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Localizing SEL in Malawi: A mixed methods examination of teacher practices

Wed, March 28, 1:15 to 2:45pm, Fiesta Inn Centro Histórico, Floor: Lobby Floor, Room B

Proposal

Purpose: Successful implementation of SEL relies on teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and practices. In this study, I examine how teachers in resource constrained schools in one district in Malawi perceive and implement an SEL intervention.

Teacher Role for SEL Intervention: Implementing SEL in schools relies on teacher perceptions and practices. For instance, teachers who have confidence in SEL skills are likely to implement SEL in class. In addition, teachers who believe SEL skills are important for children’s development and education are likely to integrate SEL in school subjects and other classroom routines such as coaching social skills through classroom rules. Though these findings are important, what is little known is how teachers can better organize and teach SEL lessons in practice beyond perceptions, especially in under-resourced schools. In this study, I discuss this issue by examining instructional strategies that a sample of teachers selected in Malawi used for SEL implementation, and challenges/support that they experience in the process in and around school.

Context: Malawi is a small, landlocked country in southeast Africa. Children in Malawi face numerous challenges affecting their socio-emotional well-being and school success, such as HIV/AIDS, hunger, malaria and orphaning. Cultural practices in the country, such as initiation ceremonies where children undergo premarital intercourse and circumcision, threaten children’s physical and psychosocial health. The government sought to address these issues through implementing SEL curriculum in primary schools. However, information is absent on how teachers understand and teach this SEL curriculum in practice. This study contributes to addressing this problem by examining teacher perceptions and practices in one district in Malawi.

Methods: This study involves 42 primary school teachers sampled in Zomba, a rural district in Malawi. These teachers were selected through a mixture of demographic (age/gender), educational (degree/SEL training experience), and career (teaching year/position/grade level) backgrounds. All were interviewed and completed a survey. A sub-sample of the interview/survey participants (n = 15) were further included in classroom observations.

Findings: Despite high commitment, professional training was limited and instructional resources were scarce. Consequentially, some teachers skipped some SEL topics when they felt difficult to teach. Other teachers minimized lesson modification and taught only what was in textbooks, while this might have reduced room for teachers to incorporate learners’ everyday experience. Though challenges existed, many teachers still tried to utilize various instructional (e.g., labeling, coaching) and structural (e.g., relationship building, setting classroom rules) strategies. Additionally, teachers organized student clubs and activities after lesson hours and provided additional SEL lessons, especially for leaners who were experiencing puberty and needed adult advice on how to manage physical and emotional changes. Teachers also built partnerships with external partners such as Mother Groups to extend SEL beyond school to families and communities.

Conclusion: Findings of this study show instructional and managerial SEL strategies that a sample of teachers in Malawi were using in schools. They also show problems and support that could hinder or facilitate teachers SEL implementation. These findings provide useful information for policymakers, educators as well as program planners in terms of how they can better support teachers, the ultimate SEL implementers at a classroom level. They also show some of the teacher practices that could warrant school-wide SEL implementation, despite challenges.

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