The development of social and emotional competences among young people has been shown to improve engagement at school, decrease disruptive behaviour, reduce school bullying/cyberbullying, and lead to better academic performance. SEL helps students to understand and regulate their emotions and build healthy relationships with others. Research shows that students’ social and emotional competences impact on their personal development and academic performance from an early age (SMILE, 2017). Therefore, this educational approach can help to tackle issues such as early school leaving, poverty, and social exclusion.

Keep reading to discover a range of EU-funded projects designed to develop students’ social and emotional competences.

Teacher training projects

PROMEHS is the first mental health curriculum to be developed with researchers, policymakers, and scientific associations across Europe. Research shows that around 20 % of school children experience mental health issues, which often begin at an early age. As schools are in a unique position to promote mental health literacy among children and young people, PROMEHS aims to provide a systematic framework for the development and implementation of an evidence-based universal mental health curriculum in schools, as well as high-quality training for educators and school staff. The project has produced a report evaluating the effectiveness of the PROMEHS curriculum and a round-up of the educational policies promoting mental health in participating countries.

Hand in Hand promotes SEL in education by focusing on the development of teachers’ social and emotional skills and increasing their cultural awareness. By putting their well-being at the centre, the project aims to equip teachers with the skills to handle increasingly diverse classrooms through a range of innovative participatory exercises and learning activities.

The SEEVAL project is working on two specific outputs, an educator’s training programme and guidelines for a whole-school approach to SEL implementation. By collecting and sharing a range of best practices in SEL education, it can support educators by providing them with pedagogical and didactical tools to develop their students’ social and emotional literacy. The project has produced a summary report analysing both educators’ and students’ perceptions of their own and each other’s social and emotional competences.

Elsewhere, SECiSo has developed a Supported Education Toolbox providing practical tools and exercises to support students with psychosocial difficulties. The toolkit is based on a rehabilitation method designed to help students overcome challenges and return to their studies.

Discover the FLOURISH programme, which will equip educators with the skills to build students’ resilience.
 

Developing students’ skills

The SMILE project implemented a learner-centred approach focusing on aspects of SEL such as emotional self-awareness, empathy, emotional regulation, and interpersonal skills. The project activities were integrated into the regular curriculum and extracurricular activities using a cross-curricular approach. It produced a good practice manual for teachers, detailing emotion-based projects and activities for children, activities for children with special needs, and projects to increase cultural awareness.

The BOOST project aims to build mental health resilience among young people by enhancing their social and emotional skills and reducing bullying, cyberbullying, and online harm. As SEL interventions at school level are often carried out by external experts, this project seeks to integrate SEL into everyday school activities with the direct involvement of educators and school staff by using an innovative approach. It builds on existing SEL programmes to develop teachers’ pedagogical and organisational skills so they feel empowered to incorporate SEL activities in their classrooms.

Similarly, UPRIGHT is a research project that aims to create a culture of mental well-being at schools through the co-design and delivery of training programmes on mental resilience. The programme is based on four main components, coping, efficacy, social and emotional learning, and mindfulness. The project has developed a set of instructions for schools to effectively implement the programme activities.