In July, a collaborative team of career development researchers from 20 countries will gather in Padua (Padova), Italy, to discuss each country’s results from the first phase of a cross-cultural study on social and emotional learning (SEL).  

The study is co-led by Scott Solberg, a professor in BU Wheelock’s Counseling Psychology program, and Lea Ferrari, an associate professor at the University of Padua, Italy. Their collaboration is made possible by Boston University Global Programs. Ferrari was a visiting scholar at BU in 2018 and 2019 and Solberg will be in residence in Padua in summer 2019.

This work is being conducted as part of a larger cross-cultural research program referred to as Connecting Social and Emotional Learning to Professional Development for Educators and Effective Teaching. Participating countries include Bahrain, China, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Scotland, South Africa, Trinidad, Turkey, Uganda, and United States.

Initiated in fall 2018, the project aims to:

• Examine educator perspectives on the nature and value of SEL
• Design an educator SEL self-efficacy measure
• Ultimately design and test a professional development portal system that will be made available in each participating country

“By incorporating SEL into classroom lessons, teachers can have a profound impact on students’ lives,” says Ferrari.

“The key is that all youth need access to caring and encouraging educators and by incorporating SEL into their work, they will be able to more effectively express their high expectations and positive regard for all of their students,” agrees Solberg. “The cross-cultural nature of the study offers a rich and unique opportunity to understand what SEL themes are universal within an increasingly global workplace and whether there are additional skills needed to effectively interact and work in specific regions of the world.”

The themes generated from the qualitative analysis will be used to design a new educator SEL self-efficacy measure (SEL measure). The SEL measure will assess educator confidence in using SEL skills in their own practice as well as their confidence for incorporating SEL skills development into the content of courses and career development practices.

The team hopes that this program of research will shed light on the importance of educators engagement in SEL practices, while also offering an validated assessment tool and quality professional development materials.