SEL-T: Social-emotional Learning for Teachers Erasmus Project

Project Title

SEL-T: Social-emotional Learning for Teachers

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

The growing social challenges and economic inequalities in Europe represent the risk factor in growing up, especially in childhood mental health. Besides family influence, schools are proven to be a strong protective factor, especially for children in vulnerable situations, providing them possibilities to develop resilience and life skills needed to achieve academic and career goals as well as healthy and meaningful relationships. A variety of research and meta-analysis (according to: Cefai et co, 2018: NESET report) found that social-emotional learning (SEL) is an important experience strengthening children´s resilience, mental health, providing necessary skills, competences, knowledge and attitudes for the whole life. Within validated programs of social-emotional learning children and young people develop their self-awareness, emotion regulation, motivation, decision making, empathy and healthy relationships, conflict resolution. Even though SEL is happening all the time during growing-up, it is however necessary to provide children with targeted interventions and education activities that enable them to acquire the needed competences that they often don´t or cannot learn in their families, trough media and peer influence. While some EU member states have developed and implemented the wide specter of social-emotional learning programs, others do not have such practices or are just in the process of developing them. Also, even in the countries that implement social-emotional curriculum, the findings show that teachers often do not feel ready or even competent in this areas, which has effect on their students learning outcomes (Jennings&Greenberg, 2009.). This is especially the case for the countries within this project who still do not have nationally accepted curriculum for teaching SEL in schools.
The goal of the project “SEL-T: Social Emotional Learning for Teachers” is to develop and provide expert material for social-emotional learning of teachers, which is available, practical and primarily aimed at them as key factor in social-emotional education in schools, combining theory and practice, together with the teacher training curriculum.
The project connects 8 organizations in the region who have common goals in their work with teachers, children and youth and who have the expertise to create and develop education material, especially for teachers. These organizations from Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and North Macedonia will offer their expertise and knowledge in the area of social-emotional learning, referring to the latest research reports on EU level, and they will together develop a complete program comprising the key components of social-emotional education (self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, relationships). They are: Forum for Freedom in Education; Zagreb University (Faculty of Teacher Education and Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences); Society for Psychological Assistance; Xth Gymnasium Ivan Supek, UTRIP Institut for research and development; Network of Education Policy Centers; Center for Education Policy and Step by Step North Macedonia.
The objectives of the SEL-T project are:
– to provide future and present teachers with innovative resources for personal and social competences development, so that they become more competent in teaching and modeling these skills
– to promote and make these resources (a book plus training curriculum) available to broad professional teaching community in Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia and North Macedonia
– to create a network of cooperation between higher education institutions, schools and civil society organizations on the topic of personal and social development of teachers.
The intellectual outputs that will be created are: (IO1) Handbook of social-emotional learning for teachers, and (IO2) Curriculum for social-emotional learning teacher program.
The project lasting 26 months will make these 2 intellectual outputs directly available in five languages to: 220 teachers and education policy makers in 4 countries who will participate in the 7 dissemination events (60 in North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia, 160 in Croatia): 6 of them are Piloting the Curriculum of SEL Teacher Training and 1 is final SEL-T Conference in Croatia; as well as about 1000 experts and interested public who will download the outputs from the project web page. Three transnational partner meetings and mutual Learning event will provide the basis for the extensive collaboration and knowledge sharing among 8 partners.
As long term project result, teachers and education experts in the partner countries and more broadly in the EU will have available innovative and practical educational material for social-emotional learning, as well as local network of experts and trainers able to support them in further implementation of the program.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 0 Eur

Project Coordinator

FORUM ZA SLOBODU ODGOJA & Country: HR

Project Partners

• MREZA CENTARA ZA OBRAZOVNE POLITIKE
• FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION AND CULTURAL INITIATIVES STEP BY STEP – MACEDONIA
• SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU
• INSTITUT ZA RAZISKAVE IN RAZVOJ UTRIP ZAVOD
• Society for Psychological Assistance
• X. gimnazija Ivan Supek
• Centar za obrazovne politike