Search results

Worldwide, schools implement social-emotional learning programs to enhance students' social-emotional skills. Although parents play an essential role in teaching these skills, knowledge about their perspectives on social-emotional learning is limited. In providing insight into the perspectives of parents from adolescent students this paper adds to this knowledge.

An explorative qualitative study was conducted to gain insight into parents' perspectives (N = 32) on adolescent social-emotional learning. A broadly used professional framework for social emotional learning was used as a frame of reference in interviews with parents from diverse backgrounds. Within and across case analyses were applied to analyze the interviews.

A conceptual model of four social-emotional skills constructs considered crucial learning by parents emerged from the data: respectful behavior, cooperation, self-knowledge and self-reliance. Parents' language, interpretations and orderings of skills indicate that the model underlying these constructs differs from skills embedded in the professional framework.

Participants were small in number and mainly female. Therefore, more research is necessary to test the model in other parent populations.

The social-emotional skills students in prevocational secondary education learn at home differ from those targeted in SEL programs. Engaging students’ parents in SEL program implementation is indicated to align the skills taught at home and school. Preparing teachers to implement such programs requires training them on engaging parents from diverse backgrounds.

The study is one of the first providing insight into parents’ perspectives on SEL, the social-emotional skills deemed crucial to master for adolescents, and the roles they view for themselves and school on teaching these skills.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of the Dutch “Skills for Life” programme on students’ health behaviours, bullying behaviour and suicidal ideation.

The effectiveness of the “Skills for Life” programme on health behaviour outcomes was evaluated at three points in time in using a cluster randomized controlled study design with a follow-up of 20 months. In total, 27 schools and 1,394 students were included.

The programme was judged to be well implemented in just under half of cases. The outcome results for the experimental group (EG) compared with controls present a complex picture at the three different time points used for evaluation. There was a clearly positive effect on levels of alcohol consumption and a clearly negative effect on smoking across time. There was a mixed picture over time for suicide ideation and for bullying including sexual bullying (although the prevalence rates for bullying were low and thus results should be treated with caution). There were generally more positive impacts on students with lower educational levels including less suicidal ideation and less bullying.

Limitations were the dropping out of several schools during the study and the low level of fidelity of the curriculum. Social emotional learning (SEL) programs can be part of a health promoting school framework but should be more tailored to disadvantaged school populations.

The findings indicate that students with a less optimal starting position, when it comes to health related behaviours, benefit most from a SEL programme. This indicates that schools with disadvantaged school populations could benefit most from a Health Promoting School approach.