A Social Emotional Learning Training Programme in a Poor Rural Primary School in Central China: A Pre-Post Intervention Study

Abstract

Introduction: Many universal school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes in the U.S. and Europe have been found to improve social skills and reduce emotional distress and behaviour problems. The aim of this study is to determine whether an adapted version of the SEL can reduce social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties in children in mainland China, using a pre-post intervention design. Methods: The study was conducted in a primary school in an economically-disadvantaged rural area in Henan province in central China. The intervention consisted of 16 weekly 90-minunte classroom sessions involving all 190 children in the school. Social and emotional problems were assessed pre- and post- intervention using the Chinese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The results suggest that: (1) the programme can reduce children’s peer relationship problems, and that the reduction was sustainable at the two post-intervention assessments; (2) the intervention effects on emotional symptoms or total difficulties in the overall population are very few, but children identified as high risk in the initial assessment benefited from the programme. Conclusions: This is the first published report on the effectiveness of a school-based SEL programme in mainland China. Although the improvement are limited, the programme does benefit some children.

The Contribution of the Psychomotrical Activities Carried out in the School after School System to the Psychic, Emotional and Social Development Plan of 9 - 10 Year Old Children

“…The particularity of psychomotor activities carried out constantly and systematically develops thinking, memory, attention and the spirit of observation. The concept of emotional learning appeared in the early 1990s in the USA and refers to the process of acquiring basic skills, recognizing and managing emotions, setting and achieving positive goals, feeling and showing empathy for others, making responsible decisions and better managing various interpersonal situations (Li, Ma, Lu, & Hesketh, 2022), all these positive attributes also being developed through sport.…”