On the first day, Gloria Azalde and Stine Hellum Braathen, the project coordinators from SINTEF, welcomed all participants and introduced the scope and activities of the three-day event. Then, Agata Wiza and Ida Krzemińska from the Poznan University of Physical Education (PL) presented the preliminary results of the literature and the policy reviews which will be the basis for the formative study. The formative study will consist of a review of the literature concerning social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in Europe, a review of current educational policies, plans and curricula in the three countries and at the relevant schools where the approach will be tested, as well as qualitative individual or focus group interviews with key stakeholders (i.e. children/ teachers/ school leaders/ policy makers/ parents). Among the main results, it was highlighted that:
- Teachers should be prepared and well trained in order to properly implement the BOOST approach. The project will therefore need to ensure teachers get the necessary skills;
- Students’ social and emotional skills should be built not only in class, but also outside the classroom and at home. To this end, successful school-family partnerships must be established;
Four principles of SEL programs were identified:
- Social and emotional development is an ongoing process;
- Research shows that social and emotional skills are closely connected with academic achievement;
- SEL skills develop in all social contexts, including within the family;
- Teachers, classrooms, and the school must operate as a system;
The second part of the day was dedicated to the preliminary design of the approach (Work Package 2), to a wrap-up of the Communication and Dissemination activities (Work Package 7, led by EUREGHA) and to the way forward in order to involve as many stakeholders as possible and ensure the uptake of the approach locally, regionally and nationally across Europe (Work Package 8). On 25 September, the consortium partners met the members of the Advisory Board and visited a school in Modum (NO) where the BOOST approach will be tested. After an inspiring overview of the school setting and its main characteristics, the project team engaged in an interactive workshop together with the Advisory Board members in order to better define challenges and ideas to develop within the project. On the last day, participants wrapped up the results of the workshop in order to provide enough food for thought for the future developments of the project and focused on the possible facilitators and obstacles to local and regional future uptake (WP8). The meeting concluded with a discussion on the implementation and the effectiveness study (WP 3 and 5) highlighting the importance of developing an approach which can be easily adapted to the different needs of children (belonging to different age groups, for example) and school settings in the three countries. For further information, you can visit the project webpage at www.boostproject.eu and watch the presentation video here
