results, in other words, the variables presenting sig-nificant effects:

• Emotional Clarity: meta-knowledge of the level of comprehension of one’s own emo-tions, the extent to which emotional states can be recognised and distinguished.

For this variable we found significant effects in favour of the LiVE Project.

When this variable was analysed, adding gender as an intersubjective factor, we found that theLiVE cohort was the only group where the boys improved between the pre-test and the post-test.

This significant interaction was maintained even when the effects of the Family Affection vari-able were controlled.

As can be seen in Graph 1, these significant differences translate into improved percentagesfor each group. The experimental group which received the highly intensive intervention(LiVE) made a huge improvement in its initial averages (even starting out with a high aver-age), while the group which only took part in the medium intensive programme (POL) hardlyaltered its capacity for emotional comprehension, while the control group, with no interven-tion, actually decreased in this skill.

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• Emotional Repair: meta-knowledge of the extent to which the subject uses strategies torepair negative emotional states and to increase the frequency and length of positive ones.

A significant interaction was obtained in the comparison of groups with interventions (LiVEand POL) as opposed to those with no intervention. Once again, in this case the LiVE pro-gramme obtained significant differences in the case of boys, given that while boys from othergroups decreased in the ability to emotionally repair in the post-test (should this be betweenthe pre-test and the post-test) (especially those who received no intervention), those receiv-ing the highly intensive intervention (LiVE) increased. Specifically, as can be seen in Graph2, all the participants decreased in their perception with regard to the extent to which theirnegative emotional states might be altered on reaching puberty (post-test), though the groupwhich received training in emotional control showed a small fall in percentage, the groupwithout intervention did not. This result is all the more startling if we add the fact that thegroup without intervention started out with averages which were quite a bit higher in the pre-test but whose level, however, after three years was much lower than the groups which ex-perienced an intervention.

• Assertiveness: the skill to properly defend one’s own rights and opinions in interactionwith others.

For this variable we found significant effects in favour of LiVE. In Graph 3, it can be seen howthe LiVE group improved about 5%, the group which received the medium intensive training

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-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

5,67

0,6-1

Pre-test / Post-test % difference

High intensiveintervention

(LiVE)

Medium intensiveintervention

(POL)

No intervention

Graph 1. Percentage of improvement: Emotional Clarity

(POL) improved approximately 2% while the levels of the group with no intervention hardlychanged. Again, this result is important because the group without intervention started outwith higher averages in the pre-test.

When we analysed this variable including gender as an intersubjective factor, we found thatthe LiVE stood out ahead of the other two groups given that it was the only group where boysas well as girls improved.

The significant effect was maintained even when the influence of the Family Affection vari-able was monitored.

• Anxiety: the degree to which the subject suffers psycho-physiological symptoms relatedto anxiety.

For this variable there was a significant effect in favour of the group which received a mediumintensive intervention (POL). This result can be explained given the fact that the POL groupstarted out with a significantly higher average at the moment of the pre-test while the LiVEgroup had the lowest average of the three groups. The training was therefore most beneficialfor to POL group.

When we analysed the data including gender as an intersubjective factor, we found that on thisoccasion it was the POL girls whose levels of anxiety decreased between the pre-test and thepost-test.

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-10

-9

-8

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

-2,33

-9,23


With intervention No intervention

Graph 2. Percentage of improvement: Emotional repair

The significant effect was maintained even when the influence of the Family Rules variable wasmonitored.

As we show in Graph 4 below, even though all the groups reduced their levels of anxiety, thePOL group showed a significant improvement of about 13%, followed by the LiVE group andfinally, with the lowest percentage, the group that had received no intervention.

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-14

-12

-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

-7,15

-13,14

-5,13



(LiVE)


(POL)

No intervention

Graph 4. Percentage of improvement: Decrease in Anxiety

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

3,5

4

4,5

5

4,58

2,4

0,6



(LiVE)


(POL)

No intervention

Graph 3. Percentage of improvement: Assertiveness

To summarise, the most remarkable thing about the results is that they show the impact thatthe interventions had, be it via the LiVE programme and/or the medium intensive POL pro-gramme, on some of the adaptive variables, by working directly on them, as is the case withemotional clarity and repair or assertiveness. The best effects were seen in boys for variablesrelated to emotional intelligence. However, significant effects on other variables present suchas positive attitudes towards health, empathy and self-esteem were not evident.

We think that the skills worked on via this intervention were very different with regard to whatwe could call the “degree of trainability”. Among the most “trainable” abilities would be As-sertiveness, seen as a skill, but not as such a universal, basic or fundamental ability as self-esteem. Self-esteem however, is linked to aspects difficult to modify via a programme and toa small number of activities specific to it (the quality of attachment to family figures, for ex-ample; or a prior history of successes in various life tasks).

In our understanding, the most interesting result is that a significant interaction in the Emo-tional Clarity variable was found. This could mean that the entire programme has been ableto make the subjects more conscious of their emotionality. More than having an effect on asingle emotional skill, this result appears to indicate that the programme has had an effect onincreasing the processing of emotional information (emotional intelligence) and the ability towork on it. This is coherent with the work done with the LiVE Project on emotional compre-hension via the arts.

Finally, it is important to observe positive trends in the indirect effects of the LiVE programmeon school atmosphere and academic performance, although we should view these results withcaution, as they were analysed retroactively, with no pre-test data. These results indicate thatthe project not only affected the social and emotional development of the students themselves,

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This result appears to indicate that the programme hashad an effect on increasing the processing of emotionalinformation (emotional intelligence) and the ability towork on it. This is coherent with the work done with theLiVE Project on emotional comprehension via the arts

but that the skills that were addressed could act as more global mediators of effects influenc-ing well-being and school performance.

4.2. Results linked to reports made by othersAll the significant differences mentioned up to now were found in the scores of the students’self-reports. With the reports from fathers/mothers we found no significant difference, mean-ing that with regard to the vision of parents, there was no difference between students fromone group or another. It is possible that fathers/mothers tend to over-value their children thushaving repercussions on the homogeneity of the scores, and in the absence of differencesamong them, creates a ceiling effect.

The situation changed however, when we analysed the reports made by teachers, though itshould be kept in mind that these analyses were limited. Therefore they should be read withcaution as we only had post-test data for the control and experimental groups. In a nutshell,the results that were found are:

• When there was a significant effect in the adaptive variables of the group, these were al-ways in favour of the groups which received interventions and never in favour of thosewhich did not. This was the case for Study Skills, Leadership and Adaptive Skills.

• When there was a significant effect in non-adaptive variables, these were always in favourof the groups which received interventions. They showed the lowest averages in these as-pects, while those groups which did not receive interventions obtained the highest averages.This was the case for Somatisation, Aggressiveness, Atypicity, Externalised Problems andHyperactivity.

Consequently, these results allow us to affirm that in the interventions undertaken, accordingto what has been perceived/communicated by teachers, be they highly intensive (LiVE) ormedium (POL), beneficial psychological effects have been achieved.

5. DiscussionSeen globally, we understand that the results have been beneficial, especially if we take intoaccount that the projects have been implemented by a very diverse range of educational pro-fessionals.

The programme has undergone changes and defined/designed itself over these years, espe-cially the activities related to the LiVE programme. Accordingly, it is not easy to monitor towhat extent the extension activities in the arts suggested in the LiVE programme formed part

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of an intensification of that worked on by the POL Project or, if they have trained or improvedchildren’s’ sensibility towards the arts or, for example, developed their creativity via the pro-posed activities. If this is the case, we have not been able to observe the effect in these areasas they did not form part of the project’s initial goals.

It is not unusual in many studies of this kind, that activities are designed using the instrumentsavailable for measuring results so that the changes can be “observed”. In this study, fortu-nately from an educational standpoint, the opposite process has taken place, although this isnot desirable from a research point of view.

On the other hand, it is difficult to ensure the validity of a programme when it has been im-plemented by a vast range of people with different levels of competence and motivation. Sim-ilarly, it is hard to control the way in which the activities have been undertaken with regardto the way the materials have been presented, the way the groups have been managed, etc.For this reason, in this type of study, external monitors are used to analyse how the pro-gramme is working, although by taking this approach it loses its ecological validity.We be-lieve, however, that the fact that it was the teachers who were in charge of undertaking theintervention is highly valuable with regard to the implementation of the programme in otherschools, given that this increases its ecological validity and thus augments its possible lifespan.That it is the teachers who are in charge of implementing the intervention has obvious ad-vantages, especially with regard to the knowledge that they have of each child and of the groupas a whole. It is they, therefore, who can best adapt the activities towards the goals to bereached, although this makes the evaluation of the programme harder. In this respect, Diek-stra (2008), in his meta-analysis on the characteristics of the social and emotional educationalprogrammes which produce the best effects, affirms that “teachers appear to be as effectiveat imparting programmes as psycho-social professionals” (p.297).

We believe that beginning with a project created, for the most part, with groups of studentsstarting out with high averages of competence and using an ecological focus, and by using theschools’ own resources, every small improvement is a big achievement. In addition, simply be-ginning a research-action process, and the analysis which its development entails, has broughtlearning and ideas that have improved the results in an accumulative way, though this is noteasily measured in the short-term.

6. Recommendations Based on the experience obtained from this project over three years in the specific context ofCantabria, but also bearing in mind the psycho-educational research results on the effective-

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ness of these types of social and emotional programmes (Diekstra, 2008), we put forward anumber of recommendations for its continuity. Most of these recommendations have beenabsorbed and developed over these three years in the Botín Foundation’s ongoing Responsi-ble Education programme, despite the fact that it has not been possible to implement them inthe study schools nor therefore to measure them in this evaluation so as not to affect theprocess itself. Thus, only future research can reveal the effects of these developments.

• Starting from an early age. Although the evaluation was initially done with the ideal primary school age group forparticipation in this research, training in social and emotional skills is most effective ifbegun at an early age and if maintained in a systematic way throughout infant and juve-nile development. The Botín Foundation has worked from the onset with all school stages(infant and primary, 3 to 12 years of age), and has incorporated the secondary educationstage (12 to 16 years of age) as the participating children have progressed through theschool grades.

• Using more dynamic materials.Experiential education and, in particular, social or emotional skills or the inculcation of val-ues is fundamental to the creation of a significant learning process for children. Flexibleresource materials and projects, which need active application and participation and whichare contextualised with regard to their motivation, needs and emotions, are essential pre-requisites for every type of educational project and more so if we hope to apply and in-crease their use in real life. To achieve this goal, and in response to the demands ofteachers, the Botín Foundation has designed an Audiovisual Aids Bank for the infant, pri-mary and secondary stages. The Audiovisual Aids are more flexible than the resources ofthe POL programme and have a greater range of materials which are not just limited topencil and paper. Even so, we propose theatre as a fundamental medium via which, as an educational proj-ect (and in which furthermore, it is easy to involve all educational subjects), training inpersonal and social skills is achieved. This approach also allows the participation, train-ing and interaction to be simply arranged for the entire school community (including ad-ministration and service personnel, teachers and families). We feel this medium is evenmore fundamental as children get older.

• Systematic coaching.One of the conditions observed in the effective programmes in this field is that they gohand in hand with follow-up work, support and teachers’ (or in some cases monitors’)participation in their development. This support is usually given at the school itself in theform of workshops where an expert guides the group towards goals, offers feedback on

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actions, gives directions for improvement, and any obstacles encountered are workedthrough together by looking for solutions.

• Intensive training and integration in the school organisation and the curriculum.It is advisable that once the goals have been set that skills should be worked on regularly,on a weekly basis. Knowing the reality of education, we understand that it is difficult toachieve intensive training due to the lack of “free” time to work on these topics (especiallywhen there is no weekly tutor session) but this can and should be fulfilled by addressing thetheme and training the relevant skills across all the subjects in the curriculum. The work-shops referred to above could be a rich context from which to generate one’s own peda-gogical units wherever necessary, and also to employ or adapt units created by others.

• Transferral to real life.This has already been done with the LiVE Project in the form of “tasks to work on withthe family at home”. The aim is, as much as possible, to broaden the possibilities for ap-plying what has been learnt at school. To do this, web 2.0, online forums and blogs canbe used where students can keep individual and/or shared “logbooks” in which they canrecord daily situations when they employ the values and skills they have worked on. Someof these situations put forward by the students themselves can be acted out in the class-room and shaped via role-playing.

• Teacher training used in the application of the programme as well as training for the man-agement and administration teams. Consequently, those responsible for putting the educational programme into practicewithin an educational setting – in this work framework it would be the tutors or teachersof the schools themselves – must be well-trained. This implies, for one thing, that theythemselves are competent on a social and emotional level, in other words, that they aregood and coherent role models. For this reason, at the Faculty of Education of the Uni-versity of Cantabria we have introduced, as a compulsory part of a new Masters Degreein Teaching, a course for training future teachers in social and emotional skills and in val-ues. This initial training must be complemented with training, offered by Teachers’ Train-ing Centres and educational centres, that engages all educational personnel, includingmanagement and administration staff.In addition, the Botín Foundation and the University of Cantabria have set up a Master’sDegree in Social, Emotional and Creative Education awarded by the Faculty of Education,done in parallel with a Degree in Teaching, thus providing a double degree, as well astraining in excellence for future teachers.

• Training for parents.To encourage family participation in activities begun by students, and training via Schoolsfor Parents or other methods.

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• Future research.To use a sample with younger subjects to observe the effects without the interference ofthe sudden evolutionary change from pre-adolescence to adolescence and perform follow-up evaluations throughout life for more than three school years; to use 360º evaluationswith external blind judges/observers; choose control schools starting from scratch withregard to the application of social and emotional programmes, and experimental schoolswhere we can be assured that these topics are only tackled through the evaluated pro-gramme.

Likewise, it would be recommendable to combine the understanding of the data given herewith the results of the pedagogical assessment report (Argos, Ezquerra, Salvador and Osoro,2010). This would help to shed light on the context of the experimental schools as well as theirmotivation, initial commitment or obstacles observed by the main subjects during the settingup of the project.

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References

Argos, J., Ezquerra, P., Salvador, L. & Osoro, J. (2011). Evaluación pedagógica de un proyectode Educación Emocional y Social: Proyecto VyVE (Vida y Valores en Educación) [Pedagog-ical Assessment of a Social and Emotional Learning Project: LiVE Project (Life and Valuesin Education)]. Available online at www.fundacionbotin.org

Bersabé, R., Fuentes, M.J. & Motrico, E. (2001). Análisis psicométrico de dos escalas paraevaluar estilos educativos parentales [Two-scale psychometric analysis for the evaluationof parental educational styles]. Psichothema, 13(4), 678-684.

Diekstra, R.F.W. (2008). Evaluación de los programas escolares universales de educaciónemocional y social y de habilidades para la vida [The evaluation of universal school pro-grammes on social and emotional education and life skills]. At the Marcelino Botín Foun-dation, Educación Emocional y Social– Social and Emotional Education. InternationalAnalysis. Marcelino Botín Foundation Report 2008, Marcelino Botín Foundation. Availableonline at www.fundacionbotin.org

Durlak, J.A., Weissberg, R.P., Dymnicki, A.B., Taylor, R.D. & Schellinger, K. (2008). The Effectsof Social and Emotional Learning on the Behaviour and Academic Performance of SchoolChildren. Available online at http://www.casel.org.

Federation for Help against Drug Addiction (2004). Prevenir para vivir [Prevent in Order toLive]. Evaluation Protocol. Madrid: Foundation for Help against Drug Addiction.

Fernández Berrocal, P., Extremera, N. & Ramos, N. (2004). Validity and Reliability of the Span-ish Modified Version of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. Psychological Reports, 94, 751-755.

Gambrill, E.D. & Richey, C.A. (1975). An Assertion Inventory for Use in Assessment and Re-search. Behavior Therapy, 6, 550-561.

Melero, M.A. & Palomera, R. (2010). Efectos de un Proyecto de Educación Emocional y Socialsobre el desarrollo infanto-juvenil [The Effects of a Social and Emotional Education on in-fant-juvenile development]. Available online at www.fundacionbotin.org

Mestre, V., Pérez-Delgado, E., Frías, D., & Samper, P. (1999). Instrumentos de evaluación dela empatía [Empathy evaluation instruments]. In E. Pérez-Delgado & V. Mestre, Psicología

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moral y crecimiento personal [Moral psychology and personal growth] (pp.181-190).Barcelona: Ariel.

European Observatory on Drugs & Drug Abuse (2003). Banco de instrumentos para la eval-uación de intervenciones preventives [Instrument bank for the evaluation of preventive in-terventions (BIP)]. Madrid: Agencia Antidroga de la Comunidad de Madrid [Community ofMadrid Anti-Drug Agency].

Reynolds, C.R. & Kamphaus, R.W. (2004). BASC: Sistema de evaluación de la conducta deniños y adolescentes [Assessment system for behaviour in children and adolescents].Madrid: TEA.

Rockill, C.M. & Greener, S.H. (1991). Development of the Trait Meta-Mood for ElementarySchool Children. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research inChild Development, Alburquerque, NM.

Trianes, M.V., Blanca, M.J., Morena, L. de la, Infante, L & Raya, S. (2006). Un cuestionario parala evaluación del clima social del centro escolar [A questionnaire for the assessment of thesocial atmosphere in schools]. Psicothema, 18(2), 272-277.

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Pedagogical Evaluation of a Social and Emotional Educational Programme

Javier Argos, María Pilar Ezquerra, José Manuel Osoro and Laurentino Salvador.University of Cantabria (Spain)

As explained previously, the LiVE Project fits, as an educational experience, within the BotínFoundation’s working model of Responsible Education. Since the school year of 2003-2004Responsible Education “promotes, supports and facilitates children’s development in affec-tive-emotional, cognitive-behavioural and social aspects. It is a model shared with the family,school and the community”3. As is pointed out in the document just mentioned, some of theproject’s most significant characteristics are: close collaboration with Cantabria’s Regional Ed-ucation Council, voluntary participation of all educational partners, commitment, continuoustraining, a longitudinal approach and ongoing assessments, both internal and external.

The LiVE Project is made up of the implementation of the five following programmes. The goalis to encourage children and young people’s emotional, cognitive and social development, fos-ter communication and improve coexistence in schools, through the work of teachers, studentsand families:

• Prevent in Order to Live (POL): an adaptation of the programme of the same name createdby the Foundation for Help against Drug Addiction (FAD) and aimed at students between3 and 12 years of age. It is applied in tutorials and different subjects.

• Film and education of values: a FAD programme aimed at students between 6 and 12years of age. It can be applied in different subject lessons and in tutorials.

• The value of a story: also from FAD, for children from 6 to 12 years of age is comple-mented by Travelling Chests created by the Germán Sánchez Ruipérez Foundation for In-fant education stage (3 to 5 years of age). The area of language is worked on.

• ReflejArte, devised by the Botín Foundation (for students between the ages of 6 and 12).The subject of art is worked on.

• Music and Comprehensive Development, has been devised by the Botín Foundation to fos-ter universal values via music (aimed at students between the ages of 6 and 12).

1. IntroductionThe evaluation process, which we will now present, was carried out in two schools in the Au-tonomous Community of Cantabria: a state-assisted school and a public school, in the stages of In-fant Education and Primary Education. This process is part of the framework of the collaboration

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agreement signed by the Botín Foundation and the University of Cantabria for the “Pedagogicalevaluation of the implementation of the LiVE Project”4 with the aim of evaluating its efficacy andvalidity, by assessing its implementation and development as carried out by the main educational-school partners of said schools: the management and teaching staff.

The creation and development of this evaluation process responds to the need to carry out anexternal evaluation, as a complement to the evaluation that the Foundation and the Govern-ment of Cantabria’s Education Council have been developing up to now and which was pre-sented in the 2005/065 school report.

1.1. Objectives and types of evaluationThe general objective is to effect a progressive and final evaluation of the development of theLiVE Project, and the various programmes it consists of, from the perspective of the teachingand management staff at the schools under study.

The objective is divided into two others of a more specific nature:

• To understand the progress of the teaching staff and the management teams of the schoolsin relation to their conceptions and the ways of working they have adopted within theareas of social and emotional education and the education of values.

• To detail the perspectives held by the management teams and teaching staff with regardto the various LiVE programmes, analysing in a contrasting way, the evolution taking placewith regard to the development of the project.

On a methodological level, although we have not rejected any kinds of ideas for the developmentof the process, we have essentially used a natural-qualitative focus. This leads to the design and

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Some of the [Responsible Education] project’s mostsignificant characteristics are: close collaboration withCantabria’s Regional Education Council, voluntaryparticipation of all educational partners, commitment,continuous training, a longitudinal approach and ongoingassessments, both internal and external

use of a variety of strategies and tools (questionnaires, in depth interviews, content analysis…)which have allowed us to gather at the greatest levels of depth, relevancy and referential/con-textual sensitivity the numerous objects, areas and facets that we hope to evaluate.

This paradigmatic approach entails a certain complexity. Since, together with factors that arepart and parcel of any educational process, given the fact that it is “built” from basically in-terpersonal frameworks generating high levels of unpredictability, another, no less importantone is added. This is the intrinsic complexity brought about by a study of an axiological na-ture, in other words, studying the area of values which, although they have an objective qual-ity, also have a more subjective side - that which gives each value its meaning and, in turn,personalises it.

1.2. Identification of target audiences This pedagogical evaluation project focussed on two types of audiences. Firstly, one directlylinked to the project’s development that can provide us with first hand information on theprocess that was followed (management teams and teaching staff at the schools) and sec-ondly, institutional audiences which were the recipients of the 2005/6 evaluation report(Botín Foundation and the Government of Cantabria’s Education Council, see endnote 4).

1.3. Evaluation criteriaThe criteria considered for the project’s evaluation and the features or indicators of whichthey, were as follows:

• The context of the programme: Previous work on the topic. The decisions to be made.Agreements between teachers. Modifications to the training provided. Resolving initialproblems. Initial changes entailed by the project.

• The training programme: Clearly defined values and abilities. Programme well integratedinto the LiVE Project as a whole. Cohesiveness of the programme with the schools’ goals.Enough time for the development of activities. Consequences of the programme on otherschool activities.

• Project management: Coordination arranged by those in charge. Continuous evaluationprocedures. Coordination mechanisms among those involved. Promotion of the pro-gramme. Difficulties in the programme to be kept in mind for its improvement. Activitiescarried out with other schools.

• Human resources: Subject Specialisation (teachers have the qualifications and experienceto teach the subjects they have are teaching). Teacher Training. Teacher involvement. As-sessment of the support provided by the Marcelino Botín Foundation.

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• Material resources: Adaptation of facilities and equipment. Availability of materials. Adap-tation of materials to suit the characteristics of the students. Fitting out classrooms, com-puters, library, etc. Satisfaction of the participants with the resources. Assessment of theMarcelino Botín Foundation and assessment of the Education Council of Cantabria.

• The training process: Methodological strategies which facilitate the achievement of thegoals. Evaluation methods are consistent with the goals. Satisfaction of the participantswith the programme’s development.

• The results: The analysis of results was considered for the programme’s improvement.Student satisfaction with the project’s achievements. Satisfaction of the managementteam/teaching staff with the classroom/school atmosphere. Satisfaction of the man-agement team/teaching staff with the level of student participation. Satisfaction of themanagement team/teaching staff with the project’s achievements. Satisfaction of theteaching staff with the effort invested. The existence of procedures to understand the ef-fects of the programme on others in the student’s surroundings (for example, on fam-ily members).

1.5. TimetableThe evaluation process was developed in three stages:

• Initial evaluation: from October-December 2006 to June 2007• Intermediate evaluation: from June 2007 to May 2008• Final evaluation: from June to November 2008

2. Methodology: procedure and instruments used.Below we present a summary of the methodological process followed and the main instru-ments used for the evaluation process.

2.1. Contact with the field: definition of the area of evaluation and approach to audiencesAfter giving consideration to a number of possibilities, the evaluating team opted to centre theevaluation on the perception held by the main school educational partners in relation to thedevelopment of the various programmes that make up the LiVE Project and, more specifically,the management teams at the schools and the teaching staff involved in the project.

On account of this, prior to entering the “field of work”, it was necessary to contact all the pro-fessionals from the schools to inform them of the Evaluation Plan and its stages and the typeof tasks involved both for the members of the management teams and the teaching staff. Ac-cordingly, meetings were held, not only to introduce the research team but also to inform the

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stakeholders about the proposed Pedagogical Evaluation Plan as well as to clarify any doubtsand suggestions that people might have.

2.2. Development of instruments for the gathering of dataGiven the methodology established for the development of the evaluation project, we under-stood that the interview was the most appropriate instrument for data gathering. The chosenstyle should respond to a semi-structured format, keeping to a structure that would provideconsistency. This would facilitate the later analysis of the interviews and enable comparisonsto be made of the different groups and kinds of audiences. The use of semi-structured inter-views would permit the inclusion of new elements which would give the interviews a certainflexibility and allow more relational spontaneity between the interviewees and the membersof the evaluating team.

The content of the interviews, both for those aimed at the management teams and the teach-ing staff, covered the same areas, namely, the context of the project, the teaching programme,the management of the programme, the human resources, the material resources, the train-ing process and the results of the project.

For the development of each interview with each of the different types of audience, the eval-uating group designed two tools: the interview Guide and the interview Script.

The Guide is an instrument used by the evaluating team internally and it has four differ-ent parts –the aspects to be evaluated, the questions which can be asked, the answers whichmight contain information and, finally, a semi-quantitative assessment of each of the sevenareas previously mentioned. These were summarized into a selection of aspects the eval-uating team found relevant and which, therefore, became the main evaluation referencesor criteria.

The interview Script was given to the audiences prior to the design of the interview in orderfor them to get acquainted with the issues contained in it and to give them a chance to con-sider the issues beforehand.

Two kinds of questionnaire were also designed which gathered data, from management teamsand teaching staff, on the evaluation criteria at two specific moments (the intermediate stage:June 2007) and the final stage (during 2008). The estimated ratings of each of the items wentfrom 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent).

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The evaluation criteria that were established were maintained as a connective thread to givecoherence to the analysis of the data. Thus, we were able to create a methodological triangu-lation (the data was gathered from various procedures or instruments both qualitative –in-terviews– and quantitative –questionnaires– and from a range of subjects –we asked differentgroups of subjects about the same topics). This triangulation and the intersubjective contrastit brought, lent validity to the study.

3. ResultsIn this presentation of results, we will give priority to those relative to the final stage of theevaluation and, taking them as a reference point, we will observe the evaluations of the ini-tial and intermediate stages in relation to each of the evaluation criteria contemplated. In thefollowing table and graph we show the global results by evaluation criteria and stages of theproject’s development as a whole.

As a general consideration, it can be clearly seen that the LiVE Project was highly rated by boththe management teams and the teaching staff at the schools.

The former usually rated each of the criteria which were being analysed much higher than theteachers. This datum could be explained both by the fact that the management teams, beingthe most directly “involved”, had to take on an institutional commitment to the project, as wellas having less data on the difficulties incurred in the day to day development of the LiVE Proj-ect. We consider this positive perception very important and it should continue to be so as, to-gether with the project’s coordinators, the management team is responsible for taking on theinstitutional leadership and therefore, the more enthusiastic they are, the better the end re-sults will be.

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As a general consideration, it can be clearly seen that theLiVE Project was highly rated by both the managementteams and the teaching staff at the schools. Today everyoneunderstands that processes of educational innovation mustbe set up with the direct, active and enthusiasticinvolvement of the management teams of the schools

Today everyone understands that processes of educational innovation must be set up with thedirect, active and enthusiastic involvement of the management teams of the schools.

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Average Values Code (*)Initial Intermediate Final Initial Intermediate Final

Project Context 2,1 2,98 -+ +Formative Programme 2,1 3,27 3,47 -+ + +Project Management 2,2 3,10 3,39 -+ + +Human Resources 2,5 3,31 3,38 -+ + +Material Resources 2,5 3,01 3,33 -+ + +Formative Process 2,4 3,51 3,53 -+ + +Results 1,3 3,45 3,59 - + ++

(*) Code: <=1,5: Bad (-); 1,5-2,5:Acceptable (-+); 2,6-3,5: Good (+); >=3,6: Excellent (++)

Table 1. Average values for criteria and stages

Results

Formative Process

Material Resources

Human Resources

Project Management

Formative Programme

Context

Initial Intermediate Final

1

2,12,98

2,1

1,5 2 2,5 3 3,5 4

3,273,47

2,23,1

3,39

2,53,313,38

2,53,01

3,33

2,43,513,53

3,453,59

Comparative graph showing distinct stages of evaluation criteria

Criterion 1: Project Context “From a reliable but not very “informed” premise to another more participatory and committed one”A positive reaction has been perceived, both on the part of the teachers as well as by theschools’ management teams, with regard to the evolution of the project. They all consider thatthe changes its implementation has brought about, as well as the difficulties and problemsthat emerged initially have been resolved in a satisfactory way. By the final stage they feltthemselves fully committed to the project.

The teachers rated positively the project’s repercussions on the all-round education of thestudents in accordance with the development of the social and emotional skills and valueswhich the project had been expected to achieve. They make repeated references to improve-ments in skills such as self-esteem, empathy, respect and cooperation shown by the studentsin the various programmes.

Another detail worthy of note was that the project was coherent, in the opinion of the teach-ers and management teams, with the education offered at their schools.

The various programmes were gradually integrated into the rhythms of the school day, al-though not all with the same intensity. POL, Travelling Chests and The value of a story, werethe programmes that were the most integrated. The Film, Music and Art programmes, fortheir part, were less integrated. At times, these last programmes were perceived as additional

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The teachers rated positively the project’s repercussionson the all-round education of the students in accordancewith the development of the social and emotional skillsand values which the project had been expected toachieve. They make repeated references to improvementsin skills such as self-esteem, empathy, respect andcooperation shown by the students in the variousprogrammes

activities, as an extra task to be carried out, negatively affecting the time plan and creatingsome consternation among the teachers.

The amount of time foreseen for the development of most of the activities was considered in-sufficient at the start of the project, although in the final stage the teachers made a more posi-tive assessment with regard to this aspect. This improvement is due to, for the most part, the factthat the teachers remembered the initial difficulties and the improvements that were needed.

Both the reviewing and the updating of the materials and activities undertaken by those incharge of the project, as well as the teachers’ experience in the application of the programmesthat form it, enabled an improvement in its application.

Criterion 2: Education Programme“An interesting project which doesn’t take up space…but does take time”.We find ourselves, firstly, with a set of very highly rated elements which are listed in decreas-ing order: a programme which is coherent with the schools’ goals and with the students’ quali-ties; the effect of the programme on the all-round education of the student and other activitiesof the school and, finally, the successful integration of the specific programmes in the LiVE Proj-ect. The clear definition of the sought-after social and emotional values and skills is located at agood, albeit intermediate, level. In our opinion, this last aspect requires attention in that it shouldbe made clear which social and emotional values and skills are being worked on in the activi-ties implemented by the various programmes – either to better clarify the content being workedon through each activity or, to better identify the effects that the use of certain methodologicalor organisational procedures have with regard to values (cooperative work, for example).

We also observed that one of the worst rated elements in the questionnaires referred to or-ganizing the foreseen amount of time set aside for carrying out the planned activities of the pro-gramme in such a manner that the desired goals may be reached. The issue of the activitiesneeding more time than was initially stated is one which was highlighted by the teachers andwhich was addressed by the project’s institutional promoters and the teachers involved in thevarious programmes.

Another interesting aspect, form the standpoint of incorporating the programmes that makeup the LiVE Project into the other school activities, relates to the coherence of the programmeswith the schools’ objectives. In this aspect and according to the audiences, the LiVE Project,by virtue of its intrinsic qualities and educational approach, is perceived as being coherentwith the educational goals of the schools.

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The teaching staff and the management teams clearly perceive the integration of each of theelements or programmes into the LiVE Project as a whole. This internal coherence of theproject can be seen in the very positive opinion the teachers have with regard to the currentrelationship between the proposed goals and the methodological procedures linked to the eval-uation and the activities.

Criterion 3: Project Management “From the initial lack of definition and confusion to the natural integration of the project”We can highlight two elements which have had a very positive evolution (from a poor evalu-ation in the initial stage to an excellent one in the final stage). We are referring to the re-viewing and updating of activities and materials done on a regular and systematic basis andthe planning done by those in charge and its coordination with the rest of the programmes.Thus, the most positive thing is that LiVE’s programmes have been gradually integrated intothe schools’ planning.

The teachers and management teams therefore comment on this fact with a certain relief andsatisfaction as they were able to unravel the “mess” which they perceived at the start of theproject. “It has been getting better as it has become clearer”.

On the other hand, the promotion and information about the programmes among the variouseducational partners (in particular families and teachers who are not involved) has been con-firmed as unsatisfactory. Schools should make an effort with regard to an improvement in thisaspect. On the one hand, information about it needs to extend to the teaching staff not directlytaking part in the programme but who, as members of the school team, should still be informedabout it and, on the other hand, information should reach the entire teaching staff participatingin the project about what is being done in the various programmes that make up the project.

The involvement of the teaching staff in the programmes requires awareness, the right mo-tivation, etc., and this has to be done in a continuous way, knowing beforehand the nature of

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Thus, the most positive thing is that LiVE’s programmeshave been gradually integrated into the schools’ planning

the work being done by other specific groups. All the existing information channels at schoolsmust be used so that the teaching staff is informed and understands the work being done atthe school, regardless of each teacher’s level of involvement.

The aim of involving families in the progress of the programmes is one of the most importantelements to help the project improve. We believe, as do the teachers, that the programmes’goals need the presence and involvement of families for their proper development.

An element, which is key for us, refers to the flexibility seen in each of the programmes inrelation to the proposed activities and materials. In each of them, regardless of whether thematerial used allows greater or less flexibility in its application (for instance with the pro-grammes Film or The Value of a Story…), changes and adjustments to the characteristics of thespecific application are allowed. “At the start we were stricter about what had to be done eachday or month, but now it’s not a problem […], before, we were given the exact day”. On theone hand, this allows programmes to be adjusted to the schools’ timetables, and on the other,we feel that it provides security and allows the teaching staff to make decisions when it comesto running the activities in the classroom.

Criterion 4: Human Resources “Having good travelling companions is so important!”If we analyse the various elements comprising this criterion, the one that stands out is the pos-itive evaluation of the Botín Foundation’s collaboration for the support and training of teach-ing staff in relation to the specific programme in which each teacher has taken part. We arereferring to an evaluation which goes from good, during the initial stage, to excellent in theintermediate and final stages. The teachers have perceived and clearly valued the support ofthe Botín Foundation with regard to their training, in the planning and development of the pro-grammes’ activities, as well as the Foundation’s willingness to introduce any necessary changes

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The aim of involving families in the progress of theprogrammes is one of the most important elements to helpthe project improve. We believe, as do the teachers, thatthe programmes’ goals need the presence and involvementof families for their proper development

to adapt the project to the students or to the schools. Without a doubt, and as we have statedin interviews and meetings…. the concern and quick, apt and effective responses of the man-agement team at the Botín Foundation have been, in the opinion of the people involved, amajor factor in the project’s success.

For all the elements which make up this criterion a noticeable trend of improvement from thestart to the end of the process has been observed. There is an exception to this rule in the el-ement which refers to the adjustment of specific training for teachers in the programme’s gen-eral content. Analysing the training needs as a whole, we cannot overlook the fact that teachersneed more training. It is true that the teaching staff have many activities and it is hard to findtime to carry them all out. In general, they prefer activities that are “well pre-structured”, i.e.that require less preparation time, fit better with the time available to carry them out and thatcome prepared with good materials and simple alternatives… However, we stress the need todevelop training processes that provide in-depth and expert knowledge of the theme of eachof the programmes.

Criterion 5: Material Resources“The importance of having good resources”If we focus on the specific elements which make up this criterion we have to say that the mosthighly rated are the availability of materials for the development of the programme and the im-portance of the collaboration with the Marcelino Botín Foundation. These two aspects in par-ticular have had a very positive evolution going from poor/good to excellent in the final stage6.The most highly rated materials are those related to the Reflect Your Artself, The Value of a Storyand Travelling Chests.

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The teachers have perceived and clearly valued thesupport of the Botín Foundation with regard to theirtraining, in the planning and development of theprogrammes’ activities, as well as the Foundation’swillingness to introduce any necessary changes to adaptthe project to the students or to the schools

Criterion 6: Education Process “What better reward than the satisfaction of the project’s participants!”The education process is the second most highly valued area of the project’s criteria as a whole,maintaining an evolutionary sequence of improvement in all of its elements throughout itsinitial, intermediate and final stages.

A topic related to satisfaction (satisfaction of the project’s participants with the project itself)appeared once again as the most highly rated element (excellent) in the intermediate as wellas the final stages. We consider that this satisfaction, expressed by the teaching staff as wellas the student body, complies with the incorporation of a number of organisational andmethodological changes in the classroom and in the schools, which are as follows:

• A change of outlook regarding educational processes that take the teaching staff beyondacademic subjects.

• The understanding of and satisfaction with “doing things differently”, involving a varietyof methodological approaches.

• The link between school work and life. • A greater concern about connecting learning and personal development. • Collaborative work between teachers and students.

An active and participatory methodology is very noticeable in a number of activities in all ofthe LiVE programmes. Although it is true that not all the programmes foster participation andactivity with the same level of intensity, this aspect is constantly noted by the teachers.

Likewise, they underline that the strategies used substantially contribute to the strengtheningof cooperative learning. This is very interesting for them as it serves as guidance for incor-porating this methodology into their daily work in various areas.

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A topic related to satisfaction (satisfaction of the project’sparticipants with the project itself) appeared once again asthe most highly rated element (excellent) in theintermediate as well as the final stages [of the evaluation]

The teachers also point out that, in general, the activities are interesting for the children, mak-ing it easier, among other things, to involve them in the activities.

Criterion 7: Results “The effort was worth it”In this criterion –the most highly valued of the final stage– all the specific aspects that consti-tute it have evolved positively, the most relevant being the consideration of the results for im-provement, student satisfaction, teacher satisfaction with the effort invested and with theachievements. The most striking thing is that the teaching staff, in all stages of the evaluation,has been satisfied with the effort invested and in each stage has noted that it involved a sig-nificant effort, although in the final stage the effort it involved was perhaps a little less. Theyrate the programme as “fairly demanding”, “fully demanding”, and “quite demanding”.

Teacher satisfaction with classroom atmosphere –“great, time flies”– and student satisfaction–“they took part fully and thoroughly enjoyed it”– are the most highly rated aspects; from thisit can be understood that the methodological procedures and the activities proposed in eachof the programmes are appealing and well-suited to the needs of students. This aspect is re-lated to the internal coherence explained previously.

The element which was rated the worst, even in the final stage with respect to the interme-diate one, was the existence of procedures to ascertain the effects of the programme on thestudents’ surroundings (school and family) which is why an effort to increase family commu-nication should be emphasised. We consider that, in accordance with our earlier remarks con-cerning promotion and information about the programmes, without the support, prominenceand the involvement of families, the effect of the project is diminished and loses strength. Acontinuous effort should be made from the start to the end of the various programmes withregard to family involvement because, in the opinion of the participating teaching staff, therewas a noticeable decrease in the effort which was expended with regard to this aspect.

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An active and participatory methodology is very noticeablein a number of activities in all of the LiVE programmes

4. ConclusionsTo conclude, we will try to answer the basic questions that have been posed throughout theevaluation process: on the one hand, the achievements which, according to those involved,were reached during the project’s implementation process and, on the other, the aspects of itthat need to be improved. The answers to these issues can be summarised as follows:

• Material resources were, in general, highly rated by the participants in the project, al-though not to the same extent for all the programmes. Of them all, Travelling Chests andThe Value of a Story, were the most highly rated, while there was a clear unanimity thatthe POL booklets were not very attractive and should be improved.

• Furthermore, the availability of the materials and the organisation of the external ac-tivities of the programmes were elements highly rated by the teaching staff.

• The teaching staff also emphasized the active and participatory methodological approachto the activities and in particular, the approaches that strengthen cooperative learning.

• Classroom atmosphere, student participation and the effort made by the teaching staffduring the Programmes were the aspects most highly rated by the teachers.

• With regard to the specific programmes Travelling Chests and The Value of a Story, bothwere very highly rated by the teachers in relation to the methodological strategies theysuggested. However, given the absence of specific programmes for encouraging readingat the two schools in this study, this rating is based more on its potential to achieve thisgoal rather than on its real contribution to the teaching of values and social and emotionaldevelopment. Thus it requires us to be somewhat cautious when considering such a pos-itive rating.

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Teacher satisfaction with classroom atmosphere –“great,time flies”– and student satisfaction –“they took part fullyand thoroughly enjoyed it”– are the most highly ratedaspects; from this it can be understood that themethodological procedures and the activities proposed ineach of the programmes are appealing and well-suited tothe needs of students

• The demand for training by the teachers with regard to the programmes was higher forthe intermediate stage than the final one. This could be due to the fact that, once theywere fully involved in the project they did not feel the need for training. Furthermore, thisdemand was only raised in relation to cooperative learning and the Art programme. Fromour viewpoint, and independently of the previous verifications, we regard proper teachertraining for each of the programmes as a prerequisite for implementing them with themaximum rigour and for achieving the goals for which they were created.

• Along the same lines, a notable aspect was the positive rating in relation to the supportgiven by the Botín Foundation for the teacher training involved in the programmes. Forthe relevance of the programmes themselves, we believe that training which meets theneeds of the teaching staff for the various specific pedagogical techniques used in the pro-grammes, as well as any needs the teachers may have of their own, is necessary.

• The magnificent rating given by the teachers and management teams with regard to theBotín Foundation’s support, accessibility and availability during the development, ad-justment and setting up of the various programmes was outstanding.

• The teaching staff did not give a positive rating to the work done with families. In itsopinion the need to work collaboratively on the progress of the programmes was notproperly explained. Consequently, families delegated much of the work on the educationof values to the school. We believe that this element of the programmes must be improved,not only in terms of seeking more active ways to encourage family participation, but alsoin reviewing how programmes can be developed to include more activities where familycollaboration is required.

• In the same area, the level of promotion and information about the programmes amongteaching staff and families is not particularly satisfactory. We believe that this element iscritical in relation to improving the three following areas: promotion and information forteachers not taking part in any programme, for teachers only taking part in specific pro-grammes –to provide them with broader and more comprehensive information about thewhole project– and lastly, for families.

• The internal coherence perceived in the design of the programmes regarding their goals,methodologies, activities or proposed evaluation procedures should be highlighted, al-though in some of them (as in the case of Music) it was necessary to adjust some ele-ments of the initial design.

• In the area of evaluation, the teaching staff do not have reliable data on the level of at-tainment of values and social and emotional skills of the students although, as we pointedout before, there is a certain perception with regard to the improvement of particularskills (empathy, self-esteem, respect, collaboration…). The results obtained from the pro-ject’s7 psychological evaluation give valid data with regard to these achievements.

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• The demand for interconnected work is one of the aspects to come out of the long eval-uation process. Teachers have requested meetings and the opportunity to work with otherschools. We believe that the philosophy of the project’s own programmes is in tune with,and would allow for, this work methodology.

• With regard to the evaluation process carried out, we believe that the instruments usedfor the gathering of data have been shown to be useful, valid and reliable and thus couldbe continued to be used with very few adjustments. Perhaps the evaluation criteria estab-lished could be reviewed and some aspects grouped together.

• In an extended stage of the project, the instruments used (teacher and management teamquestionnaires) would be totally valid for the gathering of data for each of the project’sprogrammes.

• With regard to the student body, the opinion of the participating students about the dif-ferent activities should be ascertained, in particular at the ages where they already pos-sess a certain level of ability when it comes to making considered decisions. The numberof items could be reduced to include only the most pertinent and significant ones in orderto better reflect the quality of the programmes and the effects on the participating students.

• Another evaluation area which should be discussed is the direct appraisal of the materi-als designed to be used with planned activities in the various programmes, in particular,the media they employ, the guidelines that accompany them, the amount of time sched-uled, etc.

To conclude, the data gathered from this pedagogical evaluation supports –and we whole-heartedly agree– with the observation published in the Botín Foundation’s Report (2008, p.12)8, which states that:

“Social and Emotional Education is more positive when the following are present:

• Willingness: all those involved from the start and for the duration of the process do so vol-untarily.

• Involvement: teachers do a great job creating and/or adapting any programme or initia-tive to its context, are committed to the process and turn it into something of their own.Their ideas and input are vital in this regard.

• Active co-responsibility: schools, families and the community support each other and sharegoals and tasks.

• Planning: All the actions implemented are rigorous, organised and recorded.• Close monitoring: All the participants in the process receive training, support, guidance, at-

tention and close monitoring.

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• Long term: The work should be longitudinal in order to observe contrasting results.• Evaluation: Continuous, internal and external evaluations should be carried out to assist

the analysis and improvement of both the process and the psychological impact producedby the various actions and programmes.”

Thus, if we were to summarise this project in just one sentence, we would say that the sub-tleties and details analysed in this report – combined with the goals and approaches containedin the Botín Foundation’s Responsible Education Programme – are the necessary ingredientsfor its success.

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If we were to summarise this project in just one sentence,we would say that the subtleties and details analysed inthis report – combined with the goals and approachescontained in the Botín Foundation’s Responsible EducationProgramme – are the necessary ingredients for its success

Notes

1 Melero, M.A. and Palomera, R. (2011). Efectos de un Proyecto de Educación Emocional ySocial sobre el desarrollo infanto-juvenil [The Effects of a Social and Emotional Educa-tional Project on infant-juvenile development]. Available online at www.fundacionbotin.org

2 Argos,J.; Ezquerra,Mª.P.; Osoro,J.M. and Salvador,L. (2011). Evaluación pedagógica de unproyecto de Educación Emocional y Social: Proyecto VyVE (Vida y Valores en la Educación).[Pedagogical Evaluation of a Social and Emotional Educational Programme: Life and Val-ues in Education (LiVE)] Available online at www.fundacionbotin.org

3 Marcelino Botín Foundation (2007). Annual Report 2007, p. 19.4 The complete report on this process can be found in Argos,J.; Ezquerra,Mª.P.; Osoro,J.M.

and Salvador,L. (2011): Evaluación pedagógica de un proyecto de Educación Emocionaly Social: Proyecto VyVE (Vida y Valores en la Educación). Available online at www.funda-cionbotin.org

5 Responsible Education. Report for school year 2005/06. In a number of paragraphs inthis document there is explicit reference to the evaluation results carried out, on the onehand by the Regional Education Council and the Marcelino Botín Foundation, and on theother by FAD (Fundación de Ayuda contra la Drogadicción - Foundation for Help againstDrug Addiction).

6 It is worth pointing out that since 2008 The Audiovisual Aids Bank to encourage personaland social skills for Infant Education and The Audiovisual Aids Bank to encourage personaland social skills for Primary Education have been used – both of which were published bythe Botín Foundation.

7 Melero, M.A. & Palomera, R. (2011): Efectos de un proyecto de educación emocional, ysocial sobre el desarrollo infanto-juvenil. Available online at www.fundacionbotin.org

8 Marcelino Botín Foundation (2008): Social and Emotional Education. An InternationalAnalysis. Marcelino Botín Foundation Report 2008 Available online at www.funda-cionbotin.org

9 A tutor session is a regular weekly class that the teacher, who is responsible for the classon a pastoral level, holds with his/her class.

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Social and Emotional Education. International Analysis 2011

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