Child Development and Services Committee Report of Meeting in Hangzhou, China, July 2006
Working Group on ‘Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Minutes from an open session held at the 28th ISPA-Colloquium in Hangzhou on 18th July 2006

The meeting was prepared by Ilse Schlegel and coordinated by Lone Gregerson, (both Denmark). Lone’s introduction reminded to the committee’s goal: to promote development and implementation of innovative school psychological practices by identifying new promising and effective approaches in working for the well-being of children in schools and families:
Tracing back the history of this committee’s work to 1993 in Slovakia and Nyborg in 2001, she showed, how professional awareness gradually turned towards SEL as a major interest in research and in school- and curriculum-development. Awareness of the impact of SEL rose among school psychologists, when Goleman’s theory of Emotional Intelligence was introduced to ISPA by Stuart Hart. The Seattle Committee on the development of SEL set another bench-mark with its program ‘Second Step’. Workshops in Nyborg showed a tremendous diversity of ideas and methods used in different countries. Therefore SEL was chosen as an ISPA Key focus for the following years, on which ISPA members are working now all over the world.

Our meeting was mainly an exchange on what is going on in different countries. Below you find an overview of participants’ reports, critically revised by themselves after the colloquium, followed by some of the questions and comments raised during our meeting. - They agreed on the importance of SEL as a key-concept and suggested ISPA to further focus and work on it. The participants also agreed on a first stage of exchange via internet, coordinated by Lone Gregerson, later transmitting all information to all ISPA-members via ISPA-website with the assistance of the ISPA webmaster, Bernie Stein. The net-use may later be intensified. As useful first step, we thought to develop key concepts or questions, which could deliver a frame of reporting, helpful to make information more easily accessible and thereby stipulating a process of world-wide implementation of SEL.
Useful resources of information: www.Casel.org

Denmark (Lone Gregerson, Henning Nielsen)
Development of SEL-Practice: Around the year 2000 Second Step (empathy, problem-solving, anger management ) was translated into Danish. This translation was used for a systematic teacher upgrading program. Thereby the program was spread over the whole country and is now used by more than 90% of all schools.
Implementation process: Cesel (a Danish NGO-organization developing and implementing SEL-programs – initiated by Lone Gregersen and Bente Lindhard) was established, selling and implementing second-step. About 50% of the money earned, is used for the development of new programs. Three persons are employed, working on this task and also giving online advice. Cesel is cooperating with 10 other countries. Some of them also meet through ISPA. (Denmark, Lithuania, Finland, Slovakia)
Further development of programs: Cesel in cooperation with an University college is developing a new program concerning cooperative learning among school starters.
Internationally oriented development in progress: a Scandinavian Group of psychologists was established working on the following targets: (1) programs to develop stress- and self-management, (2) cooperative learning, (3) group-working skills and 4) care for all.

Finland (Arja Sigfrids)
Comment on needs and educational situation: The high results of Finish students in international comparative studies in mathematics skills, reading literacy, science and problem solving are a reality. Teaching has a high standard, connected to a high status of teachers in the whole country. The weakest quarter of Finnish students are in a class of their own compared to other countries. But now there is a need to teach also socio-emotional skills.
SEL Practice: Second step is now spreading all over the country, mainly by 4 teacher trainers. It is also taught in one Teacher Training College. Negotiations with the Ministry of Education and Social and Health Affairs are just going on, they seek support for the use of the program in all primary schools.

Lithuania (Zydre Arlauskaite)
Needs: Problems in schools have to do with emotional management and aggressiveness in children at an early age.
Project Development: A pilot group of 8 teachers started from January to May using the program Second Step. The program to which we had become acquainted by Danish colleagues, was given to us by the Committee for Children from Seattle. We translated the American version, and used it with their permission.
It became visible that children do not know what to do in cases of conflict. It is expected that the program does help. Parents are not yet included. – A NGO-placed school-psychologist gives help to spread the program, but broader use will depend on whether it is possible to convince politicians to provide support and money.
Discussion: The question, why not using grants from outside, was answered, stressing the importance of politicians’ support by making up their mind.

Germany (Erika Voigt)
Educational Situation: International comparative studies give German education poor grades regarding academic level and more still its integrative capacity, because of not giving fair chances to students from a foreign or a poor background. Stress and mental health among teachers are high, dropout rate among students as well. As economy and social systems are undergoing severe changes with high unemployment rates, especially among young people, insecurity, depression and outbursts of violence in schools have increased. Reforms are openly demanded, but reactions by state, party and public are diverse: some are pushing on improving academics by more state regulations, others demand better learning conditions, by allocating more money in the educational sector and stress creative learning, improvement of teaching and care for children including programs like SEL. - As education in Germany is organized on the state level, it is difficult to give a clear picture on educational practices.
SEL-Practice: SEL is among the priorities in the eyes of many colleagues, parents may demand programs, but in many schools teachers don’t know, what to do, lack money to buy materials or feel too stressed to dedicate themselves to new approaches. A lot of different materials – especially for primary schools - exist, some connected to Goleman and other earlier American programs. Second step has been translated and adapted to Germany, accompanied with some research by psychologists at the University of Heidelberg, but those materials are very expensive, therefore preventing widespread implementation. Besides some other programs are less expensive, some are more comprehensive, covering a broader range of topics, and more easily adaptable to school routine. Some states have developed programs that were spread and supported by authorities.
Implementation strategies: Most interesting developments are whole school and whole district projects, as for example the project FELS, presented by Bernhard Meissner in earlier Colloquia. Their advantage is, that they are clearly connected to felt needs. Being self-organised and including student participation, they make use of existing resources, motivation and strengths of all groups involved in education. Outstanding examples of co-operation between schools and public sector, support by industry, foundations and artists
Discussion: (1) We should think on research about, what teachers learn from these projects and programs, and on, what is the central benefit of them to teachers. (2) Teachers seem to look for renewal and change or improvement.

China (Liuyi, Kunming and Lam Shuifong, Hongkong)
Educational, societal background: In China exist tremendous differences between townships and rural areas. From tradition the relationship between student and teacher is very close; teachers tend to care for everything. - In this society, with not much upward-mobility exists a high pressure on marks, caused by examinations and sustained by the whole family, including relatives, who all invest in the education of the next generation. The study attitude is usually to struggle hard, school and homework often cause an overburden, no time left for play and other interests with disastrous consequences for those who fail. Serious problems for students exist, on how to deal with emotions, mood and pressure. The background is set by two differing cultural traditions, causing a question of balance: Taoism stressing fantasy and thinking, Confucianism stating rigid rules for taking over responsibility.
SEL-Practices: At some places programs are developed or introduced from elsewhere. Of special interest are ways and projects to connect SEL-ideas with Chinese philosophical traditions. Ironically the self-esteem of a student depends from, how the school is evaluated in public, and this has to do with money.
Discussion: The criteria on needs and useful ways of implementation must be looked at from an overall perspective into the details of each country.

Japan (Reizo Koizumi, Fukuoka University of Education, Nobuchika Tanaka)
SEL-Practices: Goleman and the concept of emotional intelligence are known among educators, the importance of SEL recognized. Second Step was bought by some Kindergardens, besides there are lots of books about social skills available, but less of them for higher schools. - The school system has an own curriculum development institution, therefore elements of SEL should be chosen according to the needs of each school.
Needs: Behavioural problems, decrease in children’s’ interpersonal abilities, classroom discussion and chaos, decline in academic achievement. One special problem is, how to make students engage in societal matters.
Project development: A trial version of Second Step for grade 1-6 was developed. A pilot study with Grade 3 and 4 is half way completed. Target skills are: self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, responsible decision-making. Also an evaluation instrument, a 24-Item students’ scale is developed and a curriculum for the training of teachers.

India (Sangathala Ushasree, Tirupati, Utar Pradesh, Shaik Azmal Basha)
Background on education and Psychology: There are only very few psychologists in India. Teachers’ awareness of students’ mental health needs is poor. Research on teachers’ and students’ awareness and capability to identify personal problems as a base for teacher training is done. Some few questionnaires on behavior can be used to do assessments.
Needs: according to different national official reports as well as UN-data, the rate of disabilities is high, also the drop-out-rate, especially in rural areas it may be over 70%, mainly as a result of poor learning conditions.
These facts are a major National concern.

USA (Donna Costello, Sunny Collins, Shirley Firsching, Felicia Lee)
Situation/Readiness: The diversity of different states makes an overview difficult.
SEL-Practice: SEL is stressed by Authorities, and pushed by parents’ organisations, who want prevention for little kids, but some parents don’t understand the social-emotional part of it. They think that they know how to educate their child. Key terms in USA for promoting any type of program are ‘athletics’ and ‘competition’ connected to it, whereas academics are less important.

Discussion: It is important to find terms that are opening up as major starters for implementation of SEL.
In Denmark parents may be caught by ‘educate children to become managers’, in Germany ‘health for young kids’ may be a good term for primary school and Kindergarten.

Erika Voigt, August, 2006