SEL in the European Context

This chapter examines social and emotional learning (SEL) in Europe. Drawing on illustrative case studies of England, Italy, and Greece, in addition to a broad overview of the current status of SEL across the European continent, we document and discuss issues pertaining to theory, policy, research, and practice. In doing so, our chapter speaks to wider questions and debates, including, for example, cultural transferability and adaptation of SEL programs. We begin by clarifying the intended meaning of SEL in the chapter. Our starting point is the definition derived from sources in the United States, which has influenced the development of SEL across Europe over the last three decades. From this perspective, SEL describes the processes through which social and emotional skills (e.g., selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making) of all students can be developed through explicit instruction in the context of learning environments that are safe, caring, well managed, and participatory (Weissberg et al., 2015). Archetypal SEL interventions that reflect this definition include Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS; Greenberg & Kusche, 1993) and Second Step (Committee for Children, 2011). Such programs are typically built around a developmentally sequenced curriculum, delivered by the class teacher, whose aim is to foster the previously mentioned skills (the “taught”), with a secondary emphasis on developing a safe and nurturing environment in which such skills can be applied and consolidated (the “caught”). Their influence on the European SEL landscape is evident through both the cultural adaptation process (e.g., PATHS has been adapted for use in countries including the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Croatia, while Second Step has been brought to Germany, Greenland, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, Slovakia, and Norway) (Humphrey et al., 2018; Moy et al., 2018) and the design of “homegrown” European programs (e.g., the primary school version of the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) national strategy in England mirrors such programs closely in terms of both instructional and practice-based elements; Department for Education & Skills, 2005).